1. World War I
Part I

2. Pressure for Peace
Alfred Nobel, upset at the use of his invention for destruction, created the Nobel Peace Prize
Attempts to gain women’s suffrage were supported by peace movements

3. First Universal Peace Conference
1899 – the First Universal Peace Conference was held in the Hague, Netherlands to insure peace
Created a court called the Hague Tribunal
To settle disputes
It didn’t work because it couldn’t force countries to go there to solve disputes

4. Aggressive Nationalism
France wanted to be the dominant European power again and Germany was still strong due to its recent military defeat of France
German occupation of Alsace & Lorraine upset many French people that lived there

5. Pan-Slavism The belief that all Slavic people shared a common identity
Russia, the largest & most powerful Slavic nation
Was willing to defend area nations such as Serbia in the event they were attacked

6. Defeating the Ottomans
Balkan states attacked Turkey to take back their homelands
Were successful in defeating the Turks
But after their victory they fought with each other
How to divide the land

7. Economic and Imperial Rivalries
Britain felt threatened by German economic activity
France felt threatened by German conquests in Africa
Britain & France teamed up to fight the Germans

8. Militarism and the Arms Race
Militarism – the glorification of the military and war
Countries prided themselves on preparing to fight and young men eagerly joined the military to achieve glory
Came from Social Darwinism because the outcome of war was based on the survival of the fittest

9. Militarism
Countries increased the size of their armies & navies causing greater suspicion between nations
Britain and Germany competed for naval superiority
Fears of war gave military leaders more influence in the government because leaders would ask them for advice

10. A Tangle of Alliances
Nations created alliances with each other pledging to defend each other in the event they were attacked
The point was to create power groups in order to prevent an attack

11. Central Powers (Triple Alliance)
The Central Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire

12. Allied Powers (Triple Entente)
The Allied Powers
France
Britain
Russia

13. A Murder with Millions of Victims
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was planning to visit Sarajevo, Bosnia on June 28, 1914
An important date in Serbian history – Anniversary of the day they were conquered by the Ottomans
Many Serbians were outraged by this and plotted to assassinate him

14. Gavrilo Princip
19 year old Gavrilo Princip joined a Serbian terrorist group known as the Black Hand
Princip ultimately killed the archduke which finally set off the powder keg starting the war

15. Peace Unravels
Austria sent an ultimatum, (a final set of demands), to Serbia
Serbia didn’t accept all the points of the ultimatum and Austria declared war on them

16. Escalation Austria gained the support of German forces
Serbia gained the support of Russia
Germany decided to declare war on Russia
Russia asked France for help
France helped Russia to get even with their loss to Germany a few years earlier
So Germany declared war on France
Italy and Britain decided to remain neutral

18. The Schlieffen Plan
With Germany fighting a two front war, they were sure to lose, unless they used the Schlieffen Plan
Would prevent a two front war by quickly attacking and defeating France before the Russian military could mobilize
Trick was that they had to go through Belgium to surprise the French from behind
The problem was that Belgium was a neutral country that had singed a treaty with Britain to protect its neutrality
So Britain declared war on Germany

19. Whose Fault?
An assassination led to all out warfare because each side believed they were justified in their reasons for aggression and were confident in their ability to be victorious