Chapter 13: The Great War 1914-1918

Chapter 13, Section 1 Marching Toward War

Rising Tensions In Europe: The Rise of Nationalism Nationalism was causing both unification within countries and competition among nations A rivalry developed between Europe’s Great Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, and France Rising Tensions In Europe: The Rise of Nationalism

Rising Tensions In Europe: Imperialism and Militarism The quest for colonies also caused competition in Europe By 1914, all of the Great Powers (except Britain) had large standing armies and engaged in militarism- the policy of glorifying military power and keeping an army prepared for war Rising Tensions In Europe: Imperialism and Militarism

Tangled Alliances: Bismarck Forges Early Pacts Germany’s prime minister, Otto von Bismarck saw France as the greatest threat to peace Bismarck formed the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879, and Italy joined in 1882 making the Triple Alliance Bismarck also signed a treaty with Russia in 1881 Tangled Alliances: Bismarck Forges Early Pacts

Tangled Alliances: Shifting Alliances Threaten Peace In 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II forced Bismarck to resign Wilhelm let the treaty with Russia lapse and Russia then formed an alliance with France Germany began building a large navy, causing Great Britain to enter into an alliance with France and Russia in 1907, called the Triple Entente By 1907 Europe has the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Great Britain, France, and Russia) Tangled Alliances: Shifting Alliances Threaten Peace

Crisis in the Balkans: A Restless Region By the early 1900’s the Ottoman empire was in decline and new nations such as Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia formed In 1908, Austria took over Bosnia and Herzegovina, arising huge tensions between Austria and Serbia Crisis in the Balkans: A Restless Region

Crisis in the Balkans: A Shot Rings Throughout Europe On June 28, 1914 the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian and member of the Black Hand, a secret society to rid Bosnia of Austrian rule Crisis in the Balkans: A Shot Rings Throughout Europe

Crisis in the Balkans: A Shot Rings Throughout Europe Austria used the murder as an excuse to punish Serbia They issued Serbia several ultimatums to avoid war, and Serbia worked to negotiate On July 28, 1914 Austria rejected negotiations and declared war on Serbia, beginning World War I Crisis in the Balkans: A Shot Rings Throughout Europe

Chapter 13, Section 2 Europe Plunges into War

In response to Austria declaring war, Russia (Serbia’s ally) mobilized towards Austria and Germany Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914 and then on France two days later Great Britain then declared war on Germany The Great War Begins

By mid-August 1914, the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria) were pitted against the Allies (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan) and troops began marching off to war Nations Take Sides

The Conflict Grinds Along By the fall of 1914, the war turned into a bloody stalemate in Northern France along the Western Front Germany developed a plan for fighting a two-front war known as the Schlieffen Plan, which called for defeating France in the west and then rushing east to fight Russia When Germany lost the First Battle of the Marne to France on September 5, 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was ruined The Conflict Grinds Along

By early 1915, both sides dug miles of trenches to protect against enemy fire, known as trench warfare The space between trenches was known as “no-man’s land” The slaughter reached a peak in 1916- by November, each side had reached more than a half-million casualties War in the Trenches

On Christmas Eve, 1914, along the Western front of the war, troops began to sing Christmas carols from their trenches On Christmas day, German troops left the trenches and walked across “no man’s land” to wish the Allied troops a Merry Christmas Both sides left the trenches and exchanged presents of cigarettes and food The next day, fighting resumed The Christmas Truce

The Battle on the Eastern Front The Eastern Front was along the German/Russian border Russian forces launched attacks into Austria and Germany at the beginning of the war By August, Germany counterattacked and more than 30,000 Russians were killed in the 4 day battle Russia defeated Austria early on, but Austria drove them out by December 1914 The Battle on the Eastern Front

Russia Struggles By 1916, Russia’s military was near collapse The Russian army was continually short on supplies as a result of not industrializing The biggest advantage Russia had was its large population They continued to send troops to the front, and suffered staggering losses Russia Struggles

