1. World War I

2. Background Info… In Mexico…
They forced their leader out of the country and put a man named Victoriano Huerta in power.
President Wilson did not like this and refused to recognize the new Mexican government led by General Victoriano Huerta.

3. Background Info…
Wilson sent Marines to seize the Mexican port of Veracruz to overthrow Huerta. When he did this, anti-American riots broke out in Mexico.
This situation got resolved by international help, which placed a new man in power.
Certain Mexicans were not happy with the new leader, so they decided to go to the U.S. to convince President Wilson to intervene.

4. Background Info…
Pancho Villa led a group of guerrillas to New Mexico and killed a number of Americans.
What are guerillas?
* an armed group that carries out surprise attacks.
What did President Wilson do?
* He sent General John J. Pershing and his troops to capture Villa, but they were unsuccessful.

5. This will all come together soon…hang on!! 

6. Arms Race
Britain and Germany trying to military ‘out-might’ the other and ‘out-colonize’ the other (out-colonize=IMPERIALISM)

7. Militarism
The policy of building up military forces and weaponry and threatening armed aggression
Britain: “ruled the waves”
Germany: most powerful army in Europe
Needed to maintain “balance of power”

8. More Background Info… Before World War I (WWI):
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were allies (on each other’s side), and they formed the Triple Alliance.
France and Russia were allies and they formed the Franco-Russian Alliance against the other countries
Great Britain remained neutral until the early 1900s, and they joined with France and Russia to change the Franco-Russian alliance to be called the Triple Entente.

9. But then…some name changes
The Allies are called the Triple Entente and they are on Serbia’s side. They are France, Russia, Great Britain and later Italy.
The Central Powers are: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria

10. WWI Alliances

11. So what is leading up to the War???
In 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed by a Bosnian revolutionary.
Because the assassin had ties to Serbia, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
This is when other countries got involved.
See handout

12. Assassination

13. Austria-Hungary Reacts
A-H blames Serbia
A-H now has a legitimate reason to take Serbia
However, Russia was obligated to defend Serbia
One thing leads to another…

14. Chain Reaction A-H blames declares war on Serbia
Russia defends Serbia, declares war on A-H
Germany declares war on Russia
France declares war on Germany, then Germany invades France & Belgium
Britain declares war on Germany because of treaty with Belgium
Colonies support Britain (including Canada)
United States declares neutrality
Japan declares war on Germany
Italy is initially neutral

15. Causes of War

16. What was the U.S. doing at this time?
President Wilson declared the U.S. to be neutral!!! But, we could see America taking sides…usually for the Allied cause (Triple Entente)
The British had a big influence on America because they began using propaganda to influence opinion and gain American support.

17. In fact, the British cut the Transatlantic Telegraph cable from Europe to the U.S. to limit news about the war mainly to British communication. The British would use terrible reports about German war atrocities to convince Americans to support the Allies.
Companies in the U.S. began giving money to the Allies and so the Americans were becoming more connected to the war.

18. So what caused the U.S. to enter the war?
The British Navy blockaded Germany so that Germany couldn’t get supplies.
Well, Germany didn’t like this and so in order for them to get around the blockade, Germany deployed submarines known as U-boats. Germany said that they would sink any ship that entered the waters around Britain.

19. Well, this violated an international treaty and the U. S
Well, this violated an international treaty and the U.S. was not happy because a British passenger liner called the Lusitania was hit by the Germans. They killed almost 1,200 passengers—including 128 Americans.
See handout.

20. Americans told Germany to stop U-boat strikes
Americans told Germany to stop U-boat strikes. Germany didn’t want the U.S. to join the war and strengthen the Allies (Triple Entente), so they made the Sussex Pledge which is a promise made by Germany to stop sinking merchant ships.
So at this point, America was still staying out of the war, until…

21. Oops….
A German official, Arthur Zimmermann cabled the German ambassador in Mexico, asking that Mexico would join sides with Germany. If Mexico did this, they would regain their territory that they had lost to the U.S. earlier.
OOOPS!!!!!! The Zimmerman telegram was intercepted by British intelligence and leaked to the American newspapers.

22. AND…Germany went back to unrestricted submarine warfare, and soon after, Germany sank 6 American merchant ships.
So, on April 6, 1917, the U.S. declared war against Germany!!

23. What was WWI like? 9 million soldiers lost their lives.
Much of WWI was characterized by trench warfare. Troops spent a great deal of their time in the trenches due to the threat of machine-gun fire.
Neither side made major advancements.
Eventually, the Allies won (U.S., Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy).

24. So what happened as the war ended?
The Treaty of Versailles ended WWI. It forced Germany to accept sole responsibility for starting the war. It also made Germany give up much of its land, and the country had to pay a huge amount of money to the allies.
The results of WWI eventually set the stage for WWII as Hitler promised Germany a better economy…and old enemies remained.

25. Video Clips Horrible Histories