The First World War

WWI

Key Question: why was Europe a bomb ready to explode in 1914? We need to decide what were the causes of the build-up of tension in Europe before the First World War.

Reason 1 …

Reason 1 …

Reason 1 … Sorry, the German Empire is where exactly?

Cause 1: Empires By the start of the 20th century large areas of the world were controlled by European powers. The British and the French had the biggest Empires. Germany had been a unified country only since 1870, but it had grown in power enormously. It wanted an Empire too, but was jealous that all the best bits had been taken already.

Reason 2 … spot the difference Central Europe in 1914 The nations of central Europe today

Cause 2: Nationalism Key term: Nationalist = someone who wants independent rule for his ethnic or cultural group

Cause 2: Nationalism Austria-Hungary was a large Empire in central Europe made of many ethnic and cultural groups. Many of these groups wanted independence from the Empire There were nationalist groups amongs the Czechs, the Slavs and the Serbs Some of these groups were becoming increasingly violent…

The First World War Causes Part 2

Empires Nationalism WWI ? ?

Reason 3 … The Alliance System

Reason 4 … The Arms Race

Empires Nationalism WWI Arms Race Alliance System

Alliance System Colour map to show who was allied with whom Draw a table in your book to show who was in each alliance Write a paragraph to explain how the alliance system increased tension Arms Race Write a summary of the military strengths and weaknesses of each of the following: Britain, Germany, France, Russia Write a paragraph to explain how the arms race increased tension

WWI What lights the fuse? Empires Nationalism Arms Race Alliance System