1. Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism
This was the map of Europe in the beginning of June The main causes of WWI are handily summarized in the acronym, MAIN. We have already covered imperialism and nationalism. Militarism refers to the glorification of the military, the building up of weaponry and the granting of power to military leaders. To discover the impact of Alliances, we engaged in a “5-Country Role Play” (find it in the Handouts section of the website). These are also described in Chapter 14, Section 1 of the textbook. Look inside Austria-Hungary on the map for the city of Sarajevo. This was the capital of the region of Bosnia (shaded more lightly on the map). Bosnia and all the little countries below it used to belong to the Turkish Ottoman Empire. In the Balkan War of 1912, Montenegro, Serbia and Romania became independent, while Bosnia was given to Austria-Hungary. Bosnians –like Serbians– are part of an ethnic group called the South Slavs. Serbia felt that because of their close relationship, Bosnia should have been given to them.

2. Archduke Franz Ferdinand & Sophie about to take their last ride…

3. The Assassination

4. The Assassin:
GAVRILO PRINCIP
Princip belonged to the terrorist group, The Black Hand. They were Yugoslavs, which means that they believed all the South Slavs should be unified.
"No I am not sorry. I have cleared an evil out of the way. He is a German and an enemy of the South Slavs….The main motive which guided me in my deed was: the avenging of the Serbian people I am a nationalist. I aimed to free the [Yugoslavs].”

5. Austria-Hungary’s response:
Issues an ultimatum to Serbia
Serbia must accommodate a list of Austrian demands by a deadline or else…
Serbia misses the deadline…
Austria thought the Serbian government –being sympathetic to the Yugoslavs– was not doing enough to police terrorist organizations like the Black Hand. They said Serbia must let them have free reign within Serbia to track down and wipe out the terrorists. They gave Serbia a month to comply, but they did not do everything Austria wanted.

6. 28 28 29 1 3 3 4 6 EUROPE IS AT WAR Austria Declares War on Russia
JUNE 1914 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
JULY 1914 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
AUGUST 1914 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
EUROPE IS AT
WAR
Austria
Declares
War on
Russia
Britain
Declares
War on
Germany
Germany
invades
Belgium
Germany
Declares
War on
France
Germany
Declares
War on
Russia
Russia
get ready
to help
Serbia
Austria
Declares
War on
Serbia
Sarajevo 28
June 28
July 29
July 1
August 3
August 3
August 4
August 6
August
So Austria declared war on Serbia. But this caused Russia to begin to mobilize their army toward Austria. In response, Germany attacked Belgium. (If you’re saying “Huh?” then you don’t understand all those complicated alliances and should check out the 5-country role play handout or read Ch 14 Section 1 in the textbook.)

7. Germany had unleashed its Schlieffen Plan (named for the military strategist who came up with it): The idea was to defeat France within 42 days, which was the amount of time they figured it would take Russia to mobilize their troops against Germany. Then they could turn to Russia and only have to fight on one front instead of two. The plan called for a surprise attack on Belgium in order to avoid French troops stationed along the German border. Belgium was a neutral country. More than 75 years ago, the British had pledged to support them if attacked. The Germans didn’t think they’d actually do it; they did.

8. French soldiers went into action on horseback with ostrich feathers in their hats, swords in their hands and wearing scarlet pants

9. from THE VOLUNTEER Here lies a clerk who half his life had spent
Toiling at ledgers in a grey city,
Thinking that so his days would drift away
With no lance broken in life's tournament.
Yet ever 'twixt the books and his bright eyes
The gleaming eagles of the legions came,
And horsemen charging under phantom skies,
Went thundering past beneath the oriflame.
And now those waiting dreams are satisfied;
From twilight to the halls of dawn he went;
His lance is broken; but he lies content
With that high hour, in which he lived and died….
--Herbert Asquith, England, 1914
This poem is exemplific of attitudes about war at this time. It more or less says that it’s better to gain glory in war and die than live out the boring life of a clerk.

10. As they left for the war in August, the Kaiser told his German troops they would be home by the time the leaves fell

11. He was wrong. …What happened?
Instead, the war dragged on for 4+ long years, and ended without really having resolved anything. Why?...

12. He was wrong. …What happened?
Because if you had a shovel to dig a trench where you could set up some of the new machine guns, and a lot of barbed wire to string along about 25 yards out ahead of the trench, then you fight a defensive war by waiting for the enemy to charge and get tangled up, then mow him down with your machine guns.

13. Trench Warfare
The result of this new type of warfare –trench warfare– is that the front lines stayed within a 50-mile range for nearly 4 years, with no one able to gain any ground.

