The Worldat War

The Worldat War

World War I 1914-1918World War I 1914-1918

“…a place so terrible that a raving lunatic could never have imagined it…” Unknown

““The The War to War to End All End All Wars”Wars”

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Causesof theWar

Causesof theWar

The Great War

• Nationalism spurs competition among European nations.

• Imperialism deepens national rivalries. Haves and Have nots.

• Militarism leads to large standing armies. Arms race in Europe.

• The alliance system divides Europe into two rival camps.

Long-Term CausesLong-Term Causes

• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 prompts Austria to declare war on Serbia.

• The alliance system requires nations to support their allies. European countries declare war on one another.

Immediate CausesImmediate Causes

WORLD WAR I

1. The Alliance System1. The Alliance System

Triple EntenteTriple Entente: : 19071907

Triple EntenteTriple Entente: : 19071907

Triple AllianceTriple Alliance: : 18791879

Triple AllianceTriple Alliance: : 18791879

Pre WW I

Russia

France

Great Britain Germany

Austria-Hungary

Italy

Europe chooses up sides

The Alliance System in 1914

Allies (Triple Entente*)Great Britain*France*Russia*Italy (changed sides from Triple Alliance)United States (entered the war in 1917)

Central Powers (Triple Alliance*)Germany*Austria Hungary*Ottoman Empire

Two Armed Camps!Two Armed Camps!Allied PowersAllied Powers::Allied PowersAllied Powers:: Central PowersCentral Powers::Central PowersCentral Powers::

1914

Ottoman Empire

Italy joins the Allies 9 months after war begins

Differing ViewpointsDiffering Viewpoints

“ “Family Feud”Family Feud”

“ “The Great War”The Great War”

“ “The War to End All Wars”The War to End All Wars”

“ “The War to ‘Make theThe War to ‘Make the World Safe for Democracy’” World Safe for Democracy’”

The Major Players: 1914-17The Major Players: 1914-17

Nicholas II Nicholas II [Rus][Rus]

Nicholas II Nicholas II [Rus][Rus]

George V [Br]George V [Br]George V [Br]George V [Br]

Pres. Poincare [Fr]Pres. Poincare [Fr]Pres. Poincare [Fr]Pres. Poincare [Fr]

Allied PowersAllied Powers::Allied PowersAllied Powers::

Franz Josef [A-H]Franz Josef [A-H]Franz Josef [A-H]Franz Josef [A-H]

Wilhelm II [Ger]Wilhelm II [Ger]Wilhelm II [Ger]Wilhelm II [Ger]

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II [It][It]

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II [It][It]

Central PowersCentral Powers::Central PowersCentral Powers::

Enver PashaEnver Pasha[Turkey][Turkey]

Enver PashaEnver Pasha[Turkey][Turkey]

Europe in 1914Europe in 1914

2. Militarism & Arms Race2. Militarism & Arms Race

1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1914

94 130 154 268 289 398

Total Defense Expenditures for the Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers [Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br., Great Powers [Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br.,

Rus.] Rus.] in millions of £s.in millions of £s.

1910-1914 Increase in Defense

Expenditures

France 10%

Britain 13%

Russia 39%

Germany

73%

3. Economic & Imperial Rivalries3. Economic & Imperial Rivalries

4. Aggressive Nationalism4. Aggressive Nationalism

Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914

Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914

The“Powder

Keg”of Europe

The“Powder

Keg”of Europe

Right of “Self-determination”

United States

U.S. was carrying an attitude of neutrality

Washington’s Farewell Address No entangling alliances More worried about their own

Hemisphere

The

“Spark”

The

“Spark”

The Assassination: SarajevoThe Assassination: Sarajevo

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Family

June 28, 1914

The Assassin: The Assassin:

GavriloPrincipGavriloPrincip

Black Hand Society

Who’s To Blame?Who’s To Blame?

July, 28, 1914 – Austria declares war on Serbia

World War I Begins

July 28, 1914

•The U.S. Declares Neutrality the same day, war is declared in Europe

•Wilson asked all Americans to remain neutral,“The [United States] must be impartial in thought as well as in action”

•Americans could not resist taking sides because many Americans could trace their heritage to Europe

*Britain - heritage & ancestry *France - because of their help in Revolutionary War

World War I Begins – U.S. ReactionWorld War I Begins – U.S. Reaction

Soldiers Mobilized

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

France Germany Russia Britain

Mil

lio

ns

•Home by Home by Christmas!Christmas!•No major war No major war in 50 years! in 50 years!•Nationalism!Nationalism!

