WWI Overview

Underlying Causes of War

• Imperialism– Leads to rivalries among European nations**

• Militarism– Aggressive military build-ups in preparation for war**

• Nationalism– 1) A nation doing what is in its best interest– 2) minorities in nations with diverse populations

wanted independence• Alliances

– Nations bound to come to one another's aid**

The Spark that began the War

• Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie travelled from Austria-Hungary to Sarajevo, Bosnia

• Bosnia was a new province within the Austro-Hungarian Empire

• The first assassination attempt by the Black Hand** failed

• Gavrilo Princip later pulled out his pistol and shot the Archduke and his wife

Chain Reaction• Bosnia was the center of a nationalist dispute between

Austria-Hungary (A-H) and Serbia• A-H believed that Serbia was behind the Archduke's

assassination• Following an ultimatum, A-H declares war on Serbia on

July 28, 1914.• On July 29, Russia, Serbia's ally and protector, starts

mobilization for war• Germany, A-H's ally demanded that Russia stop

mobilization• Russia refused, leading to Russia's ally, France to begin

mobilization• In response, Germany began mobilizing.• On August 1st Germany declared war on Russia.

Germany's plan

• Germany had long been planning its war strategy

• Geography- located between France on the West and Russia on the East

• To avoid being trapped, Germany followed its Schlieffen plan**

• To get to France as quickly as possible, Germany cut through Belgium**

Alliances in WWI• Neutral Powers

– Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Albania

• Central Powers– Germany, A-H, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire

• Allied powers– Russia, France, Serbia, and Great Britain– As well as Belgium, Italy, Greece, Romania,

Portugal, and all colonial holdings

Image of WWI Allies

Stalemate

• Both sides mistakenly believed the war would be over in 6 weeks

• German advance brought them within 30 miles of Paris when the French and British held tem off in the Battle of the Marne

• At this point both sides dug in, and the war became defensive with the strategy of trench warfare

The British government wanted to encourage men to enlist for war.

They said the war would be safe, hardly any fighting, a good lark and over by Christmas.

They used advertising posters to encourage this idea.

An image of soldiers going "over the top"

The reality of ‘going over the top’ was very different.

How the uniform and equipment changed after just three weeks in the

trenches…

Posters always showed men ready and willing to fight.

They never showed the boredom of the trenches or actual fighting taking place.

Why do you think the government showed no fighting?

The soldiers had very little decent food, and what food they had was often attacked by rats.

These rats were the size of small rabbits and badgers because they had fed on the decomposing bodies of dead soldiers.

Modern Warfare

• Rifles- Bolt Action Rifle

• Pistols• Artillery- mounted

field guns used in trenches

• Bayonets- used by the French

• Torpedoes• Flame Throwers

• Mustard and Chlorine Gas

• Smokeless gunpowder• U-Boats• Zeppelins- blimps• Tanks- • Airplanes• Grenades• Trench Mortars

Effects of New Technology

• Offensive attacks into no-man’s land were very costly

• The British lost 20,000 men in 1 day of combat at the Battle of the Somme in 1916

• Morale plummeted• Soldiers began burning fields, killing livestock,

and poisoning wells to try to bring a quick end to the war

• German submarines attacked any ship they believed to be bringing weapons to the allies

• A British naval blockade slowly starved the German people

• There would not be a quick end to the war

American Response

• More than 1/3 of the nation’s 92 million people were first or second generation immigrants**

• A majority of Americans favored the allies because they feared Germany’s intense militarism

• On August 4, 1914, President Wilson declared the United States and neutral nation**

• However, by the summer of 1916, the “preparedness movement” led to a great number of trained soldiers and increased military funding.

German Submarine Warfare• Unterseeboot- U-Boats- could go undetected

and attack merchant ships• May 7, 1915 Lusitania is sunk- 128 Americans

killed**• Wilson urged Germany to stop using Submarine

Warfare and make reparations to the families**• March 24, 1916, Germany sank the Sussex and

the U.S. threatened to cut of diplomatic ties to Germany

• February 1, 1917, Germany violated the Sussex Pledge by resuming unrestricted submarine warfare

• Feb. 3rd, U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Germany and Wilson asked Congress for permission to arm merchant ships

Zimmerman Telegram

• British intercepted message from Germany to Mexico– “We shall endeavor to keep the United States

neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance….Make war together, make peace together, …and …Mexico is to reconquer the the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona

• Led U.S. public opinion closer to war**

The War Resolution• Germany sank 3 U.S. ships, the City of

Memphis, Illinois, and Vigilancia, between March 16th and March 18th

• March 20, Wilson’s Cabinet unanimously voted for war

• On April 2, he made his war message to Congress

• The resolution passed 82 to 6 in the Senate and 373 to 50 in the house.

• Wilson signed the resolution on April 6, 1917 and the United States entered WWI