1. World War I, The Great War

2. Causes of the War
Nationalism- pride in and loyalty to one’s ethnic group
Imperialism- race for colonies around the globe
Militarism - arms race in Europe
Alliance System

3. Alliances 1882 Bismarck joins Germany with Austria-Hungary (A-H)
Treaty with Russia
1890 Kaiser Wilhelm II gets rid of Bismarck and cancels treaty with Russia
Russia joins with France
Triple Entente: Russia, France, Great Britain
Triple Alliance: Germany, A-H, Italy

5. War Breaks Out
July Assassination of the A-H Archduke Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophia in Sarajevo
Germany gave “blank check” of military support to Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary’s severe ultimatum to Serbia, which Serbia refuses in full
A-H declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914
Russia mobilizes to defend its ally Serbia
Germany declares war on Russia, then France
Germany invades Belgium and Great Britain and Italy enter the war on the Allied Powers’ side

6. Life at War
Trench warfare
Poison gas
Automatic weapons

7. Trench Warfare on the Western Front

8. Poison Gas

9. War on the Western Front
Failure of the Schlieffen plan
Stalemate in France
1916- about 2 million die

10. War on the Eastern Front
Fighting in Western Russia and the Balkans
Russia and Italy plunge into social turmoil

11. Homefronts in Europe Total war Food shortages, rationing Propaganda
Women in the labor force
Rise of labor leaders

12. Propaganda Posters

13. War Outside Europe Manpower and supplies from colonies
British white dominions send troops to Africa and Middle East
Japan joined allied cause and attacked German colonies in Asia

14. US in World War I Officially US was a neutral country
US public isolationist and against US involvement in foreign wars
US claimed right to trade with either side
However, Britain and Germany set up blockades around the British and German coasts.

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

16. Sinking of the Lusitania

17. Zimmerman Telegram- 1917
secret message from Germany to Mexico urging Mexico to attack the U.S. if the U.S. declared war on Germany
Germany promised to help Mexico regain land it lost to the U.S. in the Mexican War
* The U.S. declared war on the Central Powers in 1917.

18. 1917 – Turning Point of War
Russia suffered extreme casualties during the war but tsar refused to pull out
By 1917 there was civil unrest and revolution in Russia
Lenin comes to power in Russia and fulfills promise to pull Russia out of the war

19. Russia Withdrawals in Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia backs out of the war in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and Russia (March 1918)
Treaty gives Germany a lot of Russian territory

20. 1918
With Russia out of the conflict Germany can focus on France again (Western Front)
This led to increased German troops in Western Front
By late May of 1918 German troops were weakened from push to claim Paris
Allies sensed weakness, US helped with arrival of 2 million troops
Final assault on France at second battle of Marne in July 1918 failed because of weak German army and strong U.S. forces
Central Powers began to crumble- German soldiers turned on Kaiser Wilhelm II
November 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II resigned
November 11, 1918 World War I finished with the signing of an armistice (agreement to stop fighting)

22. Treaty of Versailles Participants: “The Big Four”:
Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)
Georges Clemenceau (France)
David Lloyd George (Great Britain)
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
Wilson’s 14 points of peace - Plan for achieving lasting peace
Self-determination- allowing people to decide their own type of government for themselves
14th point- establishment of the League of Nations (an international organization designed to keep peace)
Russia not allowed to participate
A-H and the Ottoman Empire collapsed as political entities

23. How did the Treaty Punish Germany?
Territorial losses
Military Restrictions
War guilt (took the blame)
Pay reparations to the Allies

24. The Treaty Changes the Borders in Europe
Central powers lost territory as nations got independence (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia)
Ottomans lost Balkan territory and is reduced to Turkey
British control Palestine, Iraq, and Transjordan; France controls Syria and Lebanon
Russia also lost territory to Romania, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

25. New Map of Europe

26. Sykes-Picot Agreement- 1916 Plans for dividing the Ottoman Empire

27. The Mandate System

28. Legacy of the War
Huge loss of human life (up to 10 million people dead and 20 wounded) and lost generation
Rise of revolutions
Resentment by countries who didn’t get any reward for participation
Rise of totalitarianism
New independent nations