The First World War (1914-1918)

List of Topics

• Causes of the War and the July Crisis• Industrialized Warfare – Tanks, Airplanes, Chemicals, etc.• Trench Warfare • Russian Revolution (1917)• United States involvement in the War• Harsh Reality of Global War• End of War, Paris Peace Conference, and Long-Term Impact

M.A.I.N – Causes of the War

•M – Militarism • Growth of massive armies • Military Drafts • War Plans Drawn

• A – Alliance System• Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) • Triple Entente (France, Britain, Russia)

M.A.I.N – Causes of the War

• I – Imperialism • Scramble for territory• Influence in various regions

• N – Nationalism • Intense national pride• Frequent conflicts

July Crisis

• June 28th, 1914 – Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo

•Murdered by Gavrilo Princip (19 years old) •Member of the Black Hand—

Serbian Nationalist terrorist group

July Crisis

• Immediately, blame is placed on Serbia from Austria-Hungary and others!

• Germany—friend of Austria-Hungary—offers them a “blank check” in whatever course of action they choose.

• A series of events would occur after this that led to global war on all fronts.

July Crisis

• July 28th, 1914 – Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

• July 30th, 1914 – Russia stands beside their Serbian allies and declares war on Austria-Hungary.

• August 1st, 1914 – Germany responds by also declaring war in defense of Austria-Hungary.

• The war was underway!

Industrialized Warfare

• New Forms of Weaponry - • Tanks• Chemical Weapons• Airplanes• Machine Guns • U-Boats • Flamethrower

• Result = Devastation

Trench Warfare

• Trenches were dug for defense.

• Lined with barbed wire for protection.

• Horrible living conditions – • Trench Foot• Rats, Mice, and Lice • Very little sanitation, if any!

Russian Revolution

• Russia was behind both militarily and technologically.

• Very little leadership within the government.

• Industry was unable to produce the needed weaponry.

• Example – Soldiers often trained with broomsticks.

Russian Revolution

•March 1917 – strikes by the working-class women in the city of Petrograd.

• Bread rationing by the govt.

• Over 10,000 women marched, demanding “peace and bread.”

Russian Revolution

• Revolt ultimately forced Czar Nicholas II to step down.

• Provisional government was put into place.

• Even though the war was going badly for them, they chose to carry on for Russia’s honor.

• This angered many citizens, including the socialist group, known as the “Bolsheviks.”

Russian Revolution

• Bolsheviks were under the leadership of V.I. Lenin.

• Dedicated to violent revolution.

• Promised an end to the war.

• By November of 1917, they had seized power.

Russian Revolution

• The Bolsheviks would soon rename themselves as the Communists.

•March 3rd, 1918 – Lenin signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

• The promise to leave the war effort was fulfilled.

Entry of the United States

Objective:Students will examine the role of the United States in the First World War.

Entry of the United States

• At first, the U.S. tried to remain neutral in the war effort.

• Unlimited Submarine Warfare – Great Britain and Germany.

•May 7th, 1915 – British ship Lusitania was sunk by German forces—over 100 American civilian casualties.

• Zimmerman Note (threatening to the United States).

Entry of the United States

•When they entered the war, the U.S. had an army of about 200,000 men.

• Unprepared for a military conflict on this scale.

• African Americans were well represented in the military.

Entry of the United States

•Woodrow Wilson had a plan for peace, even before the war ended.

• “Fourteen Points”

• Spokesperson for democracy and international cooperation.

The Home Front during WWI

• As the war dragged on, it became a total war, involving a complete mobilization of resources and people.

• Expanded government power, to compensate.

• The harsh reality of war drained the population of each participating nation.

• Propaganda was used, constantly.

The Home Front during WWI

• The war created new roles for women.

• Job opportunities expanded.

• Voting rights were a positive outcome in many European countries.

Final Stages of the War

• U.S. entrance into the war gave the Allied nations a psychological boost.

• Germans had been very successful in early 1918.

•More than a million American troops began to pour into France, pushing back the Germans.

• German forces began to see that defeat was inevitable.

Final Stages of the War

• After much anger within Germany, William II resigned in November 1918.

• Friedrich Ebert would take his place and would sign an armistice on November 11th, 1918.

War Casualties

• Russia = 9 million • Germany = 7 million• Austria-Hungary = 7 million• France = 6 million• Great Britain = 4 million• United States = 364,000

The Peace Settlements• Paris Peace Conference (January 1919) – attended by the

“Big Four” leaders from the four major allied nations.

•Woodrow Wilson (United States)• David Lloyd George (Great Britain)• George Clemenceau (France)• Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

•Where is Russia? Remember they left the war in 1917.

The Peace Settlements

•Wilson brought his “Fourteen Points” to the conferences.

• The other three leaders desperately wanted Germany to be punished.

• Difficult negotiations.

The Peace Settlements

• The official end of World War I came with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th, 1919.

• War Guilt Clause – forced Germany to take sole blame. • Germany lost all of its colonies. • Germany forced to pay reparations (payments for the damages).• League of Nations was formed—U.S. never joins. • New countries were created under self-determination.

The Peace Settlements• A list of the new countries included –

- Austria - Estonia- Hungary - Latvia- Finland - Lithuania - Czechoslovakia- Poland

• A lasting peace would be impossible. World War II began exactly 20 years later in 1939.