An IntroductionAn Introduction

World War I

World War I

Vocabulary

• Militarism – a nation’s buildup and glorification of its military

• Nationalism – pride in your nation, belief that your nation is the best

• Jingoism – extreme nationalism, usually connected with one country bullying another

• Belligerents – aggressive warring nations• Propaganda – the selected use of

information to get people to support their country

• Atrocities – brutal acts against defenseless civilians

• War of attrition – war in which each side hopes to slowly wear down their opponent

• Ultimatum – where one side threatens harmful actions if the other side does not meet its demands

• Stalemate – when neither side of a conflict can dominate the opponent

• Genocide – systematic extermination of a group of people

• Armistice – agreement to stop fighting

Terms• Triple Alliance – Germany,

Austria/Hungary, and Italy before the outbreak of war

• Central Powers – Germany, Austria/Hungary, and Italy after the outbreak of war

• Triple Entente – Great Britain, France, and Russia before the outbreak of war

• Allied Powers – Great Britain, France, and Russia after the outbreak of war

• Balkan Powder Keg – the series of events and alliances that began the first World War

• U-Boat – submarine• Western front – western battle front

(between Germany and France)• Eastern front – eastern battle front

(between Germany and Russia)• Trench Warfare – style of fighting

where soldiers on both sides stand in trenches during battle

PeoplePeople• Kaiser Wilhelm II –

leader of Germany• Woodrow Wilson –

President of the United States

• Archduke Francis Ferdinand – heir to the throne of Austria/ Hungary

• Arthur Zimmerman – part of German foreign ministry, sent letter to Mexico to get them to join central powers

• Kaiser Wilhelm II – leader of Germany

• Woodrow Wilson – President of the United States

• Archduke Francis Ferdinand – heir to the throne of Austria/ Hungary

• Arthur Zimmerman – part of German foreign ministry, sent letter to Mexico to get them to join central powers

Europe in 1914• Countries

worked hard to show their power and superiority over their rivals

• Political tensions were so high that everyone assumed war would break out very soon

The Four Main Causes of WWI

• Militarism• Alliances• Imperialism• Nationalism

MilitarismMilitarism

• Countries increased the size of their militaries to protect their lands across the globe

• This turned into a competition to see which country could build the largest and strongest military

• The military build-up scared people into thinking another country might attack– Germany was competing with the Great Britain to build the

most battleships– The British feared Germany would attack their Empire, so they

built an even bigger navy than before

• Countries increased the size of their militaries to protect their lands across the globe

• This turned into a competition to see which country could build the largest and strongest military

• The military build-up scared people into thinking another country might attack– Germany was competing with the Great Britain to build the

most battleships– The British feared Germany would attack their Empire, so they

built an even bigger navy than before

Militarism (cont.)

• All countries felt a need to build a larger military to protect themselves from aggressive countries

• Leaders began worrying about an attack on the home front rather than on a colony

1880

1914• Germany 1.3m 5.0m• France 0.73m 4.0m• Russia 0.40m 1.2m

Alliances• By 1914 all the major

powers were linked by a system of alliances

• The countries agreed they would help their allies if war broke out

• Rather than prevent conflict, the alliances made it more likely that a war would start

• once war started, the alliances made it more likely to spread across the continent

ImperialismImperialism• The land grab in

Africa and Asia created huge rivalries between the European powers

• The British feared Germany would try to take their land in Africa

• The Austrians feared Russia would take Serbia in the Balkans

• The land grab in Africa and Asia created huge rivalries between the European powers

• The British feared Germany would try to take their land in Africa

• The Austrians feared Russia would take Serbia in the Balkans

British ColoniesBritain had managed to get some of the most valuable land in Africa

The most important territory was Egypt because of the Suez Canal

France also claimed Egypt as their territory

This provided a much quicker and safer route to India – the “Crown Jewel” of the British Empire

EGYPT

SUDAN

SOUTH AFRICA

BECHUANALAND

RHODESIA

NIGERIA

BRITISHEAST AFRICA

French Colonies

MADAGASCAR

FRENCH WEST AFRICA

ALGERIA

MOROCCO TUNIS

FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA

France built a large colonial empire, mostly in northwest Africa

Arguments over who controlled Morocco and Tunis caused bad feelings between Britain and France

