Causes of World War One

Build on What You Know When your friend has a problem, you probably try to help solve it. In the same way, the nations of Europe tried to help their friends during World War 1.

Main Idea Struggles for power among European empires caused a World War.

Causes of the War In the early 1900s, nationalism was leading European countries toward war. Nationalism is the belief that your country deserves more success than others. Is nationalism fair? How can we relate nationalism to the Mary Lin 5th Grade?

Causes of the War Nationalism in Europe made countries such as Germany, Russia, and France compete for land and power. Several European nations followed a policy of imperialism, starting colonies in other parts of the world.

Causes of the War To protect their empires, the nations of Europe strengthened their armies and navies. Militarism became popular with Europeans. Militarism is the building of a strong military to frighten or defeat other countries.

The War Begins As countries in Europe built up their armies, they also made alliances with one another. An alliance is an agreement nations make to support and defend each other. The two most important alliances were the Allied Powers, or the Allies, and the Central Powers.

The War Begins In 1914, Austria- Hungary, of the Central Powers, declared war on Serbia.

The War Begin Austria was rightfully upset about this assassination, so they immediately sent a letter to Serbia demanding reparations of absurd levels of they will attack. Serbia didn’t like that. They were alliances with Russia. Russia said, “If you attack Serbia, then I’ll attack you!” Now the war has extended to 3 different countries.

The War Begins Austria-Hungary is allied with Germany, and they say, “But if you attack Austria, they’re my friends so I’ll attack you.” 4 countries are now involved. At this point, all the allies started getting pulled out. Great Britain and France say, “Well, we’re Russia’s allies, so we’ll have to get in on this too” Telegrams start flying! World War 1, or the Great War, had begun!

Allies Central Neutral France Great Britain Belgium Serbia Greece Romania Albania Italy Portugal Russia Ottoman Empire (Turkey) Bulgaria Germany Austria Hungary Norway Spain Sweden Switzerland Denmark Netherlands Finland Iceland

The Battlefield Many people were eager for war. Because of the strong nationalism in Europe, thousands of young men signed up to serve in the military. They did not know how terrible the fighting would be or how long it would last.

The Battlefield Soldiers on both sides fought from long, narrow ditches called trenches. The fighting was called trench warfare because soldiers crouched down in the trenches for protection an fired their weapons from there. Sometimes they tried to capture the enemy by crossing the land between the trenches

The Battlefield Millions of soldiers were killed in these battles. The fighting lasted for four years. By the end of the war, Europe was covered with thousands of miles of trenches.

The Battlefield In most earlier wars, soldiers fought on battlefields but didn’t live on them. With trench warfare, soldiers lived in the trenches day and night. The mud, cold weather, and rats made life hard. One of soldiers voiced the feelings of millions: “It was no place for a human being to be…”