The Roadto

World War I

Great BritainGreat Britain

FranceFrance

RussiaRussia

GermanyGermany

Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary

Causes ofWorld War I

19141914 Size of military in peacetime

Size of military in August 1914

Total Population

Russia 1,423,000 4,400,000 174,000,000

Germany 870,000 1,750,000 68,000,000

Austria-Hungary

350,000 1,200,000 51,000,000

Britain 245,000 733,000 45,000,000

France 700,000 1,100,000 40,000,000

In all of the Great powers, military spending increased greatly in the years prior to the war. All except Britain had conscription (draft). France had the highest proportion of its population in the army.

I. I. Militarism & Arms RaceMilitarism & Arms RaceI. I. Militarism & Arms RaceMilitarism & Arms Race

1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1914

141 195 231 402 433 597

1890-1913 Increase in

Military Spending

Russia 19%

Germany 158%

Austria-Hungary 160%

Britain 117%

France 92%

Total Defense Expenditures for the Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers in millions of dollars.Great Powers in millions of dollars.

New Military TechnologyNew Military TechnologyNew Military TechnologyNew Military Technology

The AirplaneThe Airplane

U-BoatsU-Boats

Tank

Colonial rivalry had led to a naval arms race between Britain and Germany. This had seriously worsened relations between both countries. The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 made matters worse. This ship was fast, heavily armoured with powerful guns and it made all previous battleships obsolete.

The Dreadnaught

The ZeppelinThe Zeppelin

FlameThrowers

FlameThrowers

GrenadeLaunchersGrenade

Launchers

Poison Gas

Poison Gas

Machine Gun

Machine Gun

German Military Planning:• Germany was convinced that war with the Triple Entente was inevitable.• It devised the Schlieffen Plan.• The Schlieffen Plan was a strategy for a two front-war that called for a military thrust westward toward Paris, France at the first sign of Russian mobilization in the east. The hope was to knock the French out of the war before the Russians could attack.

The Schlieffen PlanThe Schlieffen Plan

II. The Alliance SystemII. The Alliance System

Triple Entente (1907)Triple Entente (1907)::Triple Entente (1907)Triple Entente (1907):: TripleTriple Alliance (1882)Alliance (1882)::TripleTriple Alliance (1882)Alliance (1882)::

Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914

1.Three Emperors’ League (1873) Ger, A-H, Rus.

2.Dual Alliance (1879) Ger. & A-H

3.Triple Alliance (1882) Ger, A-H, It.

4.Reinsurance Treaty (1887) restore relations between Ger.

& Rus.

5.Franco-Russian Alliance (1894)

6.British-Japanese Alliance (1902)

7.The Entente Cordiale (1904) Br. & Fr.

Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914

8. First Moroccan Crisis (1905) Fr vs. Ger

9. Russo-Japanese War (1905)

10.The Anglo-Russian Convention (1907) Persia

11.Triple Entente (1907) Br, Fr, Rus

12.Ottoman government overthrown by Young Turks

13.The Bosnian Crisis of 1908 A-H vs. Serbia

14. Second Moroccan Crisis (1911) Fr vs. Ger

Europe in 1914Europe in 1914Europe in 1914Europe in 1914

Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914Tensions & Conflicts: 1873-1914

15.The First Balkan War (1912) Montenegro declares war on Turkey (Ottoman Empire),Albania declares independence, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece attack Albania.At peace conference, Albania was given independence,Serbia, Montenegro, Greece were given land that Bulgaria took during the war.

16.The Second Balkan War (1913)Bulgaria attempts to take land backDefeated by Serbia, Greece, and Romania

The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913

Changing Alliances in WWIChanging Alliances in WWI

Allied Powers (1914)Allied Powers (1914)::Allied Powers (1914)Allied Powers (1914):: Central Powers Central Powers (1914)(1914)::

Central Powers Central Powers (1914)(1914)::

(1915)(1915)::

(1915)(1915)::

III. III. Aggressive NationalismAggressive NationalismIII. III. Aggressive NationalismAggressive Nationalism

The Anglo-German Rivalry:the unification of Germany and its rise as an industrial, military, and imperial power generated a heated rivalry with Great Britain

Ethnic diversity in Austria-Hungary

The Balkans in 1914

“The Powder Keg of Europe ”

IV. Imperialism &Economic RivalriesIV. Imperialism &Economic Rivalries

ColonialColonialRivalrieRivalrie

s:s:

AfricaAfricainin

19141914

ColonialColonialRivalrieRivalrie

s:s:

AfricaAfricainin

19141914

Colonial Rivalries: Asia in Colonial Rivalries: Asia in 19141914

Colonial Rivalries: Asia in Colonial Rivalries: Asia in 19141914

V. The Assassination:V. The Assassination:Sarajevo, June 28, 1914Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne in Sarajevo, and his wife Sophie. He was shot by a Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip.

The Assassin: The Assassin:GavriloPrincipGavriloPrincip

MANIA

ilitarismlliancesationalismmperialismssassination

The Cause of World War I

WWI begins.WWI begins.

MAIN EVENTS OF THE “JULY CRISIS”   28 June Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne in

Sarajevo. He was shot by a Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. The Austrians saw the murder as a perfect pretext to crush Serbia.

5 July Kaiser William II assured Austria of Germany's support in whatever measures she took against Serbia, the so-called "Blank Cheque".

23 July Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum and she was given 48 hours to reply. The Serbs agreed to all of the Austrian demands bar one.

28 July Austria rejected the Serbian reply and declared war. The Russians ordered a partial mobilisation of their troops against Austria in defence of Serbia.

29 July The Austrians shelled Belgrade. 30 July Russia ordered general mobilisation. Crisis escalated. 31 July The Germans presented an ultimatum to Russia to halt her mobilisation

within 12 hours. She also presented one to France in which she was asked to promise to stay neutral. France ignored this and the Schlieffen plan now came into operation. This involved a concentration of German forces on an attack on France.

1 August Germany declared war on Russia. France mobilises. 2 August Germany demanded from the Belgians the right to send troops

through their country. The Belgians refused. 3 AugustGermany declared war on France and its troops entered Belgium. The British

sent an ultimatum to the Germans. 4 August Britain declared war on Germany. WORLD WAR I HAD BEGUN.

Austria-Hungary, unsatisfied with Serbia's response to her ultimatum declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. 

Russia, bound by treaty to Serbia, announced mobilization of its vast army in her defense, a slow process that would take around six weeks to complete. 

Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilization as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia on 1 August. 

  France, bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at

war against Germany and, by extension, on Austria-Hungary following a German declaration on August 3.Germany was swift in invading neutral Belgium so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route. 

Britain, allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a "moral obligation" upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on August 4.  Her reason for entering the conflict lay in another direction: she was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75 year old treaty. 

With Germany's invasion of Belgium on August 4, and the Belgian King's appeal to Britain for assistance, Britain committed herself to Belgium’s defense later that day.  Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary. 

  With Britain's entry into the war, her colonies and

dominions abroad variously offered military and financial assistance, and included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa. 

Japan, honouring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany on August 23, 1914.  Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan. 

Italy, although allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the war by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both.

In short, Italy was committed to defend Germany and Austria-Hungary only in the event of a 'defensive' war; arguing that their actions were 'offensive' she declared instead a policy of neutrality.  The following year, in May 1915, Italy finally joined the war by siding with the Allies against her two former allies.

 

United States President Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, an official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping (which was in any event almost entirely directed towards the Allies led by Britain and France) - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on April 6, 1917.