World War I Mr. Owen AP – Euro Spring 2010

Causes of the Great War  Nationalism – Pride in one’s country  Imperialism – Stronger nation takes over weaker nation  Militarism – Military power and keeping an army prepared for war  Alliances

Toward Mass Armies and Industrial War  Industrializations effect on War  Weapons  Transportation  Naval Power  Arms-Race  KEYPOINT  The outcome of a protracted war between industrial powers depended less on rifle strength in the first battles than on industrial might and financial stamina.

Assassination in Sarajevo  Gavrilo Princip assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914

Austria-Hungarian Response  Austria-Hungary issues a 10-Point Ultimatum to Serbia – Serbia accepts all but 1 of the demands  July 28 th Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia – Starts World War I

Franco-Prussian War

Lost Land

The Great War  Expectation  Unexpected War  Introduction to Total War

The Alliance System Triple Entente: Triple Alliance:

Two Armed Camps! Allied Powers: Central Powers:

The Major Players: Nicholas II [Rus] George V [Br] Pres. Poincare [Fr] Allied Powers: Franz Josef [A-H] Wilhelm II [Ger] Victor Emmanuel II [It] Central Powers: Enver Pasha [Turkey]

Militarism & Arms Race Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers [Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br., Rus.] in millions of £s Increase in Defense Expenditures France10% Britain13% Russia39% Germany73%

The Battle Front

Schlieffen Plan  Why  Plan  Goal

Schlieffen Plan

Indecisive Offensives: 1914– 1915  The Break down of the Schlieffen Plan – Overly Calculated – Belgian Resistance – British Support

Indecisive Offensives: 1914– 1915  Initial Strategic Set Back – Westward swing fails – British and French Attack – Result

The Race to the Sea  Allies and Central Powers try to out flank each other

A Multi-Front War

Trench Warfare

“No Man’s Land”

Trench Warfare

Artillery

Conditions in the Trenches Lice Hunting

Conditions in the Trenches

The Industrial and Geographic Factors  Strategic Mobility – Use of RR  Immobility – Lack of Transport – Supplies run out – Defenders always faster – Communication

The Industrial and Geographic Factors  Industrial Might  Geographic Factors – Central Powers  Advantage – Central Powers  Disadvantage

War of Attrition

Western Front  Western Front – German failed offensive – Allied goal – 1915 Death toll: French  1,500,000 Britain  300,000 Germany  875,000

Western Front  Battle of Verdun – February 21, 1916 – German Offensive – Characteristics of Fighting – Death toll

Western Front  Battle of Somme – July 1916 – British were ineffective 60,000 die in one day! Over 1,000,000 in 5 months – Death Toll

Advancements In War

Machine Guns Defensive Weapons Trench Warfare Suppressing fire Offensive Weapons Lewis Gun 600 rounds per minute 47 round clips Effective up to 600m Lewis Vickers

French Renault Tank

The Tank

Airplanes and Aircraft

The Zeppelin

U-Boats

Chemical Weapons

The Home Front

Curtis-Martin U. S. Aircraft Plant

Financing the War

American Poster

For Recruitment

Eastern Front  Russian “Steamroller” stopped – Victory at Tannenberg

The Gallipoli Disaster, 1915

The United States Enters the War  January 1917  Unrestricted Submarine Warfare  Sinking of the Lusitania  Zimmerman Note

The Sinking of the Lusitania

The Zimmerman Telegram

The Yanks Are Coming! The Yanks Are Coming!