CHAPTER 13, Section 3 A Global Conflict

World War I was more than just a European conflict Australia and Japan entered the war on the Allies’ side, while India supplied troops to their British rulers None of these alliances did much to end the slow conflict War Affects the World

The Gallipoli Campaign The Allies decided to attack the area known as the Dardanelles in the Ottoman empire to capture the capital, Constantinople This was called the Gallipoli Campaign, and began in February 1915 Both sides dug trenches and Gallipoli turned into another bloody stalemate The Allies pulled out in December 1915 after suffering about 250,000 casualties The Gallipoli Campaign

Battles in Africa and Asia In parts of Africa and Asia, German colonies came under attack and the Allies won three of four German colonies in Africa, as well as their Pacific island colonies The British and French used their colonies to help supply troops and labor Battles in Africa and Asia

America Joins the Fight In January 1917, Germany announced it would sink any ship in the waters around Britain. This policy was called unrestricted submarine warfare, and Germany sank several American ships In the Zimmerman note, Germany said it would help Mexico “reconquer” land lost to the U.S. in return for an alliance The telegram was intercepted, and on April 2, 1917, the U.S. declared war on Germany America Joins the Fight

Governments Wage Total War World War I soon became a total war, meaning countries devoted all resources to the war effort Factories produced munitions and equipment, and every citizen was put to work Governments turned to rationing- limiting the amount of goods people can buy In order to keep up morale, countries also produced propaganda, or one-sided information designed to keep up support for the war Governments Wage Total War

The Influenza Epidemic In spring of 1918, a deadly strain of influenza emerged in England and India, called the Spanish Flu By the fall, it spread through Europe, Russia, Asia, and to the United States 20 million people died worldwide The Influenza Epidemic

Governments turned to women to help keep production at home going Women worked in factories, offices, and shops Many women worked on the front lines as nurses and for the Red Cross Women and the War

The Allies Win the War: Russia Withdraws By 1917, 5.5 million Russian soldiers had been wounded, killed, or taken prisoner The Russian army refused to fight any longer In March 1918, Russia offered Germany a truce and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Allies Win the War: Russia Withdraws

The Allies Win the War: The Central Powers Collapse Russia’s withdrawal from the war allowed Germany to send all forces to the Western front By May 1918, the German army was only 40 miles from capturing Paris, but they were weak The Allies launched a huge counterattack at the Second Battle of the Marne, and crushed the Germans Germany signed an armistice ending World War I on November 11, 1918 The Allies Win the War: The Central Powers Collapse

About 8.5 million soldiers died in WWI and another 21 million were wounded The total combined cost of the war was $338 billion Thousands of miles of homes, farmland, and entire cities were destroyed in Europe The Legacy of the War

Chapter 13, Section 4 A Flawed Peace

The Allies Meet and Debate Delegates of 32 countries attended the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles in January 1919 The meeting’s major decisions were made by the Big Four: Woodrow Wilson (U.S.), Georges Clemenceau (France), David Lloyd George (Britain), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy) The Allies Meet and Debate

Wilson’s Plan for Peace In January 1918 during the war, Wilson drew up a series of peace proposals called the Fourteen Points The idea behind the Fourteen Points was self-determination, or allowing people to decide their government for themselves The last point proposed an association of nations to negotiate world conflicts peacefully Wilson’s Plan for Peace

The Treaty of Versailles between Germany and the Allied powers was signed June 28, 1919 The treaty adopted Wilson’s fourteen point and created a League of Nations Germany lost territory and gained severe military restrictions Through Article 231, or the “war guilt clause”, sole responsibility for the war was placed on Germany Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies and their colonies were taken away The Versailles Treaty

New Nations and Mandates The Allied powers signed treaties with the other defeated nations including Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire These treaties led to huge land losses, and many new countries were created. Austria-Hungary was also disbanded New Nations and Mandates

“A Peace Built on Quicksand” The Treaty of Versailles did little to build a lasting peace The U.S. rejected the treaty and signed a separate one with Germany The Treaty of Versailles left a legacy of bitterness and hatred with the German people Some Allied powers were upset they didn’t gain more land “A Peace Built on Quicksand”