2. The M.A.I.N Causes of WW1 Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism The Spark that started World War 1

3. Militarism Definition: Policy of aggressive preparedness European nations began arming to protect their assets Increased size and strength of military. Caused Europe to become extremely unstable.

4. Alliances European nations formed alliances to create a balance of power throughout Europe.

5. Alliances prior to World War 1 Red= Triple Entente Pink= Triple Alliance

6. Imperialism -The practice of extending a nations power by gaining territories for a colonial empire. -European countries began to compete to gain territory -By the late 1800’s, Britain was the world’s largest imperialist power.

7. Nationalism Defined as the desire of independent nations for dominance and prestige. This caused Europe to become very unstable in the early 1900’s as nations competed to dominate each other. Any spark would send Europe into total war

8. British Empire in 1914 What 3 major countries were British controlled in 1914? (colored in Black) = British Empire India, Canada and Australia

9. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – The SPARK that started the war

10. World War 1 begins The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was “the spark” that ignited Europe into Total War. He and his wife were assassinated in Serbia by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist organization. With the backing of its German allies Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. Emperor William II of Germany promised Germany’s full support (a Blank check) if Russia entered the war on the side of the Serbians. Czar Nicholas II of Russia ordered the mobilization of the Russian army and this set off the alliances and The Great War had begun.

11. Opposing Sides during WW1 Allied Powers -Britain -France -Russia -Italy (1915) -United States (1917) Central Powers -Austria- Hungary -Germany -Bulgaria -Ottoman Empire (Turkey) *Before its’ conclusion, 30 nations would fight in World War 1

12. Propaganda Before the war many political leaders believed that war would not take place because of the political and economic risks. Government propaganda, ideas spread to influence public opinion for a just cause, stirred national hatreds even before the war. Most people believed their nation’s involvement in the war was a just cause. The people and soldiers were also under the illusion that the war would be over in a few weeks and this allowed for even greater enthusiasm for the fighting to begin.

13. Stalemate on the Western Front The war quickly turned into a stalemate as neither side could make progress in battle. With each side “dug in,” their trenches, a stalemate occurred along the western front. Definition – the inability for either side to win a decisive victory. On the Western Front trenches soon stretched from the English Channel to Switzerland and both sides remained in virtually the same positions for four years. The war on the Western Front soon became a war of attrition, a war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses. In 10 months at Verdun in France more than 700,000 men died.

14. The Eastern Front While the war on the Eastern Front was more mobile the costs in lives was enormous. A combined German and Austrian army eventually pushed the Russians back into their own territory and Russian losses in dead, wounded and captured exceeded 2.5 million men.

15. Trench Warfare Strategy of defending a position by fighting from deep, protected ditches. 2 Major front systems formed in Europe Eastern Front- extended from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea Western Front- Extended from Switzerland to the North Sea

16. The Eastern Front Return to previous page

17. The Western Front Return to previous page

18. Life in the Trenches Cold, wet, dirty Unsanitary- disease spread Trench Rats Body Lice Trench foot Scarce Food Supply Soldiers spent months in the trenches in these horrible conditions.

19. No- Man’s Land The area between opposing trenches Most fighting took place in this area.

20. The Trench System

21. Total War As the war dragged on it became a “total war” involving a complete mobilization of resources and people of each nation. Every citizen in the warring nations was affected. Increased the power and control of the governments over the economy. Food and material would be rationed with the resources put towards winning the war. Under these conditions the differences between the soldiers at war and civilians at home was narrowed.

22. Weapons of World War 1 World War 1 saw the use of new weapons in combat that made war even more dangerous. New Weapons included: Machine Guns Bolt Action Rifles Artillery Poison Gas Tanks

23. Machine Guns & Bolt Action Rifles Machine Guns fired 400 to 600 rounds per minute Each side set up groups of machine guns along trenches to stop enemy advance Machine Gun Bolt Action Rifle Bolt Action rifles could be shot accurately up to 600 meters

24. Machine Guns (cont.) Each had the firepower of approx. 100 rifles. Dramatically increased the number of casualties during WWI

25. Artillery Launched artillery shells over 15 km that exploded into deadly fragments over enemy positions. British Howitzer

26. Poison Gas Used in artillery shells- explosion would release gas into trenches. 2 Main types used: Chlorine Gas- destroyed the respiratory organs of its victims and this led to a slow death by asphyxiation. Mustard Gas- caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. **Most important piece of equipment was a soldiers gasmask. On average, soldiers exposed to either gas would suffer for 3-5 weeks before finally dying.

