Unit 8.1

5 Steps to War in Europe 1. Sarajevo, June 28, 1914: A Serbian terrorist assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand—the heir to the Austro- Hungarian empire— and his wife

5 Steps to War in Europe 2. Vienna, July 23, 1914: The Austrian government threatens war against Serbia and invades that country 4 days later

5 Steps to War in Europe 3. Berlin, August 1, 1914: As Austria’s ally, the German government under Kaiser Wilhelm I declares war against Russia, an ally of Serbia

5 Steps to War in Europe 4. Berlin, August 3, 1914: Germany declares war against France, an ally of Russia, and immediately begins an invasion of neutral Belgium because it offers the fastest route to Paris

5 Steps to War in Europe 5. London, August 4, 1914: Great Britain, as an ally of France, declares war against Germany

?  How would the sequence of events in Europe been different had Archduke Franz Ferdinand not been assassinated?

Alliances Triple Entente (Allied Powers)Triple Alliance (Central Powers)  France, Great Britain, Russia (and eventually the U.S.)  Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

Alliances

Neutrality  As with the War of 1812, the problem was that either side was seizing American ships and blockading each other’s ports, which angered many Americans  Wilson: “a violation of a neutral nation’s right to freedom of the seas”  Great Britain the first to declare a naval blockade against Germany  Mined the North Sea and seized any ships attempting to run the blockade (including U.S. ships)

Neutrality  Germany’s one hope for challenging Britain’s naval blockades was a new naval weapon, the submarine  In February, 1915, Germany issued its own blockade against Great Britain and established a “war zone” in waters near the British Isles

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare  The Lusitania Crisis:  The Lusitania was a British passenger liner carrying U.S. citizens  A German torpedo sank it on May, 7, 1915, killing 128 Americans  Wilson sent a message to Germany warning that it would be held to “strict accountability”  William Jennings Bryan resigns as Sec. of State because he claims this message is too warlike

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare  There were several other sinkings that Germany claimed to be accidents  March, 1916: A German torpedo sinks the Sussex, killing several American passengers  Wilson and Americans very angry

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare  Rather than risk U.S. involvement, Germany issued the Sussex Pledge, and promised not to sink merchant or passenger ships…without giving fair warning

?  If Germany had not developed submarine technology, how might U.S. involvement in WWI been altered?

Economic Links with Great Britain and France  Industrialist Partnership:  U.S. economy became closely tied to the Allied war effort  Orders for war supplies from the Allied powers increased U.S. industry during the early years of the war  In theory, the U.S. could’ve traded with Germany, but British blockades effectively prevented such trade

?  What could’ve happened differently for the U.S. to economically support Germany and the Central Powers rather than France and Great Britain?

Economic Links with Great Britain and France  Loans:  J.P. Morgan and other bankers loaned over $3 billion to France and Great Britain  Maintained U.S prosperity because the money would be coming back to the U.S. to purchase war goods  Sustained the Allied war effort

Public Opinion  Ethnic Influences:  1914: 1 st - and 2 nd -generation immigrants made up 30% of the American population  They were glad to not be fighting and strongly supported neutrality  Even so, immigrants often sided with their ethnic origins  Italians cheered on the Allied powers  German Americans sympathized with Germany  Irish hated Britain, favored the Central Powers  Although most wanted neutrality, the majority of native- born Americans supported Great Britain and France

?  If immigrants had not made up such a large percentage of the U.S. population in 1914, how would public opinion about U.S. involvement in WWI been different?

Public Opinion  British War Propaganda:  Britain commanded the war news that American newspapers and magazines received  The British government seized this opportunity to sway America’s public opinion by printing stories of evil German soldiers committing atrocities in Belgium and the German- occupied part of France

?  How would U.S. public opinion about Germany been different if Britain had not been the dominant source of war news?