Unit Objective: To learn and assess the causes and impacts of WWI Causes of WWI (1914-18/19) Unit Objective: To learn and assess the causes and impacts of WWI

What was the spark that led to a world war?

Austria-Hungary demanded an apology from Serbia and threatened to invade if they didn’t get it -Would you have apologized if you were Serbia? Why?   -Did Serbia apologize?:

Result:   Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia

Why did this lead to a world war? 1.) Nationalism: Intense pride in your nation -Advantage of nationalism for a nation: -Disadvantage of nationalism for a nation:

2.) Imperialism: One country taking over another for it’s own benefit— It often led nations to compete for colonies, which led to conflict and an adversarial relationship 3.) Militarism: Use of military force for a nation to get what it wants—It was a way for more powerful nations to intimidate others

4.) Alliances -Have always been alliances, but by 1914 they had become larger and more complex than ever before -How alliances caused the situation to spiral out of control: -Russia backed Serbia: -Germany backed Austria-Hungary: -France backed Russia and Serbia:

Germany marched through neutral Belgium (Schleiffen Plan) Plan was to quickly strike France and knock it out of the war so Germany did not face a two-front war with Russia on one side and France on the other—going through Belgium was the quickest route that provided the best surprise

The plan failed for 3 reasons: 1.) French resistance: 2.) Russian mobilization: 3.) Britain entered the war:

Results of the failure of the Schleiffen Plan Germany ended up with two-front war anyway Germany was blamed for war in part as result of invasion of Belgium and Germany was seen as the main aggressor of the war

Main Central Powers:

Main Allied Powers at the start of the war: