World War One

The Great War

Causes

•Long Term

– Nationalism

– Imperialism

– Militarism

– Alliance

•Short Term

– Assassination

Nationalism

• Deep devotion to one’s nation

• Rivalries - anger and tension

– Competition for resources & markets

– Territorial disputes

• Alsace-Lorraine

• Balkans

– Position made very valuable for trade

– Ottoman Empire – “The Sick Man of Europe”

» Independence/AH administered Bosnia

» Russia and Austria get into a “face-off” for the area.

» Slavic peoples who lived there wanted self

determination

» Serbian nationalists wanted Bosnia because seaports

Economic Rivalry

•Growing tension between Germany & Britain

•Britain

– first country to industrialize

– for many years dominated Europe

•Germany rapidly caught up after unification

– By 1900 it rivalled British economy as the world's largest.

1908 Bosnian Crisis

• AH annexes Bosnia

– Germany supports Austria

– Serbia protests

•lacks the power at this stage to do anything

– Russia protests

•shies away from conflict (remember 1905?)

– Begins to re-arm in order to avoid being placed

in such an embarrassing position again

1912-13 Balkan Wars

• 1912 attack Turkey

– Serbia emerges victorious

• Threatening to Austria

– Serbia ally of Russia

• 1913 Balkans League

– Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria

– Bulgaria attacks the others for not giving her enough of the

spoils from the first Balkan War

• Turkey joins in against Bulgaria, who is defeated.

• Serbia emerges as the pre-eminent power in the Balkans

Imperialism

• Scramble for colonies

• Rivalry & mistrust deepened

– France vs. Germany

•Morocco, 1905 & 1911

– France and Britain

» GB = Egypt & GB help France w/ Morocco

– Great Britain vs. Russia

– Russia vs. Japan

1905 The First Moroccan Crisis

• Tangiers Speech

– Wishing to frustrate French efforts to take over Morocco, Kaiser sailed to Tangiers and made a menacing speech.

– He supported the independence of Morocco

•demanded an international conference to discuss Morocco's future.

– Clearly this was provocative to the French.

•The French suspected the German leader of trying to break up the Entente Cordiale.

• 1906 Moroccan Conference

– Britain fully supported France

•to the disappointment of Germany

1911 The Second Moroccan Crisis

• Sultan asked French to send in troops to 'restore

order'

– Germany alarmed at growth of French power

•sent a gunboat “to protect German interests”

• “Britain would prefer a war to a European

pacification achieved at the cost of her honour”.

Lloyd George

– Supported France

• Once again, Germany had to back down.

Militarism• Glorification of the army and war

• Strong countries got what they wanted

• Naval Race

• Huge increase in the size of European armies

– Conscription

•compulsory service in the military

– Between 1890 & 1914 European armies doubled

• Led to the increased power of military leaders

– created complex war plans

•War plans limited the choices of political leaders in

time of international crisis

Alliances

• Lead to peace

• 1879 Dual Alliance (AH-G)

– Bismarck saw France as the biggest threat

• Wanted to isolate so couldn‟t take revenge

• 1881 Three Emperors League (G-R-AH)

• 1882 The Triple Alliance (G-AH-I)• Upset the balance of power

• Defence alliance

– power attack any member of the alliance, all three of them would stand together

• 1887 Reinsurance Treaty (G-R)

• 1890 Bismarck forced to resign

• Reinsurance Treaty lapsed

Alliances• 1892/94 (F-R)

– Tsar needed a loan/France offered

• Britain had for a long time steered clear of any alliances

– „Splendid Isolation‟

• 1904 Entente Cordial (GB-F)

– Friendly agreement

– Egypt/Morocco

• 1907 The Triple Entente (F-GB-R)

– These nations were traditional rivals

– Loose coalition

2 Camps

Result: A „Balance of power‟?

•Preserved peace.

•One alliance balanced out the other.

•Both were a deterrent to the outbreak of

war as both groups were strong.

•Reality

– Increased tensions – any crisis=war

Assassination at Sarajevo

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War

• June 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated

– Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip (Black Hand)

• So…

– AH wanted to declare war on Serbia

•worried about Russia

– Asked for help German allies

•Emperor William II “blank check”

– Issued ultimatum

•Rejected

• July 1914, AH declared war on Serbia.

Dominoes• Russia responded by supporting Serbia

– July 29 mobilization of the Russian army

•considered acts of war

– France promises support

– The Germans warned the Russians to halt

– Russians refused

• August 1 Germany declared war on Russia

– Two-front war

•Defeat France first & then attack Russia with full force

– Schlieffen Plan

» Need to pass through Belgium (neutral)

The Chain Reaction

• August 3 violates Belgium neutrality

• August 4 Britain declared war on Germany

• World War I had begun

– Central Powers (G-AH)

•November 1914 Ottoman Empire

•October 1915 Bulgaria

– Allies (GB-F-R)

•Japan enters w/in weeks

•Italy neutral for 9 mo.

