The Great War (1914-1918) The War to End All Wars?

Essential Questions What were the causes of World War I? What events set the war in motion? How did the war progress on the Western and Eastern fronts? How was World War I a truly global conflict? How did technology change the face of warfare? What were the main points of the Treaty of Versailles? What were the effects of World War I on western society?

The cost Forces mobilized: 65,038,810 Killed: 8,528,831 Wounded: 21,189,154 MIA: 7,750,919 Total casualties: 37,466,904 Casualties as % of Forces: 57.5 Financial cost: $338 billion

MAIN Causes M = Militarism Need to maintain strong militaries to protect national interests Arms race, military spending increases Fight for naval supremacy between Britain and Germany

MAIN A = Alliances Supposed to maintain the status quo/keep the stalemate Backfired: Domino effect Triple Entente (1907): Britain, France, Russia Triple Alliance (1882): Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (later switched sides)

Europe at the start of the Great War

Journal #8 Should you always support a friend? What might be the long-term consequences of refusing to support an ally?

The spark that sets off the Balkan Powderkeg What would cause war? “Some damn foolish thing in the Balkans…” Bismarck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE8552joxfE&feat ure=related Who were the Black Hand and what was their goal? How did the assassination lead to world war?

Timeline of the Domino Effect June 28: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists (Black Hand) July 28: Austria first issues Serbia an ultimatum, then declares war (had a “blank check” from Germany) July 31: Russia mobilizes for Serbia Aug. 1: Germany declares war on Russia Aug. 3: Germany declares war on France Aug. 4: Germany declares war on neutral Belgium (Schlieffen Plan); Britain declares war on Germany Aug. 6: Austria declares war on Russia

Who is to blame?

Be a detective: The Willy-Nicky Telegrams Questions: 1. How does the tone of the telegrams change from the first to the last? 2. Who does the tsar (Russia) blame for causing war? 3. Who does the kaiser (Germany) blame for causing war? 4. Why does Kaiser Wilhelm say that he has to mobilize his army? Write one paragraph: Did Germany try to prevent war, or did Kaiser Wilhelm II want to escalate the assassination into a European conflict? Use evidence from the telegrams and lecture notes.

Journal #9 Look on pg. 412 in your textbook and start labeling your map with the European countries. Then label the Eastern and Western Fronts.

Beginning of the war Central Powers: Allied Powers: Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire/Bulgaria Allied Powers: Great Britain France Russia Italy (and later, US)

Schlieffen Plan Germany: Schlieffen Plan Goal: knock out France (to avoid a two-front war) by taking Paris in exactly 42 days! Kaiser: “Paris for lunch, St. Petersburg for dinner!” Pass through neutral Belgium (“rape of Belgium”) BUT Battle of Tannenberg diverted troops to Prussia; Russia mobilized faster than expected (10 days) http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/maps/maps_outbrea k.html

Journal #10 Why do you think World War One was called the “Great War”?

Important Terms to Know: First Battle of the Marne (1914): Schlieffen Plan fails and the long stalemate of trench warfare begins Western Front: By 1915, 500 miles of trenches from the North Sea to the Swiss border Battle of the Somme (1916): 20,000 British soldiers killed in one day of battle alone (60,000 casualties total) Eastern Front: The German and Russian border

Watching “All Quiet on the Western Front” Question: What weaponry/technology do you notice?

New Weaponry Machine gun Tank Poison Gas British debut at the Battle of the Somme (1916) Poison Gas Destroyed respiratory organs, caused blisters, and even death

U Boats Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare: Sinking without warning ships in enemy waters 1915: British ship Lusitania torpedoed Killed 1198 people, including 128 Americans

Why did the US join the war in 1917? Lusitania Zimmerman Telegram Woodrow Wilson: To make the world “safe for democracy” $ and arms sent to the Allies Cultural and historical ties to Britain Anti-German feeling

A global war Turn to pg. 418. What areas of the world got involved in the war? Middle East Gallipolli Campaign (Dardenelles)

Journal #11 What are two reasons the US joined the war? What do you know about propaganda?

Home Front Total War: Civilians helping the war effort Women in factories Rationing Press censorship Propaganda: Persuasive one-sided information to keep up morale Techniques: Name-calling/demonization of the enemy Bandwagon: Join, everyone else is! Fear Appeal to authority Glorifying your country

Journal #12 “It must be a peace without victory…only a peace among equals can last.” ---President Woodrow Wilson What does this quote mean? What is “a peace without victory”? Predict: Do you think that the treaty that ends World War I is “a peace among equals”?

End of the war in 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918): Russia surrenders Starvation, riots Russian Revolution overthrows the czar Armistice (end of the war): November 11, 1918 America enters the war; Spring Offensive fails Allies crumble (Austria-Hungary, Ottomans) German starvation, mutiny Government collapses, kaiser abdicates (steps down) “Stab in the back” legend

Peace World War I destroyed the German, Austro- Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman Empires Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points: No secret treaties Freedom of the seas Self determination (nations choose independence) League of Nations (pre-United Nations)

Treaty of Versailles Simulation Year long peace talks at the Paris Peace Conference Big 4: Woodrow Wilson (US president) Georges Clemenceau (France) David Lloyd George (Britain) Vittorio Orlando (Italy) Which countries had no say?

Results of the Treaty of Versailles “We shall have to fight another war again in 25 years time.” --David Lloyd George, British PM Was he right?

Journal #13 How did the Treaty of Versailles set the stage for World War II?