In 1914, Germany believed war with Russia was extremely likely.  If war broke out, Germany assumed France would also attack as she was both an ally of Russia and keen for revenge for her defeat in the Franco-Prussian war.If this happened, Germany would face a war on two fronts.  Germany wanted to avoid this at all costs. Germany planned to defeat France rapidly and then turn to the eastern front for a major offensive on Russia.  This was the basis for the Schlieffen Plan.

The Schlieffen Plan

•On 2nd August 1914, the German army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium according to the Schlieffen Plan.•The Germans were held up by the Belgium army, backed up by the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) which arrived extremely quickly.•Russia mobilized in just 10 days and Germany was forced to withdraw troops from the Schlieffen Plan to defend her eastern border.•Germany did not take the chance to take Paris, instead decided to attack east of the capital.  They were met by French at the Battle of the Marne (5-11 Sept, First Battle of the Marne) which halted the German advance.

Reality of the Schlieffen Plan

Why was the First Battle of the Marne such an important victory at the beginning of WW I?

The Allies prevented the Germany army from capturing Paris. Both sides dug in! Static warfare. Trenches were dug for protection. It was the beginning of trench warfare on the Western Front.

The Western Front

To avoid losing the territory already gained in France, the Germans began digging trenches. The British and French unable to break through the line of trenches, began to dig their own trenches. Throughout the entire war, neither side gained more than a few miles of ground along what became known as the Western Front.

The Eastern Front

The line of fighting on the Eastern side of Europe between Russia and Germany and Austria-Hungary is known as the Eastern Front.Fighting began on the Eastern front when Russia invaded East Prussia on 17th August 1914. Germany immediately launched a counter-offensive and pushed Russia back. This pattern of attack and counter-attack continued for the first two years of the war and meant that the Eastern Front changed position as land was captured and lost by both sides.By 1917, the Russian people were fed up and demoralized by the huge number of Russian losses. The government and monarchy were overthrown and the new Bolshevik government signed the treaty of Brest Litovsk which took the Russians out of the war.

The Western Front:

A “War of

Attrition”

The Western Front:

A “War of

Attrition”

What is meant by “War of Attrition”?During the next three years the Allies hurled eleven full-scale offensives against the Western Front. All of them were part of one basic strategic idea, to break through and win the war quickly. Few WW I commanders, enemy or allied, yet understood the nature of the war they fought. Although the great advantage of trench warfare lay with the defense, they faithfully adhered to outdated army traditions and relied on massive, head-on infantry assaults.

A ghastly pattern soon developed. As attacking troops advanced over the shell-torn ground and tangled barbed wire of "No Man's Land" they were cut down by enemy machine-gun fire in the first advance, falling in tragic, ordered ranks. When the planned breakthrough did not come the uniform pace of the advance broke down, and the attack deteriorated into costly local battles which dragged on for weeks and even months. The casualty lists rose steadily into the millions proving again and again the futility of attacking on the Western Front Yet Allied commanders seemed convinced that success was merely a matter of persistence - more men, more guns, more ammunition.  When one great attack failed another was planned and undertaken, and the conflict became a "war of attrition" - a grinding struggle to see which side could hold out longer against death and destruction.

Trench Warfare:

New weapons used seemed to be made more for defense; so trenches were made for the soldiers protection.

There are two sides. Middle = No Man’s

Land.

What caused trench warfare?What were it effects?

Trench WarfareTrench Warfare

In The Trenches

“No Man’s Land”

Area between the opposing trenches

“Over the Top”

Command given to come out of the trenches and attackacross no man’s land.

Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench foot. This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war. For example, during the winter of 1914-15 over 20,000 men in the British Army were treated for trench foot.

The only remedy for trench foot was for the soldiers to dry their feet and change their socks several times a day. By the end of 1915 British soldiers in the trenches had to have three pairs of socks with them and were under orders to change their socks at least twice a day. As well as drying their feet, soldiers were told to cover their feet with a grease made from whale-oil. It has been estimated that a battalion at the front would use ten gallons of whale-oil every day.

