The Great War The First World War 1914-1918

The Great War The First World War is know also known as The Great War because it had had such an impact on the world: It was the first war to affect all of the major nations of the world. So many technological advances were made. It took the lives of more than 8 million soldiers and changed the lives of millions more.

Taking Sides On one side of the war were the Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Germany Turkey

On the other side were the Allies: France Russia Great Brittan Brittan’s commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia, India, South Africa.

The United States was also an Allied Power, but they didn’t join the war until 1917. Italy and Japan joined later too.

At the time, everyone thought the war would end quickly, but they had four long years of fighting ahead.

Assignment: Follow the instructions given to color the Map of a Divided Europe. Make sure you secure this map into your binders. Yes, you have to answer the Quick Question.

Causes of WWI

As we take a look at the MAIN causes of the First World War, complete the handout “Causes of the Great War.”

The First World War was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in June 1914. Conflicts had been raging in Europe for years, but this was the last straw.

On a trip in Sarajevo, someone threw a grenade into Ferdinand’s car On a trip in Sarajevo, someone threw a grenade into Ferdinand’s car. Luckily, he deflected it with his hand and it blew up behind them. They decided to continue on to the hospital to visit injured soldiers like planned, but their driver made a wrong turn. Someone was there waiting with a gun. Someone tried to blow up this car Ferdinand and his wife were driving in with a grenade, but it didn’t work. He deflected it with his hand and the grenade blew up behind them. On their way to visit injured soldiers at a hospital Sarajevo, the driver took a wrong turn and the couple were shot by members of a group called the Black Hand.

The assassin was this man, Gavrilo Princip, a member of The Black Hand The assassin was this man, Gavrilo Princip, a member of The Black Hand. He was only 19 years old.

Four MAIN Causes Although the assassination of Franz Ferdinand triggered the war, there were other problems that caused the war: Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

1. Militarism Militarism is a belief that a country must build up their army to be bigger and better than their neighbours in case they need to attack or are attacked. England and Germany were in competition to build the best naval power at the time.

HMS Dreadnought 1906

HMS Dreadnought Could blow a ship out of the water 30 kms away. Sailors started calling other boats “5 Minute Ships” because that’s all it would take to sink them.

SMS Rhineland

SMS Rhineland

2. Alliances An alliance is an agreement between two or more countries to help each other out when needed. Central Powers Allied Powers Said if they got attacked, the others would have their back. Said they’d help by giving money and armaments. (Armaments are weapons and supplies the army would need to fight)

3. Imperialism Imperialism is the practice of getting more power and wealth by taking control of new land or territories to build an Empire. European powers like Brittan, France and Germany were scrambling to take control of territories in Africa and Asia. The more land you controlled, the bigger “Super Power” you were.

4. Nationalism Nationalism is when citizens of a county exhibit strong loyalty and devotion to their country. People of Austria-Hungary were furious over the death of Franz Ferdinand and wanted revenge.

Now that we’ve talked about the MAIN causes of WWI, make sure you have the “Causes of the Great War” sheet completed before we move on. You’ll need it for the test.