Chapter 10 World War I ■#1 Outbreak of World War I

MILITARISM ALLIANCES IMPERIALISM NATIONALISM What caused World War I?

By the 20 th century, European powers built up their militaries to compete for control in Europe and Africa. Britain, France, Germany developed modern armies & navies, leading to an arms race in Europe Militarism

Germany, Austria- Hungary, & Italy made up the Triple Alliance(Central) Great Britain, France, & Russia made up the Triple Entente (Allies) Alliances & Imperialism Increasing militarism led nations to form powerful alliances in case of war As European nations gained imperial colonies, competition led to rivalries

Pre-War Alliance Network

Nationalism Feelings of nationalism led strong countries to want to gain more power & led many weaker nations to want to re-define their boundaries Nationalism was strong in the Balkans, where Serbia hoped to unite with Austrian Slavs In 1914, Serbian terrorists assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The assassination sparked World War I The Western Front was located in France. The Eastern Front: Russia The Allied Powers The Central Powers

?? The Great War quickly became the first “world war”

American Neutrality ■When World War I began in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the USA neutral. But by 1917, the USA entered WWI as an Allied Power… WHY?

America Enters the War ■Reasons for War: ■German unrestricted submarine warfare: the British ship Lusitania was sunk killing over 200 Americans on board-other ships were sunk, killing several more Americans. –Germany’s Zimmerman Telegram offered to return Mexico its former lands if they invaded the USA-the telegram was discovered by USA intelligence. –President Wilson hoped to stop the Central Powers & make the world “safe for democracy” ■The USA declared war in April 1917.