 

Rat Infestation Rats in their millions infested trenches. There were two main types, the brown and the black rat. Both were despised but the brown rat was especially feared. Gorging themselves on human remains (grotesquely disfiguring them by eating their eyes and liver) they could grow to thesize of a cat. Men, exasperated and afraid of these rats (which would even scamper across their faces in the dark), would attempt to rid the trenches of them by various methods: gunfire, with the bayonet, and even by clubbing them to death. It was futile however: a single rat couple could produceup to 900 offspring in a year, spreading infection andcontaminating food. The rat problem remained for the duration of the war (although many veteran soldiers swore that rats sensed impending heavy enemy shellfire and consequently disappeared from view).

TRENCH RATS

Rats were by no means the only source of infection and nuisance. Lice were a never-ending problem, breeding in the seams of filthy clothing and causing men to itch unceasingly.Even when clothing was periodically washed and deloused, lice eggs invariably remained hidden in the seams; within a few hours of the clothes being re-worn the body heat generated would cause the eggs to hatch.Lice caused Trench Fever, a particularly painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery - away from the trenches - took up to twelve weeks. Lice were not actually identified as the culprit of Trench Fever until 1918.Frogs by the score were found in shell holes covered in water; they were also found in the base of trenches. Slugs and horned beetles crowded the sides of the trench.Many men chose to shave their heads entirely to avoid another prevalent scourge: nits.

Frogs, Lice and Worse

…And the Smell

•Finally, no overview of trench life can avoid the aspect that instantly struck visitors to the lines: the appalling reek given off by numerous conflicting sources.•Rotting carcases lay around in their thousands. For example, approximately 200,000 men were killed on the Somme battlefields, many of which lay in shallow graves.•Overflowing latrines would similarly give off a most offensive stench.•Men who had not been afforded the luxury of a bath in weeks or months would offer the pervading odour of dried sweat. The feet were generally accepted to give off the worst odor. Trenches would also smell of creosol or chloride of lime, used to stave off the constant threat of disease and infection.•Add to this the smell of cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke and cooking

food... yet men grew used to it, while it thoroughly overcame first-time visitors to the front.

Verdun – February, 1916Verdun – February, 1916

e German offensive.

e Each side had 500,000 casualties.

e German offensive.

e Each side had 500,000 casualties.

The Somme – July, 1916The Somme – July, 1916

e 60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.

e Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.

e 60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.

e Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.

What did these two battles prove to the world?

The war would be long Very costly in human life

War Is HELL!!War Is HELL!!

Sacrifices in WarSacrifices in War

World War I

NewTechnology

World War I

NewTechnology

Machine Gun

Maxim Gun

French Renault TankFrench Renault Tank

British Tank at YpresBritish Tank at Ypres

Krupp’s “Big Bertha” GunKrupp’s “Big Bertha” Gun

U-BoatsU-Boats

Allied Ships Sunk by U-BoatsAllied Ships Sunk by U-Boats

Sept 1916 to April 1917

Allied Ships Sunk by German U-boats

May 1917 to Jan 1918

The ZeppelinThe Zeppelin

Sopwith CamelSopwith Camel

“Looking for the “Red Baron?”

FlameThrowers

FlameThrowers

GrenadeLaunchersGrenade

Launchers

Chemical Warfare

Mustard Gas

America

JoinstheWar

America

JoinstheWar

The Sinking of the Lusitania

The Sinking of the Lusitania

Changed America’s attitude about the war

Sussex Pledge

•1916 Germany agrees not to sink any non-military shipson the seas.

•Forced on Germany by the U.S. If not agreed to – Confrontation with the U.S.

•1917 Germany resorts back to unrestricted submarine warfare.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

Open season on any ship sailing the seas

The Zimmerman Telegram

The Zimmerman Telegram

•Death Knell, Straw that broke the camel’s back•Restart unrestricted submarine warfare•Promise of ”general financial support”•Mexico would regain territory•British presented to Wilson on Feb. 25, 1917•Mar. 1: published in newspapers“There is no question about going to war. Germany is already at war with us.” former Pres. T. Roosevelt

The YanksAre Coming!The Yanks

Are Coming!