27. Tanks Developed by the British to end the stalemate on the Western Front in 1915. Could cause heavy damage to enemy lines Had tough time crossing trenches- many early models got hung up in trenches. British developed the Mark I- rhomboid shaped to get over trenches- made a significant contribution to the war.

28. The Russian Revolution By 1917 2 million Russian soldiers had been killed and 4 to 6 million more were wounded or captured. Russia’s will to fight was almost gone and internal problems led to the Russians asking for peace. The autocratic ruler of Russia, Czar Nicholas II relied on the army and the bureaucracy to hold his regime together. Grigory Rasputin an advisor to the wife of the Czar influenced her greatly and began to interfere in government affairs. Rasputin was assassinated in December 1916 but his death came too late to save the monarchy.

29. The March Revolution In March of 1917 a series of strikes led by the women of Petrograd over the price and lack of availability of bread led to a general strike which shut down the factories in the capital. Nicholas agreed to step down as Czar and a provisional government was formed under the leadership of Aleksandr Kerensky. Kerensky decided to continue to fight in Europe in an effort to preserve Russian honor. This decision proved to be a disaster as the people were tired of suffering due to the war.

30. Challenges to the Russian Government Soviets, councils composed of representative of the workers and soldiers challenged the authority of the government. These groups began to appear in military units, factories, towns and rural areas all over Russia. They were made up of socialists who represented the more radical interests of the lower classes. One group the Bolsheviks played a critical role. They began as a small group of Marxists but under the leadership of V.I. Lenin they became dedicated to violent revolution.

31. Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks seized power in October of 1917 with Leon Trotsky, a dedicated revolutionary, as head of the Petrograd soviet. Trotsky would later become commissar of war under Lenin. Bolshevik forces seized the Winter Palace where the provisional government was located in November and the government collapsed. Lenin, the head of the council which led the Congress of Soviets took charge of the government. In March 1918 Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany that ended Russian involvement in World War I. The Russians gave up eastern Poland, Ukraine, Finland and the Baltic provinces in the treaty.

32. The End of the War All nations involved in the war were exhausted by 1917. The Russian revolution and the entry of the United States into the war changed the war significantly. The withdrawal of the Russian army gave the Germans more men and material to send to the western front but the arrival of the Americans provided fresh troops and a psychological boost to the allies. The Germans were constantly pushed back from March of 1918 until September when their military leaders urged the government to make peace. An armistice, a truce or agreement to end the fighting, was signed and the war ended on November 11, 1918.

33. Peace In January of 1919 representatives from the 27 victorious nations met in Versailles. Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States outlined 14 points that he believed should be the basis for the peace process. The most important decisions of the Peace Conference were made by Wilson, David Lloyd George, the prime minister of Great Britain and Georges Clemenceau the premier of France.

34. British and French Demands The British wanted the Germans to pay reparations, the costs of the war. The French wanted the Germans to pay reparations and to create a buffer state, the Rhineland, between Germany and France to provide security against future invasion by the Germans. The British, French and the Americans did not agree on many aspects of the treaty. The British and the French only wanted to punish the Germans while Wilson wanted to create the League of Nations to help prevent future wars.

35. Compromise and the League of Nations In the end the Big Three (Great Britain, France and the U.S.) compromised in order to create a treaty. The League of Nations was created but lacked the strength it needed to prevent future wars after the U.S. Senate failed to ratify it.

36. Treaty of Versailles The Germans considered the final treaty to be harsh and unfair. The Germans were forced to pay reparations to the allied governments and their people. Germany was forced to reduce its army to 100,000 men and reduce its navy and eliminate its air force. The territories of Alsace and Lorraine were returned to the French and sections of eastern Germany were given to a new Polish state. New nations emerged after the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires disappeared.

37. New Nations Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary were all new nations created by the treaty. The Ottoman Empire was also broken up by the peace treaty. The European nations created mandates in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq. Mandates were nations governed by another nation as a mandate on behalf of the United Nations but the European nation did not own the territory.

38. Sowing the seeds for W.W. II The Germans would be blamed for W.W. I and punished heavily. This would sow the seeds of discontent in Germany and allow leaders like Hitler to take power.