The two countries signed the “Entente Cordiale” to solve their argument

France Got Morocco and Tunis, Britain got Egypt

German ColoniesGerman Colonies

KAMERUN

GERMANEAST AFRICA

GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA

Germany did not enter the race for colonies until the end of the land grab - most of the land they got was not very valuable

Despite this, Kaiser William II was determined that Germany should have the biggest and best European empire

Italian Colonies

LYBIA

ITALIAN SOMALILAND

ERITREA

TUNIS

ETHIOPIA

Italy did gain a few colonies but also had its failures

It tried to take over Tunis but was beaten to it by France

It tried to take over Ethiopia but failed

Belgian Colonies

Even tiny Belgium got an African colony – the Belgian Congo

This was one of the reasons that Kaiser William II of Germany decided that his country must also have colonies

BELGIANCONGO

NationalismNationalism

• People felt a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to their country

• Countries tried to show their superiority through landholdings and military strength

• Ethnic groups proudly displayed their culture and started movements to unite all members of an ethnicity under one government

• People felt a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to their country

• Countries tried to show their superiority through landholdings and military strength

• Ethnic groups proudly displayed their culture and started movements to unite all members of an ethnicity under one government

Balkan Nationalism

• Serbians became very proud of their ethnic heritage in the early 1900s

• While Serbia was already a country, many Serbians lived outside its borders

• Serbian leaders wanted to expand the country’s borders and create “Greater Serbia”

• Austria-Hungary, the empire just to the north, was afraid that if Serbia expanded its borders it would encourage ethnic groups inside Austria-Hungary to break away

• This issue caused big tension between the two countries

The Spark of War• On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis

Ferdinand visited Sarajevo, a city in Austria-Hungary with a large number of Serbians

• As the Archduke was driving through the city, someone threw a grenade at his car – it missed and exploded behind him, wounding about 20 people

• Ferdinand wanted to visit the wounded at the hospital after he gave a speech to city officials, but his driver got lost on a side street

• Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian radical, spotted the archduke and assassinated him

The July CrisisThe July Crisis• Princip was captured

and identified as a Serbian

• Austria-Hungary used this as an excuse to punish Serbia and make a slew of humiliating demands

• If Serbia did not meet every demand, Austria-Hungary promised to declare war

• Serbia received the demands and had 48 hours to comply

• Princip was captured and identified as a Serbian

• Austria-Hungary used this as an excuse to punish Serbia and make a slew of humiliating demands

• If Serbia did not meet every demand, Austria-Hungary promised to declare war

• Serbia received the demands and had 48 hours to comply

War Breaks Out• Serbia decided not to

meet all of the demands, so Austria-Hungary declared war

• Russia, Serbia’s ally, promised to help fight if Austria-Hungary attacked

• Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, saw Russia’s actions as a threat and declared war on Russia

• Since France was allied with Russia, Germany declared war on France

The Schlieffen Plan• Germany’s military plan to

defeat France and Russia• Singe Germany was in the

middle of Europe it would have to fight the war on both its eastern and western borders

• It decided to deliver a “knock out blow” to France first.

• Avoid French defenses by conquering and cutting through Belgium, a neutral country

• Germans thought Great Britain would not intervene

Great Britain’s Reaction

Great Britain’s Reaction• GB had signed a treaty

to protect Belgium.• Britain also scared of

Germany controlling the English Channel

• Britain was also afraid that Germany would attack them next

• GB issued an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw troops from Belgium

• When Germany refused, GB declared war

• GB had signed a treaty to protect Belgium.

• Britain also scared of Germany controlling the English Channel

• Britain was also afraid that Germany would attack them next

• GB issued an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw troops from Belgium

• When Germany refused, GB declared war

The Great War

• Name given to WWI• Germany and Austria-Hungary made up the Central Powers• England, France, and Russia made up the Allied Powers• During the first year of fighting both sides suffered huge

losses • The Allies used the two-front war to prevent the Germans

from launching a full attack on a single country• The Germans dug trenches and waited for the Allies to fight

back against the Allies• The Allies then dug their own trenches and both sides

became deadlocked on the Western Front