The M.A.I.N. Causes of World War I

M.A.I.N. Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

Militarism The excessive buildup and glorification of the military What does this statement mean “We must build a bigger navy than the enemy will build when he hears we’re building a bigger navy than he’s building”

Alliances In Europe in 1914 there was a complex system of alliances (Nations joining together for a common cause) Great Britain, France and Russia formed one alliance (Triple Entente) Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary formed a competing Alliance (Central Powers) There was a fear that attacking one country would drag their allies into a war

Imperialism A form of competition between the nations of Imperialism This competition will also lead to a growth of Militarism, Nationalism and Alliances

Nationalism Spurred economic and political rivalries through Imperialism, Militarism and Alliances The M.A.I.N. causes will lead to the tension in the Balkan Peninsula making it a powder keg awaiting the spark

The Spark The conflict in the Balkans was known as a “Powder Keg” The spark that ignited WWI was the assassination of Arch-duke Franz Ferdinand the heir to the Austrian Empire, this murder was in Bosnia by a Serbian Nationalist

A Murder with Millions of Victims The Spark Because countries had pre-war alliances this confrontation soon engulfed most of Europe (World War) A Murder with Millions of Victims

A Regional Conflict Quickly Engulfs Europe Nations honored their agreements to back each other in war Starting with Russia backing Serbia And expanding with Germany siding with Austria

War Time Advancements

Wartime Advancements WW I was more deadly than other wars because of new weapons and Trench Warfare The new technology (weapons) for WWI: Long range artillery, poisonous gasses and gas masks, submarines, tanks, machine guns, airplanes, flame-throwers

Wartime Advancements Both sides thought that the war would be over quickly due the development of the new weapons and massive militaries However, by 1915 the war bogged down into trench warfare and a costly stalemate

Warfare

Warfare World War I was fought in three different areas the Western Front, the Eastern Front, and the Italian Front The majority of the trench warfare took place along the Western Front

Warfare On the Western Front the fighting was between the Germans and the British and their allies the French With the use of Trench Warfare on the western front the fighting is a stalemate that will last until 1917 Most of the fighting on the Western Front took place in France and not until the end of the War does fighting take place in Germany

Warfare On the Eastern Front the primary fighting was between Germany and Russia There was some involvement between Serbia (fighting on the side of Russia) against Austria, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria (fighting on the side of Germany) in an attempt to free Serbia from imperial rule

Warfare Italians switch sides in 1915 Thus On the Italian Front the fighting was the French and their NEW ally Italy against the Germans and Austrians

Russian Withdrawal and Revolution

Russian Revolution Prior to WW I there was much discontent within Russia involving social, economic, and political issues (High Taxes, Political Rights, Working Conditions) After being devastated from WW I, Czar Nicholas II was unable to manage Russia and lost support from his people

Russian Revolution In 1917 the Russian workers (Bolsheviks), led by Vladimir Lenin revolted overthrew and executed the Czar and his family Russia withdrew from the war abandoning the allies and signed a peace treaty with Germany This allows Germany to focus solely on the Western Front making the war harder for the British and French Allies need help to replace Russia if they wanted to win the war

US Entry into World War I

US Entry into World War I At the outbreak of WWI the US declares neutrality (does not take sides) Different factors challenge American neutrality and leads to US involvement in the War:

US Entry into World War I The factors that led the US into WWI are the following: Trading with Great Britain British blockade hinders US trade with Germany American Businesses made loans to the allies to allow continued trade Public opinion was impacted by our long standing relationship to Britain German unrestricted Submarine warfare changes public opinion against Germany (loss of American civilians)

US Entry into World War I In 1915 the Lusitania, a British passenger Ship) was sunk by German U-Boats. This brought protests from President Wilson but it did not bring the US into the war. Germany pledge to restrict the use of the submarine This allowed Wilson to be re-elected using the slogan, “He kept us out of war!”

Zimmermann The interception and publication by the British of Germany’s Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico in 1917 negatively impacted US public opinion towards Germany The Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico offered Mexico land in the US in return, if they attacked the US.

End of World War I The US enters for the Allies and prevents Germany from winning the War The Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the fighting between the Allies and Central Powers TURN TO PAGE 8 IN NOTEBOOK WRITE DATE UNDER PAGE NUMBER

End of World War I New German government sought armistice (End fighting) 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month The Great War came to an end

Making The Peace

Making Peace The Treaty of Versailles was the Major Peace treaty of WW I The Major effect of WWI Diplomatic solutions geographic changes political changes economic consequences

Diplomatic Solutions US President Wilson wanted to address the problems that caused WWI while the leaders of France and Great Britain wanted to punish Germany Wilson came to The Paris Peace Conference with his 14 Point plan to fix the M.A.I.N. causes of the war

Diplomatic Solutions The 14 Points wanted to address the issues of: no military build up, no secret alliances and self-determination The 14 points also wanted to create a League of Nations whose purpose was to resolve disputes between countries and avoid future wars

Diplomatic Solutions Soviet Union was not invited to the Peace conference because they had negotiated a separate peace treaty with Germany Japan is also not invited and has to give up all the land it gained during WWI as well

Treaty of Versailles There were two different opinions on how peace should come: 1. Germany should be punished to the point of crippling them and 2. Fix the problems that started the war in the first place Not ever country that was involved in WWI were treated fairly or were not involved in the peace process TURN TO PAGE 9 IN NOTEBOOK WRITE DATE UNDER PAGE NUMBER

The War Guilt Clause Germany had to accept the blame for starting WW I This part of the Treaty of Versailles was called War Guilt Clause

The War Guilt Clause Held Germany responsible for starting the war Forced Germany to pay reparations to the Allies Placed military restriction on Germany Army was restricted to 100,000 men No Air Force No Submarines

The War Guilt Clause Demilitarization of the Rhineland Stripped Germany of all previous non-German land Alsace-Lorraine All overseas possessions

The Failure of the Treaty of Versailles The emphasis of Punishing Germany at the Treaty contributed to economic and political instability to come (Great Depression, Rise of Totalitarian Leaders)

The League of Nations The League of Nations had high expectations but was ineffective achieving its goal of world peace The League was weak and unstructured The weaknesses include: No Military (No Troops) Required unanimous consent for decisions.

The League of Nations Another reason why the League failed was that some key countries that were not members of the League or were not allowed to join until much later The following are those countries: US: Did not join Germany joined in 1926 leaves 1933 Soviet Union Joins in 1934 Japans leaves in 1933 Italy leaves in 1937 Due to these weaknesses the League Failed

The Change of Europe Wilson’s 14 Points proposed Self Determination (Allowing nations to develop on their own) would be utilized selectively since it would not be applied to the victorious powers The other major principle was to weaken the countries of central and eastern Europe who fought with the Central Powers

The Change of Europe The Map of Europe and Asia are going to change as a result of WW I: The most significant changes include The break up of the Austro-Hungarian (Austria and Hungary) and Ottoman Empires German Territorial losses including all overseas colonies The creation of Poland; Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia Russian territorial losses due the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (the separate peace between Germany and Russia in 1917, Russia will regain some of this territory as a result of the Treaty of Versailles) The Japanese are told they must give up all lands the took during WWI.

The Change of Europe

The Cost of Peace 8.5 million combat deaths result for WWI Double the number of wounded men Famine appears in Germany after WWI and millions of people starve Around the world there is an outbreak of an Influenza epidemic where 20 million people die after WWI

The Cost of Peace Most countries have no money and their economies can not handle the return to post war production which will also lead the Great Depression Many countries look to Socialism and Communism for assistance