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World War I Causes
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT WWI
Started on July 28, 1914 Ended November 11, 1918 Almost 8 million died because of the war Russia having the most : 1.7 million 22,000,000 wounded MAP OF EUROPE GREATLY CHANGED
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Karl Marx German philosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist & revolutionary Ideas created foundation of communism Argued capitalism would produce internal tension and lead to destruction. Created “ The Communist Manifesto” (1848)
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Charles Darwin 1809-1882 Wrote:
“On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, 1859 All plants and animals have evolved over a long period of time Those who survived had adapted to the environment The Descent of Man, 1871 Ideas highly controversial; gradually accepted
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Now for a bit of humor The continuing Evolution of man
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The Causes of World War I
Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism
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Militarism Militarism - Building up weapons and forces to get ready for war
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Militarism Germany was competing with the UK to build battleships
The British feared an attack on their Empire, so they built even more battleships
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Militarism Germany was competing with Russia and France to expand their armies
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Militarism World War I was the first war in which advanced weaponry and tactics were used There was a race for creating more weapons of mass destruction among nations There was a desire to create a large amount of weapons as well as building up a nation’s army and navy
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Nation # of aircraft in 1914 Size of Army in 1914 # of soldiers who fought in war Austria-Hungary 34 3 million 7.8 million Britain 110 8.9 million France 160 4 million 8.4 million Germany 246 4.5 million 11 million Russia 300 6 million 12 million United States 4.4 million
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Alliances Alliance - Agreement or promise to defend and help another country, with military help if necessary
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Alliances Aid – Supporting another country with the use of goods
Treaty – An agreement to not attack each other
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Alliances By 1914 all the major powers were linked by a system of alliances. The alliances made it more likely that a war would start. Once started, the alliances made war more likely to spread.
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Alliances By 1907, Europe was divided into two armed and rather fearful camps
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Alliances Triple Alliance Triple Entente Germany Great Britain
Austria-Hungary Italy Great Britain France Russia
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Alliances
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Imperialism Imperialism - When one country takes over another territory to try to build up an Empire Empire – Where a powerful country controls several less powerful countries
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Imperialism All the great powers were competing for colonies and territory The fiercest competition was between Britain and Germany and between France and Germany
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Imperialism Great Britain, Germany and France needed foreign markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution. These countries competed for economic expansion in Africa. Clash of France against Germany and Britain in North Africa
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Imperialism The British did not want Germany involved in Africa
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Imperialism In the Middle East, the crumbling Ottoman Empire was alluring to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans and Russia The Austrians did not want Serbia or Russia in the Balkans
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Nationalism – having pride in your country, willing to defend it
Annex – to add as an extra part Think: What are some holidays where people celebrate pride in their heritage? Nationalism
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This was an age when all nations wanted to assert their power and independence
Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkan area for 400 years Nationalism
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Nationalism The Balkan Area Balkans
Albanians, Greeks, Romanians, and Slav Slavs in Austria-Hungary, aided by Serbia and Russia, wanted to be free of Austrian rule Each group was struggling for their own independence Nationalism
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THIS BECAME AN AREA OF CONFLICT
Bosnia Area of great hostility Austria- Hungary annexed Bosnia as one of its territories in 1908 Serbia was newly independent and thought that Bosnia should be one of their territories THIS BECAME AN AREA OF CONFLICT Nationalism
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Key Figures Kaiser Wilhelm II
Aggressive foreign policy – wanted Germany to be a “Bully” Built up German army and navy Determined to make Germany a top nation Distrusted by other powers “Germany must have its place in the sun” “The world belongs to the strong.”
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Key Figures Count Berchtold
Austrian Foreign Minister, later Prime Minister Hated Serbia, wanted a reason to have a war with them
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The “Spark”
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The Crisis June 28, 1914 Heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, visits Sarajevo Sarajevo was the capital of Bosnia, recently grabbed by Austria Sarajevo was the center of Slav nationalism
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Seal of the Black Hand group
The Crisis Seal of the Black Hand group THE BLACK HAND Black Hand: Serbian nationalist group The main objective of the Black Hand was the creation, by means of violence, of a Greater Serbia.
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The Crisis “Black Hand” terrorists attack on the Arch Duke
Bomb attempt in the morning fails to kill the Arch Duke Later in the day, Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip shoots Archduke and his wife
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The Crisis Austrians blame Serbia for supporting terrorists
Austrians, supported by Germany, send Serbia a tough ultimatum Serbia agrees to all but two terms of the ultimatum Russia prepares troops to support Serbia
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The Crisis Germany demands that the Russian army stand down
Germany declares war on Russia
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Domino Effect Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for Ferdinand’s death and declared war on Serbia. Germany pledged their support for Austria –Hungary. Russia pledged their support for Serbia.
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Domino Effect Germany declares war on Russia.
France pledges their support for Russia. Germany declares war on France. Germany invades Belgium on the way to France. Great Britain supports Belgium and declares war on Germany.
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