World War I

Inevitability of war

• Black Hand (Assassins hired by Serbian gov’t)

• June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria assassinated

• July 5, 1914 Germany issues A-H “blank check” – pledging military

assistance if A-H goes to war against Russia

• July 23, 1914 Austria issues Serbia an ultimatum

The inevitability of war

• July 28, 1914 A-H declares war on Serbia

• July 29, 1914 Russia orders full mobilization of its troops

• August 1,1914 Germany declares war on Russia

• August 2, 1914 Germany demands Belgium declare access to German troops

“Belgium is a country, not a road”

• King Albert I of Belgium denied permission

• August 2, 1914 Germany declared war on France– Why??? – The Schlieffen Plan!

• August 4, 1914 Great Britain declared war on Germany for violating Belgian neutrality

The Schlieffen Plan’s Destructive Nature

The Schlieffen Plan

• Invade western front 1st; quickly defeat French

• After defeating France concentrate on the Eastern front

• Avoid fighting a 2 front war

The Schlieffen Plan’s Destructive Nature

• Germany made vast encircling movement through Belgium to enter Paris

• Underestimated speed of the British mobilization– Quickly sent troops to

France

The Schlieffen Plan’s Destructive Nature

• Sept 6-10, 1914– Battle of Marne– Stopped the Germans

but French troops were exhausted

– Both sides dug trenches for shelter

STALEMATE

War of Attrition: Waiting out enemy until they give up [stop supplies!]

1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate

• Many Europeans were excited about war– “Defend yourself

against the aggressors”

– Domestic differences were put aside

– Parties and celebrations were held at the start.

1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate

• War would be over in a few weeks– Ignored the length and

brutality of the American Civil War

(prototype to World War I)

1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate

• Belief that Modern industrial war could not be conducted for more than a few months

• “Home by Christmas”

1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate

• “Fatal attraction of war”– Exhilarating release

from every day life– A glorious adventure– War would rid the

nations of selfishness– Spark a national re-

birth based on heroism

The Trenches

• Trenches dug from English Channel to Switzerland

• 6,250 miles• 6 to 8 feet deep• Immobilized both

sides for 4 years

The Trenches

Life in the Trenches

• Elaborate systems of defense– barbed wire– Concrete machine gun

nests– Mortar batteries– Troops lived in holes

underground

Life in the Trenches

• Boredom– Soldiers read to pass the

time– Sarah Bernhardt came out

to the front to read poetry to the soldiers

“Death is everywhere”

• “We all had on us the stench of dead bodies.” Death numbed the soldier’s minds.

• Shell shock• Psychological devastation

“Death is everywhere”

• Mustard gas– Carried by the wind– Burned out soldier’s lungs– Deadly in the trenches

where it would sit at the bottom

Trench Warfare – type of fighting during World War I in which both sides dug trenches protected by mines and barbed wire

Trench Warfare

Cross-section of a front-line trench 

Trench Rats

"The rats were huge. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn't defend himself."

"I saw some rats running from under the dead men's greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat."

Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell. These corpses, as well as the food scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats.

Quotes from soldiers fighting in the trenches:

Officers walking through a flooded communication trench.

A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot.

Life in the Trenches

• Trench warfare baffled military leaders– Attempt to breakthrough– Then return to a war of

movement– Millions of young men

sacrificed attempting the breakthrough

Battle of Verdun

• Germany wanted to inflict heavy losses and capture Verdun

• 10 months• ~700,000 men killed• Extremely costly

and deadly. Almost 1 million injured.

Battle of Verdun

• French lost some ground but not very much.

• Germany lost 336K• France lost 362K

The changes of war

• New weapons crippled the “frozen front”– Poison gas (mustard gas)– Hand grenades– Flame throwers– Tanks– Airplanes– Subs

The changes of war

• Airplanes– Dog fights in the air– Bombing inaccurate– Romanticized the

battlefields– Paris and London

bombed– Pilots fired pistols and

threw hand grenades

The Eastern Front

• Russian army moved into Eastern Germany on August 30, 1914– Defeated

• The Austrians kicked out of Serbia

• Italians attacked Austria in 1915

• G. came to Austrian aid and pushed Russians back 300 miles into own territory

The Eastern Front

• Much more mobile more than the West– But loss of life still very

high– 1915: 2.5 million

Russians killed, captured, or wounded

The Eastern Front

• Germany and Austria Hungary joined by Bulgaria in Sept. 1915– Attacked and

eliminated Serbia from war

The Home Front

• Women took war factory jobs

• Support by females back home vital to the war effort (supplies, medicine, ammo)

• Received lower wages than males

• Food shortages made running a household difficult

The Home Front

• Censorship – Not told about high

death toll– Romanticized the

battlefields

“soldiers have died a beautiful death, in noble battle, we shall rediscover poetry…epic and chivalrous”

The Home Front

• Censorship “Newspapers described

troops as itching to go over the top.”

