World War I - Introduction What do you already know?

MAIN Causes of WWI Militarism – growth of militaries Alliances Imperialism Nationalism – pride in your country

Militarism The build up of armies, navies and weaponry Imperialist nations had sparked an arms race to defend their holdings and possibly gain or regain territory. As we learned in the last unit, expanding countries relied on large armies and navies to protect and control their global possessions. In competition with each other, they created large armies and navies and stockpiled weapons.

Alliances Created to protect national security and provide aide in the event of an attack.

Imperialism Dividing up areas of the world among the more powerful countries European powers competed with each other for raw materials and colonies

Imperialism This map shows Africa in 1914 and shows how much land the major nations had taken over. BRITAIN FRANCE GERMANY ITALY BELGIUM

Nationalism Nations who wanted back land that had natives living there (France and Russia) Areas that wanted to gain national independence from countries that had engulfed their culture (Czechs and Poles)

Nationalism Ethnic Map of Europe in 1914

Europe is a Powder Keg! One spark would start a war!

The assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand.

Assassination of Archduke Archduke Francis Ferdinand - heir to the Austria-Hungary throne

The Black Hand Serbian terrorist organization Sent a small group of teenage operatives to assassinate the Archduke!

June 28th, 1914 On June 28th, 1914, the Archduke and his wife Sophie visited Sarajevo, Bosnia – then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

They traveled through the streets in an open car They traveled through the streets in an open car. It was their wedding anniversary. The Archduke Ignored warnings of a possible assassination plot even though many Bosnians and neighboring Serbs were tired of being mere colonies of the large Austro-Hungarian Empire. Recent terrorist attacks had proven that they were restless for independence

Sarajevo – June 28th 1914 The seven conspirators were inexperienced with weapons, and it was only due to a freakish set of coincidences that they were successful. At 10:15 the parade of 4 cars passed the first member of the group, who attempted to shoot from an upstairs window, but couldn't get a clear shot and decided to hold fire so as not to jeopardize the mission by alerting the authorities. The second member,threw a bomb (or a stick of dynamite, according to some reports) at Ferdinand's car, but missed. The explosion destroyed the following car, wounding the passengers, a policeman and several members of the crowd. The terrorist swallowed his cyanide pill and jumped into the River Miljacka. The procession sped away towards the Town Hall, and the crowd turned into chaos. Police dragged the terrorist out of the river, and he was severely beaten by the crowd before being taken into custody. His cyanide pill was either old or of too weak a dosage and had not worked. Some of the other assassins left upon hearing the explosion, under the assumption that the Archduke had been killed.

The Wrong Turn! The remaining conspirators didn't get an opportunity to attack because of the heavy crowds, and it was beginning to look like the assassination would fail. However, the Archduke decided to go to hospital and visit the victims of the earlier bomb. Gavrilo Princip had gone to a nearby shop for a sandwich, either having given up or wrongly assuming that the Archduke had died in the explosion, when he spotted Ferdinand's car as it drove past, having taken a wrong turn. The driver thought the Hospital was on Franz Joseph Street. When he realized his mistake, he put the car into reverse and backed slowly down the street – right in front of Princip! Dashing up to the car, Princip fired twice: the first round went through the side of the car and hit Sophie (an expectant mother) in the abdomen, and The second bullet struck the Archduke close to the heart. He uttered only one word, 'Sofia' -- a call to his stricken wife. Then his head fell back and he collapsed. They were driven to the governor's residence where they died from their wounds.

Assassination of Archduke Traveling w/ wife Sophie in Sarajevo Sarajevo – capital of Bosnia (providence in AH) Both were shot by a 19 yr old Bosnian Nationalist

Princip tried to kill himself first by ingesting the cyanide, and then with his gun, but he vomited the poison and the gun was wrestled from his hand by a mob of on lookers before he had a chance to fire another shot

Gavrilo Princip All of the members were sentenced to prison. Princip died of tuberculosis in prison.

