1. WWI & the Russian Revolution 1914-1919
Chapter 27
WWI & the Russian Revolution

2. Causes
Division
Nationalism & imperialism led to competition & rivalries
Countries formed hostile alliances
Triple Entente- Russia, France, Great Britain
Triple Alliance- Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy (Ottoman Empire joins later)
Alliance system caused WWI to progress from a regional conflict to a major worldwide event.
Militarism
European nations were preparing for war
Conscription- Drafting soldiers to create large armies
Industrial Revolution brought new military technology
Internal Conflict
Democratic and socialist rebellions
Cultural divisions among minority groups

3. The Armenian Genocide
The Ottoman Empire had Christian Armenian populations living within its empire
Minority (non-Muslim) groups had long been subject to heavy taxes, kidnapping, forced conversion, & exploitation
Europe began to pressure Ottoman government for better treatment of minorities
Armenians began pushing for reforms and equality, but were violently repressed by the Ottoman government

4. A group called the Young Turks led a reform & modernization movement within the Ottoman Empire
Staged a coup, forced the Sultan to step down in 1908
Reactionary counter-coup wanted to return sultan to power and bring back strict Islamic law
Targeted Young Turks and Armenians, who were seen as being supportive of the coup
15-30,000 Armenians were killed

5. During WWI Ottoman troops suffered humiliating defeats by Russia
1912- First Balkan War ended with the Ottoman Empire losing most of its European territory (the Balkans)
Muslims living in the Balkans were forced to leave
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims settled in Armenian lands, and having lost their own land and homes, were resentful of their Christian neighbors
During WWI Ottoman troops suffered humiliating defeats by Russia
Ottoman leaders blamed Armenians for siding with & helping the Russians
Religious leaders proclaimed jihad (holy war) against Armenians

6. Genocide begins
Ottomans began forcing men enlisted in the army into concentration camps
Armenians intellectuals and community leaders were rounded up for deportation and assassinated
Entire villages were confined and burned alive
Armenians were subject to lethal human experimentation and mass poisoning
Women, children, the sick, and the elderly were sent on death marches into the Syrian Desert
Deprived of food & water, the deportees were subject to rape and murder
Other ethnic minority groups were targeted as well- such as the Assyrians and Greeks

7. It is estimated that 1.5-2 million Armenians were killed between 1914 & 1923
The Three Pashas (men who organized and directed the genocide) were never punished for their crimes
2 were later assassinated by Armenian vigilantes

8. The Serbian Problem Serbs- Ethnic minority living in Europe
They wanted to create their own nation
Supported by Russia
Austria-Hungary wanted to prevent the Serbs from breaking away and taking territory

9. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary
Serbian terrorists group “The Black Hand” planned to assassinate him to help their cause
Unfortunate because Franz wanted to give greater autonomy to ethnic minorities within the empire
June 28, 1914: Gavrilo Princip of “The Black Hand” successfully assassinated Ferdinand

10. Response of Austria-Hungary
They didn’t know if the Serbian Government was responsible, but they didn’t care
They saw this as an opportunity to crush the Serbs
They made sure that Germany would support them before they attacked
Russia agreed to help Serbia
Both sides begin to mobilize troops

11. The War Begins Germany’s Schlieffen Plan
Planned to fight a two front war (East and West)
Germany attacks France in the west with full force in hopes of an easy victory
Planned a defensive war in the East against Russia until troops in the west were free to join the fight
Germany was instead stopped on both sides by the French and the Russians, a stalemate ensued

12. Trench Warfare
Thousands of men were sent in waves of attacks hoping to break through enemy trenches
Spent years battling in a constant back-and forth over a few miles of land
Disease and new military technology greatly increased the amount of casualties

13. New Weapons Machine gun Armored Tank Airplane
Used to defend trenches and take out large number of men
Armored Tank
Developed toward end of war, used to break through enemy trench lines
Airplane
Used for spotting and mapping enemy
Drop poison gas
Dogfights (plane to plane combat in the air)

14. Submarines Chemical weapons
Germans subs were called U-boats, used torpedoes to sink ships
Wanted to prevent supplies from making it to the trenches
Chemical weapons
Poison gases could burn and blister skin, cause blindness, and death when inhaled

15. America Enters the War The Lusitania (1915)
Germany sinks the RMS Lusitania, a British passenger ship
The Lusitania was secretly carrying hundreds of tons of war munitions
The torpedo caused the smuggled artillery to explode, sinking the ship
Killed 1,198 passengers and crew members
128 of those passengers were American
American opinion of the war shifts against Germany
British increase pressure on the US to join the war effort
Sent anti-German propaganda to the US
Germany temporarily suspended submarine warfare to avoid further tension with US

16. Zimmerman Telegram (1917)
Germany attempts to bring Mexico into the war
Promised to return lands Mexico lost to the US (Texas, New Mexico)
Message was intercepted by British and given to US
Mexico remains neutral
Germany also resumes unrestricted submarine warfare, hoping to starve out the British
America enters war against Germany

17. Russia exits the war
Russia is the largest country involved in the war, but technologically inferior
Russia drops out of the war after the government is overthrown by the Bolsheviks
US entry is crucial
Fresh troops
More supplies & money
Huge psychological boost

18. Aftermath US, Great Britain, and France win
An estimated 17 million died from the war
10 million military, 7 million civilians
Many died from disease
Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 killed million worldwide
Trenches
Diseases like cholera and typhus ran rampant
Poor sanitation led to deadly infections, as antibiotics had not been discovered yet

19. Upheaval in Germany
German emperor is forced from power, Germany forms a democratic republic
New government signs armistice November 11, 1918
Radicals within Germany are not happy with the new government and its moderate policies

20. Paris Peace Conference
Delegates from victorious nations met in 1919 to determine a peace settlement
Treaty of Versailles consisted of five separate treaties with the defeated nations
German treaty was the most harsh- the War Guilt Clause laid blame on Germany
Forced Germany to pay for damages
Reduced army and navy, eliminated air force
1/10 of German territory was given to France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia
Land along Rhine River became demilitarized zone, served as barrier to France
The German people are outraged at the harsh treatment, and their own government for accepting the terms

21. Many new nation-states are formed as the map of Europe and Asia is redrawn
Austria-Hungary is dissolved
New republics and monarchies are formed
Mixture of ethnic people made it impossible to draw boundaries along ethnic lines
Minority groups in every state pushed for independence, leading to conflict
Ottoman Empire is dissolved
France & Britain took control of Syria, Iraq, and Palestine
Republic of Turkey is established