WWI – The Great War

 Early 1900s – situation in Europe was very tense  Rivalry between industrial nations caused extreme feelings of nationalism  Suspicious of one another, the nations formed defensive alliances waiting for someone to throw the first punch

Triple Alliance  Germany  Italy  Austria-Hungary Triple Entente  France  Great Britain  Russia

 Spark = ethnic nationalism in Austria-Hungary  These groups wanted their own nations  Result? A series of uprisings  Serbia was a new nation in the Balkan area supported by Russia (made things even more tense) – known as the “powder keg of Europe”

European leaders trying to keep the lid on the cauldron representing trouble in Serbia

 The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia  Shot by Gavrilo Princip, a young Serbian nationalist and member of The Black Hand – they wanted Bosnia (a part of Austria-Hungary) to become a part of Serbia)

DON’T WRITE THIS!! During July and August of 1914, peace in Europe quickly fell apart – Austria blamed the Serbs for trying to break up its empire. It declared war against Serbia. Serbia’s ally, Russia, then prepared its army for war. Fearing that Russia would attack it as well as Austria, Germany declared war on Russia. Russia was France’s ally. When France offered to help Russia, Germany declared war on France. To attack France, Germany invaded neighboring Belgium. Belgium’s ally, Britain, then declared war against Germany. Soon all of Europe was at war…

 War spread like wildfire  Triple Alliance = Central Powers  Triple Entente = Allies

 1915 – sinking of the Lusitania – British ship that carried cargo and US passengers (sunk by German torpedo)  The US began to view Germany as a bully and began to side with the Allies

 Zimmerman letter – intercepted telegram from German foreign minister to German US ambassador – said that Germany would help Mexico win back Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico

 Why?  Trench warfare – each side dig trenches deep enough for soldiers to stand in  This eventually turned into a stalemate, neither side could move more than a few miles

 Airplanes – used for observation and then bombing enemy targets  Machine guns – rapid fire, great in trenches  Poison gas – sickened and killed soldiers – masks were the only protection  Submarines – German U-boats attacked at sea  Tanks

Trench Warfare and weapons  NqKM&safe=active NqKM&safe=active War Horse clip – make a list of the weapons/ war tactics that you see in the clip  3x2khwZ0&safe=active 3x2khwZ0&safe=active

 April 1917 – US declared war on Germany  More than 1 million US troops came to Europe to counter the final German advance  After a year, it was clear that Germany could not win  Allies agreed to an armistice – cease fire

 Casualties: 8.5 million  Wounded: 17 million  Regions where war had been fought lay in ruin  War debt: millions  Question? Who would pay for the rebuilding and debt?

 Paris Peace Conference 1919  The Big Three – GB, France, US (decision makers)  Germany was not allowed to take part in the negotiations

 The big three disagreed about what the treaty should contain:  GB/France – wanted Germany to be disarmed and pay the entire cost of the war  US – Woodrow Wilson wanted to set up a League of Nations (LON) – international peacekeeping organization

 The LON was included in his 14 points along with goals like: 1. End to secret treaties 2. Freedom of the seas 3. Right for people to govern themselves

 In the end, he had to give many of the points up, but he stuck to his idea of a LON and the Allies finally accepted it  BUT the US Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles (they thought the US would be giving up its ability to act in its own interests)  Soooo without the US, Wilson’s idea lost a lot of it’s power

 Germany/Austria Hungary – admit they started the war  Germany – paid $30 million in damages  German army/navy reduced in size  Area btw. Germany and France was not allowed to have forts, trenches, weapons  Germany had to return land to France  German colonies in Africa and Asia were taken

Which one’s Germany?? A tough pill to swallow Quick video!!!

The short end of the stick…