WWI 1914-1918

“The War to End all Wars”“The Great One”

Causes• Militarism: countries in Europe

were creating massive armies, larger than the world had ever seen before

• Imperialism: Europe was overtaking weaker countries all around the world for resources, these were hostile take over's and the people

• Unchecked Alliances: nations were forming friendships with other nations at an alarming rate, many of these were alliances that didn’t make any sense and screamed something is wrong

• Nationalism: European nations were swept with intense feelings that people from their particular nation were the best and everyone else was below them or weaker

Causes• Assassination of the Archduke

Ferdinand: Franz is the next in line for the thrown of Austria and is killed by members of the Black Hand terrorist group while touring Europe, his death is deemed an act of war and countries start to take sides

• Sinking of the Lusitania: A British cargo ship carrying many passengers was sunk by Germany off the coast of Ireland, onboard were American citizens

• The Zimmerman Telegram: English spies intercept a telegram from Germany to Mexico offering them all land in America as their reward at the end of the war, if Mexico will attack and destroy America

The Assassination

Franz & Sophia The Black Hand

Alliances

The Triple Entente

• The United Kingdom• France• Russia

– The United States– Portugal– Many from Africa

The Alliance (The Axis)

• Germany• Italy• Austria-Hungary

– The Ottoman Empire– Bulgaria– Many from the Middle East

Alliances

Key People

The Entente• England - King George V• France – Raymond Poincare• Russia – Tsar Nicholas II• America – Woodrow Wilson

Main Generals• John “Blackjack” Pershing• Douglas Haig• Ferdinand Foch

The Axis• Germany – Kaiser Wilhelm II• Italy – Vittorio Orlando• Austria Hungary –

Kaiser Franz Joseph I• Bulgaria – Tsar Ferdinand I• Ottoman Empire – Sultan

Mehmed V

Main Generals• Paul Von Hindenburg• Erich Ludendorff

The Two Fronts

The Western Front• Most of the war is fought in

France• Trench warfare is used

(modeled after how Grant attacked Petersburg in the Civil War)

• Trenches were dug on both sides for over 300 miles, the land between the trenches is called “no man’s land” because no man, animal or plant could live in this area

The Eastern Front• This area of fighting

stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea in what is mostly Poland, Ukraine, Russia in today’s world

• This was more of a traditional total warfare style of combat

The Two Fronts

The Western Front The Eastern Front

The Schlieffen Plan• Because Germany is surrounded on all sides by the Entente, it

will create a massive army and move towards Russia, after the enemy sees this movement and sends all their troops to Russia to help, Germany’s army is actually twice the size anyone thinks it is and what’s headed towards Russia is only less than half of it’s total strength, the main army will actually sneak through Belgium and capture Paris France ending the war, this plan works off deception and strength

Key Battles

1914• Mons – 1st major battle• Tannenburg – causes the

Eastern Front• Marne – taxi’s save Paris

and trench warfare begins• 1st Ypres – Race to the Sea

begins• The Christmas Truce

1915• Gallipoli – Turkey enters the

war and crushes the entente, sometimes called “Battle of the Dardanelles”

• 2nd Ypres – 1st time gas is used in war, chemical warfare begins

• Sinking of the Lusitania – America now begins giving aid to the Entente instead of the Alliance

Key Battles

1916• Verdun – Longest battle of

the war, over 1 million die, Germany creates Phosgene Gas which puts hydrochloric acid in your lungs

• Somme – 1st tanks used in battle, “Little Willie”, over 750,000 dead in one battle

1917• Zimmerman Telegram – captured

message between Germany and Mexico draws America into the war

• 3rd Ypres – Also called “Battle of Passchendale”, 3 month long battle, rained so heavy the mud swallowed soldiers, horses and trucks whole

• Caporetto – After Italy switches sides, Germany and Austria crush them causing them to leave the war all together

• The Russian Revolution – Nicholas II and his family is killed by a new political party that will become the communist party, Russia has to leave the war completely

Key Battles

1918• America enters the war for the

Entente• Flu epidemic of 1918: the flu kills over

100 million people world wide• The March Offensive – Germany’s last

chance to win the war, sometimes called the 2nd battle of Somme

• Battle of Chateau Thierry – sometimes called the Argonne Offensive, America fights for 7 months in the woods of France, bloodiest battle for America during WWI

• Armistice Day – The war officially ends at 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918

Dough Boys

The Russian Revolution• Tsar Nicholas II drew Russia into World

War I in the summer of 1914. • The war was a disaster for Russia: it

caused inflation, plunged the country into a food shortage, and ultimately cost the lives of nearly 5 million Russian soldiers and civilians, as well as a series of humiliating military defeats.

• The war was the final straw for the Russian people. Within three months, Russia would be without a monarch for the first time in its history with the assassination of the Romanov family. You know this as the story of Anastasia.

• The legend of Rasputin begins with his death and the murder of the Romanov Family

• The revolution is led by Vladimir Lenin and the new political party he creates becomes the Communist Party

Wilson’s 14 Points of Peace• As the tide of war begins to turn,

America unveils its plan for the end of the war, including the creation of a League of Nations to oversee world affairs

• It is quickly declined by almost all Entente nations.

• Instead the Treaty of Versailles is signed officially ending the war

• The 14 points will eventually lead to the creation of the “The United Nations” after WWII

• The Treaty of Versailles is extremely tough and strict, it so poorly ends the war that 20 years later it will help cause WWII