1. World War I: 1914-1918 The Great War

2. Austro-Hungarian Empire
I. Europe Before the War
Russian Empire
German Empire
Great Britain
Austro-Hungarian Empire
France
Balkans

3. II. Optimism Before the War
Peace in Europe
Economic prosperity
Led to belief that the world had become too “civilized” for war
Scientific advances

4. II. Why The Great War Began
Imperialism – competition for colonial empires fueled rivalry
Nationalism – Ethnic groups wanted nations of their own (especially in Austria-Hungary).
Example: Slavic people in the Balkan “powder keg”
Serbia was an independent Slavic nation
and wanted other Slavs to join them in a
new nation-state. The area had several
wars in the early 1900s, trying to achieve
this aim.

5. II. Why the Great War Began
Militarism – “glorification of military strength”
Each nation tried to get a bigger army or navy than the other (arms race)
Alliance System – leaders of nations promised to aid one another in case of attack
Central Powers/Triple Alliance – *Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire
Allied Powers/Triple Entente – *Great Britain, France, *Russia

6. Roots of War
Video Clip #1

7. III. The Spark
Wow.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria – assassinated in the Balkans-1914.
Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia (killer Serbian), and then went to war. Russia had to honor its alliance with Serbia.
Alliance system kicks in, and soon everyone is at war. Nations enter with excitement and the belief that the war will be short.
The lamps are going out all over Europe- we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

8. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Video Clip #2

9. IV. Schlieffen Plan Germany’s War Plan The Reality:
Massive attack to quickly defeat France
Then focus on Russia in the East
The Reality:
Attacks bog down (Battle of the Marne)
Both sides build trenches and realize the war will not be short
Trench Warfare begins

10. War of Attrition/Total War
New method of warfare based on new weapons & tactics
List 3 that I name!!!
ALL human/natural resources poured into war
Whoever ran out of these things first would lose
Colonies taken advantage of, for extraction of human/natural resources
Colonial peoples used in labor roles at the Western Front