WWI

Causes of WWI Nationalism Imperialism Militarism Alliances Mobilization

Two Sides: The Belligerents Belligerents: Warring Nations Central Powers: Germany Austria- Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire –Territory extended from the North Sea to the Middle East Helped them with easy communication and rapid troop movement Germany had a well trained and well-equipped Army

Belligerents Continued…. Allied Powers: More soldiers and greater industrial capacity Advantage through British Navy (largest in the world) –Allows them to get food and raw materials from around the world more easily –Can blockade Central Powers –Made up of 32 countries by the end

Innovations in Warfare Weapons massed produced U-Boats: German submarines –Comes from the German word Unterseebooten: underwater boats Poison Gas also introduced by Germans Machine guns (several men needed to reload them) Long range artillery Airplane The Tank The Zeppelin

Poison Gas

Poisonous Gas

British 18-pounder being aimed by its crew. German 42cm "Big Bertha“, named for Bertha Krupp. German 17cm railway gun French troops loading a 40cm shell into a railway gun This howitzer was produced by the Skoda arms works in Austria French 75mm. Rapid firing and accurate. It was a common artillery piece among the allies. Note the spent casing in the air

Innovations Continued… Trench Warfare ars/wwone/launch_vt_wwone_trench. shtmlhttp:// ars/wwone/launch_vt_wwone_trench. shtml New type of soldier: drafted not professional Propaganda: The use of selected bits of info; both true and false to get people to back their country’s war effort

Early years of the War Gallipoli: A fight for Constantinople; to remove Ottoman Empire from the war and give supplies to Russia. –Failed due to mismanagement and bad timing Naval Warfare: Blockade North Sea; U-boats; Sinking of the Lusitanian Stalemate: By late 1915 on land and sea War of Attrition: A slow wearing-down process in which each side was trying to outlast each other

Stalemate

Defeat of Central Powers Treaty of Brest Litovsk: With Russia out of the war; it allowed Germany to take troops from the East and fight in the West. Ferdinand Foch: Stopped the Germans at Chateau-Thierry Americans show up in Europe Germans begin to get pushed back Armistice: Agreement to stop fighting –11am on Nov 11, 1918 (Veterans Day) million dead 21 million more wounded and crippled for life Germany losing the most followed by Russia Total Cost: $300 Billion

Fourteen Points 1918 Woodrow Wilson Spoke to Congress with his outline for the world after WWI. It became known as 14 Points Six General Points: –No secret Treaties –Freedom of the seas for all nations –Removal of all economic Barriers; Tariffs –Reduction of armaments; imperialist powers and the colonial peoples –Adjustment of colonial claims; to guarantee political independence and protection to small and large states alike. Everyone was impressed with his proposals

Paris Peace Conference January 1919 Meet in Versailles, France Big Four: U.S. (Wilson) Britain (David Lloyd George) France (Georges Clemenceau) Italy (Vittorio Orlando) Problems with process because of exclusion Wilson worked to make it fair for all Wanted to get revenge on Germany Reparations: Payment for war damages Wanted Germany to bear the cost of war League of Nations: Organization to maintain peace, created by Wilson (not sure how practical)

What Kind of Peace? Two conflicting viewpoints on the end of the war: 1. Wilson: wants to be fair and not so harsh. 2. Allies felt hatred toward Germany and never wanted them to be powerful again. They tried to do this by taking away most it’s territory and making them pay for damages. France’s Clemenceau argued that the only way to ensure Germany would no longer attack was to break it apart and have allied forces occupy it’s various regions. These decisions would mark the future for Germany

Terms of Peace Armistice: An agreement to stop fighting Problems with Paris Peace Talks –Countries excluded; treaty not fair to all; New political situation; territorial demands Reparations: Payment for war damages League of Nations: Organization to maintain peace created by Wilson

Creating a “New” Europe Treaty of Versailles: May 1919 Treaty that was signed in Versailles –Germany lost out Lost Alsace-Loraine Lost Rhineland Cannot have subs Cannot manufacture heavy artillery, tanks or military airplanes Only allowed 100,000 man army Former Territories: Austria and Hungary divided Ethnic Populations: National Self-determination –Genocide: systematic extermination (Armenians in Ottoman Empire) World Court: Through the League of Nations this court will determine cases involving international law –Economic Sanctions: Refusal to trade with an offending nation Mandates: Colony will be ruled by the government of an “advanced” nation and that nation would prepare the people for independence.