World War I “The War to End All Wars” Important People, Places, and Things

World War I Early Action June 28, 1914: Gavrilo Princip assassinates Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia July 31, 1914: As an ally of Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria- Hungary and mobilizes its army August 1, 1914: Germany, taking Russia’s mobilization as a defacto declaration of war, declares war on Russia. August 3, 1914: Germany declares war on France. August 4, 1914: Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades in a right flanking move designed to defeat France quickly. As a result of this invasion, Britain declares war on Germany. August 6, 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia

The Great War Begins By mid-August 1914, there are two sides at war throughout Europe: Triple Alliance (Central Powers): Germany Austria-Hungary later joined by Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire Triple Entente(Allies): Great Britain France Russia later joined by Japan, Italy (once a member of the Triple Alliance, but switched sides because Italians believed the war was unjustly started) United States of America (remained “neutral” until 1917)

WWI Leaders Allied Powers: France – P.M. Georges Clemenceau Great Britain – P.M. David Lloyd George Russia – Tzar Nicholas II Italy –P.M. Vittorio Orlando U.S.A.– President Woodrow Wilson

WWI Leaders Central Powers: Germany – Kaiser Wilhelm II Austria-Hungary – Emperor Franz Josef Ottoman Empire – Sultan Mehmed V Bulgaria – Tzar Ferdinand I

Battle of the Marne The Battle of the Marne was fought between September 5-10 th, 1914 After the battle the French had around 250,000 casualties and the British Expeditionary Forces with around 13,000. Although the Germans never published the figures, it is believed that German losses were similar to those of France. The most important consequence of the Battle of the Marne was that the French and British forces were able to prevent the German plan for a swift and decisive victory. However, the German Army was not beaten and its successful retreat ended all hope of a short war. The war was then turned into a long and bloody stalemate along the battlefields of France. This region in northern France became known as the Western Front.

New technologies Machine Gun : The British Vickers machine gun required a six man team to operate. One to fire, one to feed the ammunition, and the rest to help carry the weapon and supplies.

New Technologies Tanks : the British Mark 1 tank on September 26, 1916

New Technologies Poison Gas : Australian troops in trenches with gas masks Mustard Gas burns

New Technologies Submarines : German U-Boat

New Technologies Airplanes : used for the first time in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat The most famous pilot of the war was the German pilot Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, known as the “Red Baron”

War in the Trenches Technology was superior to tactics Battles result in many deaths and very small land gains. Life in trenches is miserable, difficult, unsanitary. New weapons only lead to more deaths. The slaughter reached a peak in February 1916: Battle of Verdun—Each side lost more than 300,000. July-November 1916: The Somme—Each side suffered more than 500,000 casualties. Only 5 miles were gained in each of these battles.

Major Events Up until 1917, the United States remained “neutral” in the war, only providing war materials to nations on both sides without actually sending troops. This neutrality was tested and eventually broken after: German U-Boats sunk a passenger ship carrying American civilians called the Lusitania. The Zimmermann Note – a telegraph sent from Germany to Mexico that was interrupted and deciphered by the United States. Within the telegraph, Germany asked Mexico to invade the southern American states to keep the United States from entering the war against Germany. If Mexico agreed to invade, they would be promised land they lost in the Mexican-American War (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California) **Russia withdrew for fighting in February 1918 – Unrest within the nation spurred a civil war and the victorious (Bolshevik) party didn’t want to fight in a war that the former Tzar got them in to

Outcomes and Global Effect Colonies’ participation in the war increased demands for independence End of the Russian Imperial, Ottoman, German, and Austro-Hungarian Empires Enormous cost of the war in lives, property, and social disruption

Treaty of Versailles Fighting in World War I ended with an armistice (cease-fire) on November 11 th, 1918 “The 11 th hour, of the 11 th day, of the 11 th month” An official peace treaty was not signed until the Treaty of Versailles of Terms of the treaty were very harsh on the losers, especially Germany who was seen as the belligerent (who started the fight) The treaty forced Germany to accept responsibility for the war and loss of territory. Germany was then ordered to pay full reparations for the war. The treaty forced limitations on the size of the German military. A League of Nations was created to keep peace throughout the world

Wilson’s 14 Points Review points #1-5 and #14. -Which, if any, would be of benefit to powerful nations like the United States? -Which, if any, would be of benefit to weaker nations? -Which, if any, would likely be regarded as taking away some power of the United States?

League of Nations Originally created off President Wilson’s 14 Points speech outlining an international cooperative organization Established to prevent future wars The United States did not approve of the League of Nations and did not become a member because Congress was fearful of allowing another organization set American foreign policy The League ended up a failure because it did not have power to enforce its decisions

Mandate System During WWI, Great Britain and France agreed to divide large portions of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East between themselves Great Britain gained control over the lands that would later become: -Iraq -Transjordan -Palestine France gained control over the lands that would later become: -Syria -Lebanon The division of the Ottoman Empire planted the seeds for future conflicts in the Middle East (as seen in Africa)

Your Task: Create a pneumonic device to help remember the mandate system