World War IWorld War I

Setting it UpSetting it Up

• Austria declares war on Serbia

• Russia mobilizes as a “precaution”

• Germany declares war on Russia

• Germany expects France to help Russia so they declare war on France

Schlieffen PlanSchlieffen Plan

• Attack France quickly and win

• Get over to Russia before they can mobilize (no industry/railroads)

• Works at first, but falls apart quickly

GermanyGermany

• Marches into Belgium in order to get to France– Belgium is neutral– England declares war

on Germany to protect Belgium

New Alliance SystemsNew Alliance Systems

• Central Powers = Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire

• Allies (1914) = England, France, Russia, Japan and Italy

War begins – supposed to be quickWar begins – supposed to be quick

First Battle of the MarneFirst Battle of the Marne

• Germany tries to take Paris, but fails

• Possibly most important battle of war – Schlieffen Plan fails

Western FrontWestern Front

• French/German border • Trench Warfare

– 500 miles of trenches– Rats, disease, human

waste, dead bodies, no fresh food, muddy

– ‘No Man’s Land” is area between German and French trenches – dangerous

– Stalemate – neither side advances much

Famous/Important BattlesFamous/Important Battles

• Second Battle at Ypres (1915)– 1st use of Chlorine Gas (by Germans)– Gas covered 4 miles; affected 10,000, ½

of those died in 10 minutes

• Verdun (siege Feb. 1916)– German try to finish war in France– 100,000 shells every hour– 10 months; ½ mill. French casualties– War of Attrition

Battle of the Somme (1916)Battle of the Somme (1916)

• Germans advance 4 miles

• English advance 5 miles

• 20,000 British killed in 1 day

• Over 1 ½ million casualties in 3 months

Eastern FrontEastern Front

• Russian and German Borders

• Germans advance• Russia only survives

because of a large population (millions die)

New Tools for warNew Tools for war

• 1. machine guns• 2. poison gas• 3. tanks• 4. airplanes• 5. submarines (U-

Boats)• 6. flamethrowers• 7. Zeppelins

Other areas of warOther areas of war• Ottoman Empire

– Dardenelles• Led to

Constantinople• Also a trench

style stalemate• Gallipoli• T.E. Lawrence

(of Arabia) leads guerilla attacks by Arabs on Turks

U.S. enters war (1917)U.S. enters war (1917)

• 1. Lusitania (1915)– English passenger

ship (128 Americans on board die) sunk by German U-boat

– Other ships are sunk as well

U.S. enters warU.S. enters war

• 2. Zimmermann note– Germany tries to get

Mexico to invade U.S.• Promises a return of

conquered territory

U.S. aids the AlliesU.S. aids the Allies

Enters April 1917

War Over in 18 months

RussiaRussia

• Quits war• Has revolution at

home to deal with• Signs Treaty of Brest-

Litovsk with Germany– Treaty forces Russia

to give up lots of land

22ndnd Battle of the Marne (July 1918) Battle of the Marne (July 1918)

• Germany’s last effort to win on Western Front – fails

• War is over• Kaiser Wilhelm steps

down

GermanyGermany

• Loses king• Creates a republic

Costs and LivesCosts and Lives

Russia most casualties Deadliest war in history up to this point

Money$185,000,000,000 totalU.S. = $22.5 billionGermany = $37.8 billion

TreatyTreaty

War Ends 11/11/1918 at 11 a.m.

Treaty of Versailles Jan. 18, 1919

9 new nations created (including Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia)

Germany had to return Alsace-Lorraine to France

Germany had to pay $33 billion in war damages to the allies

Treaty, cont.Treaty, cont.

• Germany’s army reduced to 100,000, no weapons, no U-boats

• Germany forced to admit sole guilt (war-guilt clause)

• Germany loses all colonial/imperial holdings

• Austria-Hungary divided

• Russia loses more territory than Germany

Non-Treaty Results/Long-term Non-Treaty Results/Long-term significancesignificance

• League of Nations (threatens American isolationism?)

• Russia determined to regain territory as Soviet Union

• Germany humiliated (HUGE chip on its shoulder)

• No enforcing of treaty• World War II