14. French pioneer tear gas; Germans add chlorine/mustard gas
The French thought they had an advantage when they started using tear gas; the Germans one-upped them by using chlorine or mustard gas. But a regular-issue gas mask kept you safe from both.
The British invented an anti-trench machine, which ended up being called a tank. But WWI tanks were ineffective; they would break down all the time, weren’t maneuverable, and were horrible for occupants.
French pioneer tear gas; Germans add chlorine/mustard gas

15. “The artillery shell doesn't know whether you are brave or cowardly when it hits you, so it doesn't matter anymore whether you're brave or cowardly. The whole concept of heroism disappears… Most of the time, the armies were separated by a mile or two. That's just industrial murder.”
---The Great War, PBS
Heavy artillery that could fire up to 10 miles assured an entirely new kind of war experience. Suffering through the muck and stink of the trenches wasn’t anything like “breaking your lance” in a knightly tournament….

16. SUICIDE IN THE TRENCHES I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark And whistled early with the lark
In winter trenches, cowed and glum
With crumps and lice and lack of rum
He put a bullet through his brain
No one spoke of him again
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go
--Siegfried Sassoon, 1917
…And by 3 years into the war you can tell that war, itself, will never be perceived the same again.

17. A new type of war at home, too: “TOTAL WAR”

18. Conscription (the draft)
Here are some examples of the new “total war”: Drafting every able-bodied man to fight, including from your colonies…

19. Propaganda
Encouraging enlistment through propaganda…

20. Vilifying the enemy through propaganda…

21. Getting ordinary citizens to support the war through investment and donation…

22. Rationing
Saving food to ship to the troops

23. Expanding roles for women
Women are involved heavily in the war effort for the first time, both at home and as nurses in the field.
Total War, as you probably surmised, is when the entire country changes itself to focus on the war.

24. Who’s on whose side during the war
Who’s on whose side during the war. How is this different from the alliances before the war?
During the war, itself, the Triple Entente countries pick up a few more allies (including Italy, who ditches the Triple Alliance), and becomes known as the Allied Powers. Meanwhile, Germany and Austria get the Ottoman Turkish Empire and newly-independent Bulgaria to join them, replacing Italy, and they become known as the Central Powers.

25. War lasts from Aug 1914 to Nov 1918 with very little change in army positions
WHAT BREAKS THIS STALEMATE*?
*-an endless condition where no one can win

26. War lasts from Aug 1914 to Nov 1918 with very little change in army positions
WHAT BREAKS THIS STALEMATE? The Allied Powers add a new ally (Apr 1917)

27. Britain and Germany both try to stop supplies from reaching each other -Britain sets up naval blockade -Germany retaliates with:
U-Boats
Ostensibly, the USA joins on the side of the Allied Powers because German U-boats (submarines) are sinking American ships bound for England.

28. AMOUNT OF $$$ LOANED BY USA TO WWI PARTICIPANTS BY APRIL 1917:
Britain and Germany both try to stop supplies from reaching each other -Britain sets up naval blockade -Germany retaliates with:
U-Boats
AMOUNT OF $$$ LOANED BY USA TO WWI PARTICIPANTS BY APRIL 1917:
To the Allied Powers: $2,500,000,000
To the Central Powers: $27,000,000
But beyond the cost of the ships (and lives) lost, the US has been doing a lot of business with the European warring powers. It so happens that they’ve been doing way more business with the Allies. The disparity in these sums tends to push the US toward helping the Allies win the war (whomever loses is likely going to be unable to pay up!).

29. War lasts from Aug 1914 to Nov 1918 with very little change in army positions
WHAT BREAKS THIS STALEMATE? The Allied Powers add a new ally (Apr 1917) Nov. 11, 1918: an armistice* is declared (*agreement to stop fighting)
Once the Germans know the Americans are coming, they make a last push toward Paris, moving the front the most it has moved the entire war (coming within 40 miles of the capital), but it’s too late; the Americans start landing in France, and the fresh troops are enough to turn the tide. The Germans are pushed back to their border, at which point their military leaders declare to Emperor Wilhelm that the war cannot be won (notice they don’t say that it’s lost). Wilhelm abdicates and moves to the Netherlands. The temporary German government agrees to end hostilities at 11 am on 11/11, 1918 –which becomes known as “Armistice Day” (later changed in the US to Veterans Day).

30. Of note here: If you were a Russian or French soldier, you had a 3 out of 4 chance of being killed, wounded, lost or taken prisoner. If you fought for the Austrians, it was an astounding 9 out of 10 chance. (Germany was 2 out of 3, England and Italy greater than 1 out of 3). Comparatively, the Americans made out very well. Then there’s Japan, who gained a number of German colonies in the Pacific, all for very little cost.
Economically, France had lost a ton of farmland, Britain was nearly bankrupt, and Germany would suffer most because of financial penalties heaped upon it for being the first to give in. The balance of power in the world had shifted. USA was now top dog instead of Britain. Japan was gaining fast.

31. The map of Europe was also radically changed…

32. NO MORE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE NO MORE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
NO MORE GERMAN EMPIRE
NO MORE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE
NO MORE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
NO MORE RUISSIAN EMIRE
…to this. Germany, Austria and all the highlighted new countries become republics (Turkey, too). It is the end of autocracy in Europe.

33. …but these empires remain:
But it is not the end of empire. Imperialism continues more or less unchanged. The only difference is that Germany loses its colonies –to Japan, Britain and the US in the Pacific; to Britain and France in Africa.