World War I
1914-1918
Objective
To understand the causes of World War I
To understand the nature of World War I
To understand how World War I ended
To understand the consequences of World
War I
The Alliance System
After unifying Germany in 1871, Bismarck saw
that Germany was vulnerable
– Trapped between France and Russia in a two-front
war
– Formed alliances to prevent Germany from becoming
isolated
• Three Emperor’s League with Austria and Russia in
1873
• Dual Alliance with Austria in 1879
• Triple Alliance with Austria and Italy in 1882
All major European powers enter into an
arms race
The Alliance System
To assure Britain, Bismarck did not build a
large navy
In 1888 Kaiser Wilhelm I died, grandson
Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser
– Queen Victoria’s grandson
– Wanted Germany to be a Great Power like
Britain with large navy and colonial empire
– Fired Bismarck in 1890
The Alliance System
Germany refuses to renew alliance with Russia
– Russia allies with France in 1894
• France invests in Russian industrialization
Kaiser Wilhelm II orders construction of large
navy
– British get worried
• Germany industrializing at faster rate since 1871
– Britain and Germany in naval arms race
• Each country builds more battleships
– Germany meddles in British colonial affairs
• Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902)
The Alliance System
Britain spent 19th century in ―splendid isolation‖
– No alliances—no reason for them at the time
– Rise of Germany changes attitudes
Britain and France sign Entente Cordiale in 1904
– Not quite an alliance but settles colonial disputes
– Moroccan Crises (1905, 1911)
• France tries to take over Morocco but Germany interferes
• British intervention prevents war
– Britain and Russia enter into same agreement in 1907
Britain signs alliance with Japan in 1902
The Balkans
The Eastern Question
– What happens after the Ottoman Empire falls
apart?
– Between 1878 and 1913, Ottoman Empire
loses all of its territories in the Balkans
• Austria takes Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1878
• Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro
gain independence
• Russia tries to gain influence in the Balkans in
1878 but stopped at the Congress of Berlin
The Balkans
The Balkan Wars (1911, 1913)
– Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Bulgaria
attack the Ottoman Empire
• To gain more territory
– Serbia becomes a threat to Austria
• Serbia wants to extend into Austrian territory
• Serbia allied with Russia in secret alliance
World War I
Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated
in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914
– Heir to the Austrian throne
– Assassins part of Serbian terrorist group, the
Black Hand
– Germany gives ―Blank Check‖ to Austria
• To act against Serbia
World War I
The July Crisis
– Austria issues ultimatum to Serbia on
July 24, 1914
• A list of 15 demands for Serbia in dealing with
assassins
• Serbia agrees to all but one; Austria planned it that
way
• Russia threatens Austria not to attack Serbia
• Germany threatens Russia not to attack Austria
World War I
The July Crisis
– Austria declares war on Serbia on July 28,
1914
• Russia and Austria mobilize
• Germany threatens Russia not to mobilize
– Germany declares war on Russia on August 1,
1914
– Germany declares war on France on August 3,
1914
World War I
The July Crisis
– Britain had been staying neutral
• Britain tries to mediate between Austria and Russia
throughout crisis
– But no one is listening
• Germany plans to go through Belgium to attack France
– Part of Schlieffen Plan
• Britain threatens Germany not to march through Belgium
– Britain declares war on Germany on August 4, 1914
World War I begins
World War I
The Central Powers
– Germany, Austria, the Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman Empire enters alliance with Germany in
October 1914
The Triple Entente (Allies)
– Britain, France, Russia
• Italy joins Triple Entente in 1915 in secret alliance
World War I
The Western Front
– Germany invades Belgium on August 3, 1914
– Belgium puts up more resistance than
expected
• Buys time for the British to move into France
– British and French stop Germans outside Paris
• Stalemate develops
• Beginning of trench warfare
– Lasts for 3 years
World War I
The Eastern Front
– Germany invades Russia in 1914
• Russian army no match for Germany
• Germany takes Poland, the Baltic coast, and
western Russia
– The war becomes unpopular in Russia
• Low morale in the army and shortage of supplies in
the cities
World War I
War expands outside Europe
– Africa
• British take German colonies
– Asia
• Japan takes German colonies in the Pacific and German
interests in China
– Middle East
• British try to invade Ottoman Empire in Gallipoli campaign
in 1915
• British and French take Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia
World War I
New weapons introduced
– Tanks, airplanes, submarines, machine guns
– But war fought with old tactics
Total war
– Entire economy devoted to the war effort
– More women work in factories to make up for men
going to war
– Mass media allows effective use of war propaganda
World War I
Russia gets out of the war
– War going disastrously
– Czar Nicholas II unable to provide leadership
– Czar Nicholas II overthrown in February Revolution
(1917)
– Provisional government replaces monarchy
• But continues fighting
– Bolsheviks under Lenin gain control in October
Revolution (November 1917)
• Promise ―Peace, Land, and Bread‖
• Sign Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March 1918
World War I
The United States neutral for most of the
war
Submarine warfare
– German submarines target British shipping
– Sometimes neutral ships sunk
• Lusitania sunk in 1915
– US makes Germany promise to restrict
submarine warfare
World War I
The US declares war on Germany in 1917
– Germany resumes unrestricted submarine
warfare in 1917
– President Woodrow Wilson wants US to
―make the world safe for democracy‖
US tips the balance on the side of the
Allies
– American troops, money, and supplies give
advantage to the Allies
World War I
Losses in the war lead to revolution in Germany
– Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates on November 9, 1918
– Monarchy replaced by a republic
– Germany calls for an armistice on November 11, 1918
World War I comes to an end
– Estimated 10,000,000 deaths from the war
– Most destructive war in history
– Destroys European assumptions of progress
The Treaty of Versailles
Representatives from Allied nations and
Germany meet in Paris
– Wilson represents the United States and tries
to make peace
– The Fourteen Points
• National self-determination
• Open agreements
• League of Nations
The Treaty of Versailles
Britain and France don’t buy Wilson’s Fourteen
Points
– They want revenge on Germany
Britain and France make a harsh peace with
Germany
– Germany takes full responsibility for the war
– Stripped all of its colonies
– Occupy part of German territory
– Impose heavy reparations
– Germans feel angry and cheated
The Treaty of Versailles
End of World War I redraws the map of
Europe
– Austria-Hungary dismembered into new states
– Ottoman Empire dissolved
• New republic in Turkey
• Middle East divided between Britain and France
– Poland reappears as a republic
– Yugoslavia comes into existence
The League of Nations
Wilson compromises on Fourteen Points to
get support for the League of Nations
Treaty of Versailles had to be ratified by
the US
– US Senate refuses to ratify the Treaty of
Versailles in 1919
– US does not join the League of Nations
– League of Nations has no credibility
Impact of War
10,000,000 dead. 20,000,000+ wounded
$330 Billion
European economy in shambles
–Euro govs in debt w/ no way to repay—esp to
the USA
•Psychologically scarring
•20th century was to be a century of prosperity
and progress shakes belief in humanity,
order and reason
•Not the ―war to end all wars.‖
Conclusion
Between 1870 and 1914 European powers
enter into alliances
Arms race makes Europe highly unstable
A series of decisions led Europe into
World War I
Allies impose a harsh peace on Germany
World War I the most destructive war in
history