Introduction Bosnia was a new province in the Austro-Hungarian Empire – Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the empire Many Bosnians were unhappy with the Austro- Hungarian rule Many Serbians wanted Bosnia to be a part of Serbia On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia

Causes of World War I

Imperialism Conflict among European powers over colonization of remaining areas in the world Germany envied France and Great Britain’s vast colonial empire – Knew they would have to take land away from them to expand into Africa

Militarism Less diplomacy in Europe by 1900 Greater military build-up and aggressive foreign policy – Expansion of weapons Expansion of military authority over government

Nationalism Two types – Acting in country’s own self interest Ex: Alsace-Lorraine in France/Germany – Acting in self interest based on ethnicity Ex: Diversity of ethnicities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Alliances Created to strengthen countries Required countries to come to each other’s aid in the event of an attack – Germany and Austria-Hungary – Russia and France – Great Britain and France

Expansion of Conflict

Declaration of War Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 – It was unhappy with its response to the assassination

Chain of Alliances Russia was allied with Serbia and began mobilizing for war Austria-Hungary’s ally, Germany, declared war on Russia – Pulled in France

First Strike Germany’s plan was to strike France first and then Russia Had to cross through Belgium first – A neutral country Great Britain was pulled into the war as a result of Germany’s invasion of Belgium

Two Sides Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Allies Russia France Serbia Great Britain Italy Romania

Early Fighting

The West German forces were stopped near Paris by France and Great Britain There they reached a stalemate whereby neither side gained any significant advances

The East Russia advanced to Germany Germany had planned to complete its attack of France before turning its attention to Russia – Had to send troops to deal with the Russians before it was really ready Prevented a German victory in the West

Modern Artillery Machine guns Grenades Poison gas No longer was the size of troops the determinate in victory Many military leaders were unaccustomed to creating warfare strategies based on modern artillery

America’s Response

Connection to War One third of Americans were immigrants Although a quarter of Americans identified and sided with the Germans most felt the greatest connection to the British – Americans also disliked Germany’s leader, Kaiser Wilhelm – British propaganda also swayed Americans against Germany

American Neutrality Woodrow Wilson declared that America would be neutral – To protect American financial investments in Europe Congress increased taxes to prepare for the possibility of war Wilson set-up military training camps