U.S. Mobilization U.S. Mobilization

American Troops in Europe

Fresh U.S. troops bolstered the broken down Allied forces

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

General John “Black Jack” Pershing

Not well-trained, inexperienced

1918 Flu Pandemic: Depletes All Armies1918 Flu Pandemic: Depletes All Armies

50,000,000 – 50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died100,000,000 died

50,000,000 – 50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died100,000,000 died

End of the WW IEnd of the WW I

The End of WWI Spring/Fall 1918 - American

troops helped in decisive battles– Battle of the Argonne Forest Sept –Nov 1918

1 million troops battled Germans over 200-mile front in France

Germans overthrow Kaiser Wilhelm

11-11-11 (Armistice) 10 million soldiers killed 20 million soldiers wounded U.S. - 300,000 casualties U.S. - 116,000 killed

11 a.m., November 11, 191811 a.m., November 11, 1918

The Armistice is Signed!

9,000,0009,000,000 DeadDead9,000,0009,000,000 DeadDead

The Somme American Cemetery, France

The Somme American Cemetery, France

116,516 Americans Died116,516 Americans Died116,516 Americans Died116,516 Americans Died

World War I CasualtiesWorld War I Casualties

01,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,0006,000,0007,000,0008,000,0009,000,000

10,000,000RussiaGermanyAustria-HungaryFranceGreat BritainItalyTurkeyUS

Paris Peace Conference

Great Britain, America and France were the

three most powerful Allies and they wanted to

exert their influence upon the Treaty of Versailles.

Yet they wanted different things.

Lloyd George (UK)

•Germany to be justly punished, but not too harshly

•Germany to lose its navy and colonies as these were a threat to Britain's own navy

and empire

•Germany and Britain to become trading partners

BUT Overall, Lloyd George did not want to punish Germany too harshly

as he did not want Germany seeking revenge in the future

Clemenceau (France)

• to cripple Germany so it couldn't attack France again.

•Wanted Germany broken down into smaller states (weakened).

France had suffered the most during the war so Clemenceau was under

great pressure from the French people to make Germany pay.

Wilson (USA)

• a better and more peaceful world

• a League of Nations that would help and support each other and help to

promote world peace

• the right to self-determination. The right to decide which country you wish

to be governed by

The U.S.A. had joined war late (1917) and hadn't suffered as

much as the other Allies in terms of human and material costs.

“Through the doors at the end…come four officers of

France, Great Britain, America and Italy. And then,

isolated and pitiable, come the two Germans, Dr. Muller

and Dr. Bell. The silence is terrifying…They keep their

eyes fixed away from those two thousand staring eyes,

fixed on the ceiling. They are deathly pale…There is

general tension. They sign. There is general relaxation…

We kept our seats while the Germans were conducted

like prisoners from the dock.”

(Harold Nicolson, Peacemaking, 1919.)

After reading this source, how do you think the Germans felt at the end of World War One?

Peace

Germany had to accept total responsibility for starting the First World War.

this was called the War Guilt Clause or Article 231.

Germany had to pay £6,600 million in reparations to cover war damages and other Allied losses.

These were called reparations.

•Germany had to hand over some 70,000 square kilometres of land.

•This accounted for about 13% of all of her land and six million of her people who lived there.

•Germany was to have her colonies taken away from her. These colonies were to become mandates run by the Allies on behalf of the League of Nations.

•The German army was to have no more than 100,000 men and the navy was limited to 15,000 sailors.•There was to be no airforce and no submarines.

The Treaty seemed to satisfy the "Big Three" overall.

• It made sure that Germany was too weak to start another European War, yet strong enough to help

stop the spread of Communism.

• It kept the French border with Germany safe from future German attacks.

• It created the League of Nations. This would help promote peace and trade throughout the world.

Face of Europe ChangesBefore the War

After the War

Posters:

WartimePropagand

a

Posters:

WartimePropagand

a

Financing the WarFinancing the War

Australian PosterAustralian Poster

American PosterAmerican Poster

Red Cross NursesRed Cross Nurses

Financing the WarFinancing the War

German PosterGerman Poster

Think of Your Children!Think of Your Children!

The War at Home

The War at Home

Total War

The governments took control of their economies in Europe. This meant:

1. Factories were told what to produce and how much

2. Many facilities were converted to munitions storage

3. All able-bodied civilians were put to work.

4. Unemployment basically disappeared

Rationing

Rationing was in response to an effective German U-boat campaign.

Since many European countries were importing food (ships were carrying food from the U.S. and Canada), and Germans were trying to sink those boats before DORA was passed. DORA was the Defense of Realm Act to protect against food shortages. – Great Britain