1. World War I
An Introduction

2. Militarism – a nation’s buildup and glorification of its military
Nationalism – pride in your nation, belief that your nation is the best
Jingoism – extreme nationalism, usually connected with one country bullying another
Belligerents – aggressive warring nations
Propaganda – the selected use of information to get people to support their country
Atrocities – brutal acts against defenseless civilians
War of attrition – war in which each side hopes to slowly wear down their opponent
Ultimatum – where one side threatens harmful actions if the other side does not meet its demands
Stalemate – when neither side of a conflict can dominate the opponent
Genocide – systematic extermination of a group of people
Armistice – agreement to stop fighting
Vocabulary

3. Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria/Hungary, and Italy before the outbreak of war
Central Powers – Germany, Austria/Hungary, and Italy after the outbreak of war
Triple Entente – Great Britain, France, and Russia before the outbreak of war
Allied Powers – Great Britain, France, and Russia after the outbreak of war
Balkan Powder Keg – the series of events and alliances that began the first World War
U-Boat – submarine
Western front – western battle front (between Germany and France)
Eastern front – eastern battle front (between Germany and Russia)
Trench Warfare – style of fighting where soldiers on both sides stand in trenches during battle
Terms

4. People Kaiser Wilhelm II – leader of Germany
Woodrow Wilson – President of the United States
Archduke Francis Ferdinand – heir to the throne of Austria/ Hungary
Arthur Zimmerman – part of German foreign ministry, sent letter to Mexico to get them to join central powers

5. Europe in 1914
Countries worked hard to show their power and superiority over their rivals
Political tensions were so high that everyone assumed war would break out very soon

6. The Four Main Causes of WWI
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism

7. Militarism
Countries increased the size of their militaries to protect their lands across the globe
This turned into a competition to see which country could build the largest and strongest military
The military build-up scared people into thinking another country might attack
Germany was competing with the Great Britain to build the most battleships
The British feared Germany would attack their Empire, so they built an even bigger navy than before

8. Militarism (cont.)
All countries felt a need to build a larger military to protect themselves from aggressive countries
Leaders began worrying about an attack on the home front rather than on a colony
Germany 1.3m 5.0m
France 0.73m 4.0m
Russia 0.40m 1.2m

9. Alliances
By 1914 all the major powers were linked by a system of alliances
The countries agreed they would help their allies if war broke out
Rather than prevent conflict, the alliances made it more likely that a war would start
once war started, the alliances made it more likely to spread across the continent

10. Imperialism
The land grab in Africa and Asia created huge rivalries between the European powers
The British feared Germany would try to take their land in Africa
The Austrians feared Russia would take Serbia in the Balkans

11. British Colonies
Britain had managed to get some of the most valuable land in Africa
The most important territory was Egypt because of the Suez Canal
France also claimed Egypt as their territory
This provided a much quicker and safer route to India – the “Crown Jewel” of the British Empire
EGYPT
SUDAN
NIGERIA
BRITISH EAST AFRICA
RHODESIA
BECHUANALAND
SOUTH AFRICA

12. French Colonies
France built a large colonial empire, mostly in northwest Africa
Arguments over who controlled Morocco and Tunis caused bad feelings between Britain and France
The two countries signed the “Entente Cordiale” to solve their argument
France Got Morocco and Tunis, Britain got Egypt
ALGERIA
TUNIS
MOROCCO
FRENCH WEST AFRICA
FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA
MADAGASCAR

13. GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA
German Colonies
Germany did not enter the race for colonies until the end of the land grab - most of the land they got was not very valuable
Despite this, Kaiser William II was determined that Germany should have the biggest and best European empire
KAMERUN
GERMAN EAST AFRICA
GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA

14. Italian Colonies
Italy did gain a few colonies but also had its failures
It tried to take over Tunis but was beaten to it by France
It tried to take over Ethiopia but failed
TUNIS
LYBIA
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
ITALIAN SOMALILAND

15. Belgian Colonies
Even tiny Belgium got an African colony – the Belgian Congo
This was one of the reasons that Kaiser William II of Germany decided that his country must also have colonies
BELGIAN CONGO

16. Nationalism
People felt a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to their country
Countries tried to show their superiority through landholdings and military strength
Ethnic groups proudly displayed their culture and started movements to unite all members of an ethnicity under one government

17. Balkan Nationalism
Serbians became very proud of their ethnic heritage in the early 1900s
While Serbia was already a country, many Serbians lived outside its borders
Serbian leaders wanted to expand the country’s borders and create “Greater Serbia”
Austria-Hungary, the empire just to the north, was afraid that if Serbia expanded its borders it would encourage ethnic groups inside Austria-Hungary to break away
This issue caused big tension between the two countries

18. The Spark of War
On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand visited Sarajevo, a city in Austria-Hungary with a large number of Serbians
As the Archduke was driving through the city, someone threw a grenade at his car – it missed and exploded behind him, wounding about 20 people
Ferdinand wanted to visit the wounded at the hospital after he gave a speech to city officials, but his driver got lost on a side street
Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian radical, spotted the archduke and assassinated him

19. The July Crisis Princip was captured and identified as a Serbian
Austria-Hungary used this as an excuse to punish Serbia and make a slew of humiliating demands
If Serbia did not meet every demand, Austria-Hungary promised to declare war
Serbia received the demands and had 48 hours to comply

20. War Breaks Out
Serbia decided not to meet all of the demands, so Austria-Hungary declared war
Russia, Serbia’s ally, promised to help fight if Austria-Hungary attacked
Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, saw Russia’s actions as a threat and declared war on Russia
Since France was allied with Russia, Germany declared war on France

21. The Schlieffen Plan
Germany’s military plan to defeat France and Russia
Singe Germany was in the middle of Europe it would have to fight the war on both its eastern and western borders
It decided to deliver a “knock out blow” to France first.
Avoid French defenses by conquering and cutting through Belgium, a neutral country
Germans thought Great Britain would not intervene

22. Great Britain’s Reaction
GB had signed a treaty to protect Belgium.
Britain also scared of Germany controlling the English Channel
Britain was also afraid that Germany would attack them next
GB issued an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw troops from Belgium
When Germany refused, GB declared war

24. The Great War Name given to WWI
Germany and Austria-Hungary made up the Central Powers
England, France, and Russia made up the Allied Powers
During the first year of fighting both sides suffered huge losses
The Allies used the two-front war to prevent the Germans from launching a full attack on a single country
The Germans dug trenches and waited for the Allies to fight back against the Allies
The Allies then dug their own trenches and both sides became deadlocked on the Western Front