World War I

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT WWI Started on July 28, 1914 Ended November 11, 1918 Almost 8 million died because of the war –Russia having the most : 1.7 million 22,000,000 wounded MAP OF EUROPE GREATLY CHANGED

Causes of WWI – MAIN! M ilitarism - policy of building up a strong military to prepare for war (ARMS RACE) A lliances – agreements between nations to provide aid and protect on another European powers formed rival alliances to protect themselves PROBLEM: One event could drag all countries involved into a conflict I mperialism – when one country takes over another country economically and politically. N ationalism – extreme pride in one’s country

MILITARISM World War I was the first war in which advanced weaponry and tactics were used There was a race for creating more weapons of mass destruction among nations There was a desire to create a large amount of weapons as well as building up a nation’s army and navy

Alliances Triple AllianceTriple Entente

Triple Alliance vs. Triple Entente The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy was counter-balanced by the Triple Entente of France, Russia, and Great Britain. As a result, by 1907 Europe was divided into two armed and rather fearful camps.

Imperialism Virtually all the major powers were engaged in a scramble for empire to bolster their economies The fiercest competition was between Britain and Germany and between France and Germany

Imperialism Great Britain, Germany and France needed foreign markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution. These countries competed for economic expansion in Africa. Clash of France against Germany and Britain in North Africa In the Middle East, the crumbling Ottoman Empire was alluring to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans and Russia.

European Conquest of Africa

Nationalism The French Revolution had spread nationalism throughout most of Europe –The idea that people with the same ethnic origins, language, and political ideals had the right to form sovereign states through the process of self-determination MAIN IDEA OF NATIONALISM

Nationalism STRONG IN THE BALKAN AREA Ottoman Empire  ruled the Balkan area for 400 years Balkans –Albanians, Greeks, Romanians, and Slav –Each group was struggling for their own independence BOSNIA –Area of great hostility Austria- Hungary annexed Bosnia as one of its territories in 1908 Serbia was newly independent and thought that Bosnia should be one of their territories –THIS BECAME AN AREA OF CONFLICT

NATIONALISM While nationalism unified people in the powerful nations, it was dividing people in weakening empires No region was more tense in the years before World War I than the Balkans Serbia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, & Romania broke from the Ottoman Empire to create new nations Slavic people in Serbia wanted to unify all Slavs but Austria-Hungary opposed giving up the largely Slavic territories Bosnia & Herzegovina The Balkans became a “powder keg” waiting for a spark to blow up

The “Spark”

THE BLACK HAND Black Hand: Serbian nationalist group The main objective of the Black Hand was the creation, by means of violence, of a Greater Serbia.

Assassination Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie at Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28th, 1914.

Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed in Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand who believed that Bosnia should belong to Serbia. Archduke Franz Ferdinand The assassin Gavrilo Princip

Why was Ferdinand there? His uncle – Emperor Franz Joseph of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – sent him to oversee military training in Bosnia Ferdinand knew the visit would be dangerous –The Black Hand had tried to kill the Emperor in 1911

The Unluckiest Man – Franz Ferdinand Seven men lined the route Ferdinand was supposed to take 1.Mehmedbašić was the first man – got nervous because “a policeman was behind him” (had a bomb) 2.Čabrinović threw a grenade, but the driver speed up to avoid it and it exploded under the fourth car Several people in the crowd were injured 3.The five other conspirators lost a chance to attack because of the heavy crowds

The Unluckiest Man – Franz Ferdinand Seven men lined the route Ferdinand was supposed to take 4. Čabrinović swallowed a cyanide pill to avoid capture from the police. Then, to be sure, he jumped in the Miljacka River in a drowning attempt Pill was expired – just made him sick The river was 4 inches deep – he didn’t drown Was fished out and arrested

The Unluckiest Man – Franz Ferdinand 5. Franz Ferdinand decided to visit the victims of the bombing at the hospital – but never told the driver, so he continued the normal route 6. Princip spotted the car as it took a wrong turn after he hid near a café 7. The driver realized his mistake, attempted to turn around, but his engine stalled 8. Princip fired twice – first hitting Franz Ferdinand in the neck, then hitting Sophie as he attempted to protect her husband

Had Franz Ferdinand lived to take the throne – he was planning serious reforms that would have helped the multinational empire.

The Fate of Gavrilo Princip Princip attempted to take a cyanide pill – also expired Attempted to shoot himself, but his gun was taken Sentenced to 20 years in prison, but died of tuberculosis and malnutrition about 4 years later

The Outbreak of World War I On July 23, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia: turn over conspirators & allow an investigation…OR…go to war When Serbia balked at some of the terms, Austria-Hungary declared war on June 28, 1914 Russia had a large population of Slavs & was an ally of Serbia; Russia moved troops to the Austrian border These events set off a chain reaction that started World War I

World War 1 Begins On July 28,1914, Serbia declined the ultimatum On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia On August 3, 1914, Germany declared war on France Italy backed out of its agreement with Germany & Austria-Hungary… …and joined the Allies On August 4, 1914, England declared war on Germany & Austria-Hungary Russia mobilized for war to protect Serbia World War I had begun Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia & its ally Russia

During the war Germany & Austria-Hungary became the Central Powers; They were joined by Bulgaria & the Ottoman Empire The members of the Triple Entente became known as the Allied Powers and eventually were joined by…

…many nations throughout the world

Central Powers Allied Powers World War I Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Russia France Great Britain Italy Japan United States (1917) COMBATANTS OF WWI

Why was WWI a Stalemate? What’s a stalemate? –Neither side can make a move to win Both sides of the war threw arms and troops in to win but………… Millions die without gaining ground.

What new weapons were used in WWI? Machine gun Poison gas (Mustard gas) Carried by the wind Burned out soldier’s lungs Deadly in the trenches where it would sit at the bottom Submarine Airplane Tank Hand grenades Flame Throwers Why these weapons? Why now? INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION!!

Trench Warfare Trench Warfare – type of fighting during World War I in which both sides dug trenches protected by mines and barbed wire

Trenches were dug from English Channel to Switzerland 6,250 miles 6 to 8 feet deep Immobilized both sides for 4 years

MYTH

REALITY

THE TRENCH SYSTEM Front line Communication trench Support trenches No Mans Land Barbed wire

BRITISH TRENCH

LIFE IN THE TRENCHES Elaborate systems of defense –barbed wire –Concrete machine gun nests –Mortar batteries –Troops lived in holes underground Boredom –Soldiers read to pass the time –Sarah Bernhardt came out to the front to read poetry to the soldiers

“Death is Everywhere” “We all had on us the stench of dead bodies.” Death numbed the soldier’s minds. Shell shock (mental anguish) Psychological devastation “Never such innocence again” Bitterness towards aristocratic officers whose lives were never in danger

TRENCH FOOT

OTHER WWI WEAPONRY Used to stop stalemate

“BIG BERTHA”

German submarines, called U-boats, torpedoed enemy ships and neutral ships trading with the enemy.U-boats

German U-Boat torpedoes a British ship

In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania, a British passenger ship, killing approximately 1,200 people, including 128 Americans.Lusitania

WWI AIRCRAFT

SPAD VII

Curtiss Jenny