– AH-G aggressor so breaks treaty

– Wanted spoils of war

The War Begins

• Schlieffen Plan

– Lightning attack to take out France

• Battle of the Marne

– Outside Paris

– No quick victory for Germany

• Race to the Sea

– Try to outflank/outmaneuver

– Stabilized in an arc

•Western Front

– Trench warfare

The End of the Race to the Sea

Stalemate

• “Home by Christmas”

• Trench Warfare

– November 1914

•12,000 miles of trenches

– New way of life

•Guns, barbed wire, artillery

•No man‟s land

– No idea how to fight

•Over the top

– Same position for 4 years

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

LTC John Alexander McCrae

MD (1872 – 1918)

German Trench

Flanders No Man’s Land

No Man’s Land

Paschendaele, Nov 1917

No Man’s Land

German Dead at Flanders

British in Flanders

German

Soldier

caught

on the

wire

British dead in

a captured

trench

Weapons

• 1915 poisonous gas

• 1916 tank

• Aircraft/zeppelins

– Dogfights

•Little effect on war

• Submarines

– Convoy

– G no match for GB on surface

– Lusitania

Zepplins

Gas shells exploding in No

Man’s Land

Mustard Gas Burns

British Cavalry

Destruction of Kaiser’s

observatory

After effect of Zepplin attack

Remains of a church

Ruins in

Antwerp

Widening War

• May 1915

– Italy wanted lands held by Austria

• Dardanelles

– Black Sea to supply Russia

– Gallipoli Campaign

•8 mo.

•145,000 dead

•Withdrew

• Ottoman Empire

– TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)

•Revolt in exchange for land

Gallipoli Campaign

Trench at Gallipoli

Gallipoli

campaign

Verdun

• 1916

• Lasted 11 months

• 700,000 dead

• Longest battle

• German offensive but no gains

No Man’s Land

Verdun

German dead at Verdun

Before – Hotel in Verdun

After – the same hotel

Verdun

Eastern Front

•Much larger area the Western Front

•More mobile

•Stretched from Baltic to Black Sea

•Russian Problems

– Lack of Supplies & leadership

– Millions dying

Eastern Front

• 1914 Tannenburg

– Russian army basically destroyed

• 1917 Bread Riots

– Provisional government

• Keep G tied down on Eastern Front

• November 1917 Bolshevik Revolution

– Withdrew from war

• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

– Harsh

– Lost 25% of land

Russian Soldiers advancing on German line

Russian Mass Grave

Total War

• Everyone involved

• Government controlled

– Economy

– Draft

– Rationing

• Propaganda

– National hatreds

•Just cause

French Spy

German Troops Marching to War

Propaganda

US Role• Isolationist

– Wanted allies to win w/out involvement

– Ties to both sides

• Supported GB/F because of language ties/history

• German Americans supported Central powers

• 1916 Wilson won office by “keeping us out of war”

• How do we help?

– Supply allies as GB blockaded US from helping G

• GB bought G goods to make up for US losses

– Neutral

• Couldn‟t lend $ to either side

• Sell goods on credit

• Are really neutral? No

US Gets Involved• May 1915 Lusitania

– Limited sub attacks

– Wanted to defeat GB before US entered war

• Dec 1916

– G resumed unlimited sub warfare to starve GB

• Jan 1917

– Zimmerman note

• Mexico ally w/ G for share of US

• Mar 1917

– Russian Revolution begins

• Democratic vs. nondemocratic

• April 6, 1917

– “world safe for democracy”

Victims of the Lusitania

WWI Doughboy

American soldiers on the Piave

front hurling a shower of hand

grenades into the Austrian

trenches. Varage, Italy. (Sept. 16,

1918)

Final Offensive• US enters war

– Boosted morale

• Not ready for war

– 50,000/mo. Headed into France

• 1918 G launches offensive

– Major territory but no defeat

– Why?

• Fresh troops

• By Nov 1918, G stands alone

– All others have surrendered

• 11-9-18 Kaiser abdicates

– Republic declared

• 11-11-18 armistice

End of WWI

• Armistice: November 11, 1918

• 10 million KIA

• 20 million WIA

• 20 million killed by influenza

• Cost $350 billion

Wilson‟s 14 Points

•January, 1918

•Point 1: Openness

•Point 2-5: Freedom of seas, trade, limits on

arms

•Point 6-13: Territorial settlements

– Self determination

– ethnicity

•Point 14 : League of Nations

Aims of the Big Four• Wilson

– New order in international relations

– End secret treaties & military alliances

– 14 Points, January 1918

•League of Nations

• Clemenceau

– Germany to be permanently weakened

– Punish/Pay

• George

– Didn‟t want France to replace Germany as power

– Compromise

• 5 separate peace treaties signed

Clemenceau

WilsonGeorge

Orlando

Problems

• Current Situation in Germany

– Civilians thought still winning

– Unrest of workers

– Traitors for signing armistice

• Future Role of Germany

– Negative impact on economy

– High inflation

– Needed to rebuild but scared France

• Instability in Central and Eastern Europe

– Nationalism

– General economic problems

Treaty of Versailles

• Limit military and political power of Germany

• Military restrictions

• Territorial changes

– Reducing European territory

•Alsace-Lorraine

•Saar region

• War Guilt Clause

– Totally responsible

– Compensation

Impact

•Anger

•Resentment

– Rise of Nationalism

– Far right

•Never carried out as harshly as written

•Left intact vs. France

– Economy soon restored

League of Nations

•Collective Security

– Settle disputes peacefully

– Disarmament

– Prevent conflict

•Sanctions

•Mandates

League of Nations

• Strengths

– Did help to promote greater international discussion

and diplomacy

• Weaknesses

– USA did not join

Republican Isolationism

– Time to Discuss Problem

– Trade Sanctions

•USA fill spot

– Unstable times

•Reluctance to disarm