“Government reported to the press that life in the trenches promoted good health and clear air”

1917 – Selective 1917 – Selective Service ActService Act

1917 – Selective 1917 – Selective Service ActService Act

24,000,000 men registered for the draft by the end of 1918.

4,800,000 men served in WW1 (2,000,000 saw active combat).

400,000 African-Americansserved in segregated units.

15,000 Native-Americans served as scouts, messengers, and snipers in non-segregated units.

The Home Front

• “On Leave”

Troops would stay together so they could sympathize with each other

The Home Front

• Impossible to hide death– Women in

mourning– Badly wounded

soldiers returned home

– Opposition began to emerge

The war winds down…

• U.S. joins the war on the Allied side1915 - Sinking of Lusitania

1915 - Unrestrained sub-warfare by Germany

1917 – Zimmerman Note (next last slide)

U.S. wouldn’t get paid back if France/Britain lose

•1917 – Russia surrenders (a separate peace)– Russia was experiencing the Russian Revolution (Bolshevik

Revolution)– Ultimately leads to a civil war (1918-1923) between Bolsheviks (“Red

Army”) and those opposing the revolution (“White Army” mostly Monarchists).

– In 1922, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed (USSR); Also called The Soviet Union

• We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace."

Signed, ZIMMERMANN

The war ends

• 1917 – Russia surrenders (a separate peace)

• U.S. joins the war on the Allied side

• Nov. 11, 1918 Armistice Day!!!

• Treaty of Versailles: Treaty that ended WWI

Treaty of Versailles: Cause of WW2; angers Germany, Italy, Russia

Germany must accept responsibility and forced to pay large amounts of money (~$32bil)

Weakened Germany– Military size limited– Returned conquered land to France– Formation of Poland– Global colonies given up to the Allies

Germany’s Reaction– Outraged, but forced to sign the treaty– Economy was destroyed– Bitterness would affect politics for the next several years

• Russia and Italy receive little for their efforts: leaving Italy angry and Russia felt shortchanged for all of their sacrifices

The Aftermath

League of Nations– Organization of world governments proposed by President Wilson– Established by the Treaty of Versailles– Main goal was to encourage cooperation and keep peace– Germany was excluded– United States did not join

Ultimately weakened the League of Nations.

Changes in Europe– Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire lands were broken up– Independent nations were created

Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Turkey

Other treaties signed with the defeated Central Powers

Death Toll of WarThe most accepted figure for deaths caused by the war = 20,000,000

(20 million)

Allied Powers Central Powers

42 million served 23 million served

22 million casualties

(includes injured, civilian & military)

15 million casualties

(includes injured, civilian & military)

Around 55 die/hour for 50 months20,000 Dead at Battle of Somme in 1 day

Germany 1,935,000

Russia 1,700,000

France 1,368,000

Austria-Hungary 1,200,000

British Empire 942,135

Ottoman Empire 725,000

Italy 680,000

Romania 300,000

United States 116,516

Bulgaria 87,495

Belgium 45,550

Serbia 45,000

Greece 23,098

Portugal 8,145

Montenegro 3,000

Japan 1,344

Military Casualties in World War I: 1914-1918

Political Impacts

• Espionage ActEspionage Act– 1917 - forbade actions that obstructed recruitment or efforts to promote insubordination in the military. - ordered the Postmaster General to remove Leftist materials from the mail. - fines of up to $10,000 and/or up to 20 years in prison.

• Sedition Act Sedition Act – 1918-Makes it a crime to speak out against the gov’t during times of war.

-See Schenk vs US: US may restrict free speech during times of war

- it was a crime to speak against the purchase of war bonds or willfully utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about this form of US Govt., the US Constitution, or the US armed forces or to willfully urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production of things necessary or essential to the prosecution of the war…with intent of such curtailment to cripple or hinder, the US in the prosecution of the war.

Social Impact• Men lost limbs and were mutilated

• Birthrate fell markedly

• Injured unable to work

• Ethnic hostility

• Influenza epidemic (killed around 50million)– Dropped the U.S. life expectancy by 12 years (in 1 year)

– Effected young adults (usually great immune system)

• Poverty and massive rebuilding needed throughout Europe (helps the States!)

Psychological impact

• “Never such innocence again”

• Bitterness towards aristocratic officers whose lives were never in danger

• Existentialist movement: Life’s meaning?

• Extraordinary melancholy throughout much of Europe (France, Russia, Armenia)

President Wilson’s 14 point Plan

• End Secret Treaties

• Right to Freedom of the Seas

• Reduce weapon production

• Change boundaries for self-determination

• League of Nations to prevent future wars

• Colonies shall be placed under control of League of Nations

Internationalism: We can solve our disputes through international groups, not war.

• Woodrow Wilson attempts to start the League of Nations (international body to prevent war)

• Anti-colonialism: Colonizing foreign lands and stripping natives of autonomy is a mistake

• Treaty of Versailles: Treaty that vastly favors Allied powers and places extraordinary debt on Germany [some claim this is what leads to Hitler’s rise to power].