: World War One and the Age of Anxiety

Causes of the War

The Fay Thesis v. The Fischer Thesis  The Fay Thesis – General pre-war conditions in Europe provided the kindling that was lit by the assassination of Archdukes in 1914 – Austria pulled Germany into the war  The Fischer Thesis – Germany was solely responsible for the War – Pushed Austria into war

1. The Alliance System 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]

Europe in 1914

2. Militarism & Arms Race A. 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%

B. The Anglo-German Naval Crisis, 1904

C. Germany’s Weapon Development

Krupp’s Big Bertha

The Rail Gun

French Renault Tank

U-Boats

The Airplane “Squadron Over the Brenta” Max Edler von Poosch, 1917

The Zeppelin

Flame Throwers Grenade Launchers

Poison Gas Machine Gun

D. The Schlieffen Plan, 1905  The Plan  Attack France first, then move into Russia

3. Economic & Imperial Rivalries

4. Aggressive Nationalism

Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914 The “Powder Keg” of Europe

“ The Spark”

The Assassination: Sarajevo

The Assassin: Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip

Who’s To Blame?

The July Crisis  How do we go from an assassination to a declaration of war?  Austria sees an opportunity to wage war against Serbia  Kaiser Wilhelm II sends a ‘Blank Cheque’ to Austria-Hungary  The “Willy-Nicky” Telegrams  Austria sends an ultimatum to Serbia – it is ignored and thus WWI begins

The War Begins  August 3, 1914: Germany declares war on France and England declares war on Germany  August 6: Austria Hungary declares war on Russia

The Battles:

 Watch BBC “First World War” chapters on the Invasion of Belgium and the Battle of the Marne

The Battles of 1914  Invasion of Belgium, August 4, 1914  First Marne, September 5-12, 1914  The First Battle of Ypres, October- November, 1914  From mobilization to Total War

The Western Front

Trench Warfare “No Man’s Land”

Strategic Battles  Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

German U-Boats attacks  Declares a submarine blockade of Great Britain  Feel the war will end if they practice unrestricted submarine warfare  May 7, 1915: sinking of the Lusitania  August 30, 1915: Germany sinks U.S. ships without warning

Battles Continue  Second Battle of Ypres  The Treaty of London

Verdun – February, 1916 e German offensive. e Each side had 500,000 casualties. e German offensive. e Each side had 500,000 casualties.

The Battle of Jutland  The Battle of Jutland  German air raids on Britain continue

The Somme – July, 1916  60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.  Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.  60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.  Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.

The Eastern Front

Tannenberg, 1914  August 1914  Russian offensive  German win

Tannenberg Russia Strategy  2 pronged attack  Hope to surround Germans Outcome  Russian initial victory creates over-confidence  Germans divide into 4 sub-groups and spread out  Result: Russians confused, surrounded, and suffer devastating losses

The Gallipoli Disaster, 1915

Why Gallipoli 1.Britain wants to get supplies to Russia 2.Support Allies 1. Serbia & Greece 3.Strategic Location 1. Could gain control of the Mediterranean Sea 2. Get links to small areas in Eastern Europe 4.Desire to get some movement & eliminate stalemate

Results  Difficult to invade because geography of the area – mountainous and swift currents  Britain places Winston Churchill  After two failed naval attempts, British attempt to invade by land.  After 8 months of fighting, campaign turns out to be a failure: – Faulty intelligence at the beginning – Badly mismanaged landings during land invasions, – Suffered heavy casualties – Moved too slowly during the campaign  Proved to be the biggest win for the Central Powers.

Map of Turkey and Armenia

Armenian Genocide  Ottoman Turks and Russians are fighting with Armenia in between  Reasons for the genocide  Facts about the genocide  Britain tried to oust the Ottomans, but were unsuccessful  Aftermath

Turkish Genocide Against Armenians Districts & Vilayets of Western Armenia in Turkey Erzerum215,0001,500 Van197, Kharbert204,00035,000 Diarbekir124,0003,000 Bitlis220,00056,000 Sivas225,00016,800 Other Armenian-populated Sites in Turkey Western Anatolia371,80027,000 Cilicia and Northern Syria309,00070,000 European Turkey194,000163,000 Trapizond District73,39015,000 Total 2,133,190387,800

Selling the War The Home Front

 Changing city names  Battle of the Somme, 1916  Propaganda Posters  The Concept of Total War

Recruitment Posters

Dehumanizing the Enemy

Financing the War

Sacrifice

Women and the War Effort

For Recruitment

Munitions Workers

German Women Factory Workers

French Women Factory Workers

Medical Field

Support System at Home

Spies  Mata Hari

Impact on Society of the Total War  A tremendous demand for workers leads to a booming economy  Rise of acceptance of socialism  Changing attitudes towards women

The Widening War and the Final Battles of WWI ( )

The Widening War  Fighting spreads to:  Africa – Countries are fighting with each other in Africa – British and French colonies are capturing German colonies  Asia – Japanese ally with Britain and help grab German colonies in the Pacific

 Eastern Europe – Romania joins the Allied side  The United States – Entered the war in April 1917

Key Battles of 1917  Battle of Passchendale – July 1917  Battle of Cambrai - November 1917

1918 Flu Pandemic: Depletes All Armies 50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died 50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died

The Collapse of the Central Powers  Eastern Front  1. Jerusalem falls to the British in 1917  2. Allied forces in Africa push through Greece and break through the Austrian border  Western Front  1. Second Marne – July 1918  2. German troops rebel and sailors mutiny in October 1918

 Austria Hungary surrenders on November 3, 1918  Armistice declared 11/11/1918

11 a.m., November 11, 1918 The Armistice is Signed!

The End of the War and the Treaty of Versailles

Revolutions at the end of the war  The Russian Revolution  The German Revolution  The Hungarian Revolution  The Austrian Revolution

The Fourteen Points  Wilson’s plan for peace  Why did this fail?

League of Nations  League of Nations – Wilson’s 14 th point – Guide the world towards disarmament – The United States did not join – Germany and Russia were excluded

The Paris Peace Conference  Discussions begin January 1919 for the Peace Treaty  The “Big Four” – France – England – Italy – United States

The Treaty of Versailles  Centerpiece of the Treaty of Paris  What does each country want from the Treaty?

Other Peace Agreements  Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918  Britain and the Ottomans

What does WWI mean for Europe?  1. Financial Collapse

2. Massive Population Loss

3. Psychological Effects  Disillusionment  The “Age of Anxiety”

4. Mass Territorial Changes

5. Loss of Colonies

6. Disgruntled German State  Territory Lost  Financial Ruin  “Stabbed in the back”

7. Rise of Dictators  A vulnerable public = easy target  Extreme nationalism