Triple Entente  Allies Alliances Triple Entente  Allies

Allies Nikola Pasic Serbia

Czar Nicholas II Russia Allies Czar Nicholas II Russia

Allies Georges Clemenceau France

Allies King George V England

Allies Vittorio Orlando Italy

Allies King Albert I Belgium

Woodrow Wilson United States Allies Woodrow Wilson United States

Triple Alliance  Central Powers Alliances Triple Alliance  Central Powers

Emperor Franz Josef Austria-Hungary Central Powers Emperor Franz Josef Austria-Hungary

Kaiser Wilhelm II Germany Central Powers Kaiser Wilhelm II Germany

Sultan Mehmed V Ottoman Empire Central Powers Sultan Mehmed V Ottoman Empire

Tsar Ferdinand Bulgaria Central Powers Tsar Ferdinand Bulgaria

The start of WWI…legos

World War I Everyone thought war would end in a week Instead had a stalemate – neither side could gain an advantage

Reason for the Stalemate New Weapon Technology Trench Warfare

Weapons and Tactics of World War I Bolt-Action Rifle Machine Gun Artillery Poisonous Gas Zeppelin Tanks Planes U-Boats

Bolt-Action Rifle Bolt-action rifles could fire up to 15 rounds per minute.

Machine Gun A machine gun could fire up to 400 rounds per minute. A machine gun had the fire power of approx. 100 rifles.

Artillery Artillery refers to large-caliber, mounted field guns.

Artillery Shells Artillery could fire shells distances of up to approx. 12,000 yards. Artillery shells could weigh up to 900 lbs. It could take up to 12 men to handle an artillery gun and load the shells.

Poisonous Gases Cause choking, blistering, vomiting, internal & external bleeding, blinding, a burning of lung tissue, & death. Gases lobbed into enemy trenches

Poisonous Gases Gases were often colorless & odorless, Could take up to 12 hours to take effect. Gas masks were eventually created

Zeppelins Zeppelins or blimps were airships filled with hydrogen to keep them afloat.

Zeppelins

Tanks Armored vehicles that traveled on tracks Used to cross over tough terrain, But unable to cross trenches. Protected advancing troops across “no-man’s” land.

Tanks

Planes One- or two-seat propeller planes equipped with a machine gun. Pilots engaged in “dogfights” in the air

Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen – German pilot with 80 victories

Red Baron ???

U-Boats Underwater ships that capable of launching torpedoes, or guided underwater bombs.

Flamethrower Gas canister strapped to back of soldier Sprayed burning fuel on it victims

Trench Warfare

Trenches were elongated pits dug 6-8 ft Trenches were elongated pits dug 6-8 ft. into the earth, and stretching out over hundreds of miles. Trenches were only wide enough to allow two men to pass side-by-side.

Trench Warfare - Diagram

Barbed-wire was lined up in front of a trench to protect the men from attack.

The entrance to a “dugout”

Trench Warfare – Dugout

Trench Warfare Three interlocking trench lines would be used: a front line for attack and defense, a middle line of defense, and a rear line of reserves.

The distance between opposing trenches was called “no-man’s land” The distance between opposing trenches was called “no-man’s land”. This distance could be as short as 30 meters, or as wide as 1 mile.

Trench Warfare On command, soldiers from a trench would charge across “no-man’s” land and attempt to overrun the opponents trench.

A periscope would have been used to see the enemy, without putting a soldier in the direct line of fire.

Retrieving a dead soldier from “no-man’s land”

Trench Warfare Weapons on the front included: Soldier’s would commonly use rifles, bayonets, spades, clubs, shotguns, helmets, and grenades Armies would use larger items such as machine guns, mortars, artillery, gas, barbed-wire, aircraft, and mines

Christmas Truce 1914 German & British Troops 1915 German & French Troops Met in “No Man’s Land” Had a party & played soccer

Christmas Truce Memorial in Belgium