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