WWI: A (REALLY QUICK) RECAP!

1914-1918

Who Fought?

•Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Russia, U.S., Italy

vs.•Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria

Why?

•Long-Term Causes: MAIN•Short-Term Cause: Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

The Balkan “Powder Keg”• Short-Term Cause…• In June of 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary is assassinated by a Serbian terrorist group known as the Black Hand

• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia & all of Europe’s major powers took sides

• Tensions had built up and Europe was like a like a “powder keg” waiting to explode

Four MAIN Long-term Causes

• Militarism – European nations engage in a massive military buildup

• Based on the idea a country’s goals could be achieved through force

Four MAIN Long-term Causes

•Alliances – European countries form partnerships to protect themselves• Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungry, and Italy

• Triple Entente – Great Britain,

France, and Russia

Four MAIN Long-term Causes

• Rival alliances threatened world peace

• Conflict starts between two countries but escalates to involve all countries belonging in political alliance

“Horrible Histories”• Video Clip: Causes of WWI

Four MAIN Causes•Imperialism – Rival European empires seek to keep power

•Colonial competition leads to conflict

Four MAIN Long-term Causes

•Nationalism – extreme loyalty and devotion to one’s country or culture

•Includes actions members of a nation take to gain self-determination

BALKAN “POWDER KEG”A series of unfortunate events…

Chain of Events #1

• Power struggle in the Balkan Peninsula between Austria-Hungary (A-H) and Serbia.

• Serbia wanted to expand its borders into Bosnia to create a larger Slavic state (pan-slavism)

• A-H opposed any expansion.

Chain of Events #2

•Archduke Ferdinand visited the Bosnian city of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 and was assassinated as he drove through the streets by Gavrilo Princip (part of the Black Hand)

Chain of Events #3

•A-H blamed Serbia for the assassination and gave them an unrealistic ultimatum

•Serbia did not meet all the requirements

•A-H declared war one month later

Chain of Events #4

•Alliances were activated: •Russia backed Serbia (both Slavic nations)

•Germany supported Austria-Hungary (Triple Alliance)

Chain of Events #5

•The Balkan “Powder Keg” was ignited

•WWI began!

FAST FORWARD A FEW YEARS…

How did the war end?

•Russian Revolution of 1917 forced Russia to exit war

•America joined to safeguard democracy in 1917

•Germany signed an armistice in Nov. 1918

The Paris Peace Conference

•Allies now face task of arranging peace terms at the Paris Peace Conference

•Conflicting viewpoints create long negotiations

The Paris Peace Conference

•Eventually, separate treaties made with each Central Power country•Stripped away substantial territories• Imposed heavy reparations•Germany received harshest punishment & was forced to take blame for the war; penalties outlined in Treaty of Versailles

Early Critics of the Terms of Peace

•John Maynard Keynes, English Economist, believes the treaty will bring economic ruin to Europe

• The Economic Consequence of the Peace, 1920 “The treaty includes no provisions for the economic

rehabilitation of Europe, - nothing to make the defeated Central Empires into good neighbors, nothing to stabilize the new states of Europe, nothing to reclaim Russia; nor does it promote in any way a compact of economic solidarity amongst the Allies themselves; no arrangement was reached at Paris for restoring the disordered finances of France and Italy, or to adjust the systems of the Old World and the New.”

Early Critics of the Terms of Peace

•Some critics believed the treaty sowed the seeds of future war…

Historians began to debate…

•Was Germany really responsible for starting the war?