The World at War

The two wars that consumed the world between 1914 and 1945 changed the face of the globe forever. The wars saw the advent of innovative deadly weapons and machine warfare. New nations took the place of ancient empires and ancient monarchies stepped down to make room for new democracies. The two great wars of the twentieth century have made it history’s bloodiest.

Causes of War Militarism- Weapons are more advanced. Leaders want to use them.

Causes of War CENTRAL POWERS  Austria-Hungary  Germany  Ottoman Empire (Turkey)  Italy THE ALLIES  Russia  France  England  Serbia Alliances- The nations of Europe agreed to support each other in times of war

Causes of War  Alliances

Causes of War Imperialism- Europe had conquered parts of Africa and Asia to gain resources.

Causes of War Nationalism- People were proud of their heritage.

The Spark  In a powder keg such as this one, all it took was one little spark to set the whole thing into motion.  On June 28, 1914, that spark happened in Sarajevo, capital city of Bosnia.

The Spark  While traveling in Serbia, the Austrian arch-duke (prince) Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavin Princip, a member of a terrorist group called the Black Hand.  The Black Hand had been angry since Austria-Hungary had taken over Bosnia in 1908.

All Hands to Battle Stations CENTRAL POWERS  Austria-Hungary  Germany  Ottoman Empire (Turkey)  Italy THE ALLIES  Russia  France  England  Serbia

The Western Front  Both Germany and France dug a network of trenches in the dirt. There they remained for four bloody years.  Germany had to divide her forces to keep Russia from invading. The fighting to the east was called the Eastern Front.

Stalemate  Russia proved to be ineffective. Her army deserted and surrendered. Russia’s new communist leader Vladimir Lenin gave up huge amounts of land, and turned to internal concerns.  The Allies on the Western Front on the other hand kept Germany at bay.

Doughboys!  The stalemate was broken in 1917 when The United States entered the war.  The U.S. got involved for a number of reasons; most importantly, to preserve the balance of power in Europe.

Doughboys!  The Doughboys provided the fresh troops and energy that the Allies needed to finally end the war.  By 1918, the Central Powers surrendered.

Versailles  The Treaty that ended the war was the Treaty of Versailles, signed on November 11, 1918.

Versailles Change in government  The treaty replaced the Kaiser (King) with a democratic government.  The republic was weak.  People are unhappy with the Government

Versailles Although everybody helped start the war, Germany was given the “war guilt” and made to pay huge amounts of money. Germany’s economy soon after collapsed and many people went jobless and homeless.

Versailles  Austria-Hungary was totally taken apart and turned into Austria and Hungary and Czechoslovakia.  Poland was created from German confiscated Russian land.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Germany was still paying for the damage done to Europe during the first World War. The German economy was in ruins. The German people were humiliated and badly wanted to rebuild their country. In 1933, the German citizens elected Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party to lead them to greatness again.

Nazis  Hitler and the Nazis believed in a policy called Fascism, a philosophy that supports a strong central government controlled by a well equipped military which is led by a powerful dictator.  Hitler also introduced a policy of Racism into the country.

Hitler Marches On  On September 1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland, starting WWII  England and France declared war soon after.  In just one year Hitler had conquered Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, and Norway.

Battle-line Buddies  THE AXIS POWERS  Germany  Italy  Japan  THE ALLIES  Great Britain  France  Soviet Union  United States  China

America Enters the War  The Allied forces slowly push the Axis powers back. First in North Africa, then in Italy.

Yalta  The Big Three – Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin – met in Crimea for the Yalta Conference to plan the final attack on Germany.  It was decided that post-war Germany would be divided between the Soviets and the Western nations to prevent Germany from rising again.

Truman’s Choice  President Roosevelt dies in April of 1945, Vice – President Harry S Truman, becomes President  With Germany finished, the new American President Truman still had to deal with The Empire of Japan.  Japan was not about to back off. In fact many soldiers revered their emperor as a god who would not tolerate surrender.

Truman’s Choice  So here’s the problem: invading Japan will cost a minimum of half a million lives.  The best generals say that even if Tokyo is taken, the Japanese will continue to fight forever.  So what does Truman do?

Truman’s Choice  He’s been told of a “secret weapon” began by the government in  It was so secret Truman as Vice President was not told of it.  The Manhattan Project- led to the development of the first atomic weapon.  It’s a big bomb, which uses a nuclear reaction and has the power of 20,000 tons of TNT.  Truman does not make his decision lightly…

Hiroshima and Nagasaki  Two atomic bombs are dropped on two of Japan’s cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  140,000 are killed in this attack.  98% of the buildings are destroyed.  Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945; ends World War II.

The Cost  WWII was clearly the bloodiest event in world history.  The total body count was somewhere around 50 million lives.  One war was over. The next began soon after: The Cold War was underway…