Essential Question: What caused World War I?

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From 1914 to 1919, World War I erupted in Europe

This “Great War” was the largest, most destructive war the world had

yet seen

WWI was a global war that altered the course of the 20th

century

What caused World War I?

From 1870 to 1914, a number of developments gradually increased tensions among the European powers that led to the

outbreak of World War I

The

MILITARISM ALLIANCES IMPERIALISM NATIONALISM

causes of World War I

MILITARISMThe Industrial Revolution

led to large, advanced militaries in Europe

Europeans believed that to be great, nations had to have strong militaries

As a result, an arms race began among European nations, especially between Britain &

Germany Nations glorified military power &

kept an army prepared for war (called militarism)

Having a strong army increased

patriotism among citizens

IMPERIALISMEuropean nations competed fiercely

for colonies in Africa & Asia Competition for colonies often pushed Europeans

to the brink of war This competition increased European rivalry & mistrust

Germany & France almost went to war three times

over Morocco

Germany, England, Russia

argued over building a

railroad in India

England & France

argued over rights to the

Sudan

ALLIANCESGrowing rivalries among nations led to the

formation of two military alliances that threatened to draw European nations into war

Germany, Italy, & Austria-Hungary made up the Triple Alliance

England, France, & Russia formed the Triple Entente

NATIONALISM

Austrian national poster, 1900

Rivalries due to militarism & imperialism

increased nationalism among European powers

British propaganda poster, 1897

European rivals tried to maintain a balance of

power while also trying to overpower each other

“European Balance of Power, 1914”

NATIONALISMWhile nationalism unified

people in the powerful nations, it was dividing

people in weakening empires

No region was more tense in the years

before World War I than the Balkans

Serbia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, & Romania

broke from the Ottoman Empire to create new nations

Slavic people in Serbia wanted to unify all Slavs

but Austria-Hungary opposed giving up the

largely Slavic territories Bosnia & Herzegovina

The Balkans became a “powder keg” waiting for a spark to blow up

The Outbreak of World War I Serbians vowed to take Bosnia &

Herzegovina from Austria-

Hungary

On June 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand & his wife were

assassinated by a Serbian terrorist

The assassin Gavrilo Princip

The Outbreak of World War I On July 23, Austria-Hungary

issued an ultimatum to Serbia: turn over conspirators & allow

an investigation…OR…go to war When Serbia balked at some

of the terms, Austria-Hungary declared war on June 28, 1914

Russia had a large population of Slavs & was an ally of Serbia; Russia moved troops

to the Austrian border These events set off a chain reaction that started World War I

World War 1 BeginsAustria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

& its ally Russia

On July 28,1914, Serbia declined the ultimatum

On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war

on Russia

On August 3, 1914, Germany declared war

on France

Italy backed out of its agreement with Germany

& Austria-Hungary……and joined

the Allies

On August 4, 1914, England declared war on Germany &

Austria-HungaryRussia mobilized for war

to protect Serbia

World War I had begun

During the war Germany & Austria-Hungary became the Central Powers; They were

joined by Bulgaria & the Ottoman Empire

The members of the Triple Entente became known as the Allied Powers

and eventually were joined by…

…many nations throughout the world