CHAPTER 26: WORLD WAR I

1914-1918

SECTION 1

Main IdeaEurope in 1914 was on the brink of war. After an assassination, the nations of europe were drawn one by one into what would be called the great war, or world war I.

1. Why was Europe on the brink of war in 1914?

2. Why did war break out?

3. What were the results of the fighting in 1914?

THE GREAT WAR BEGINS (“WAR TO END ALL WARS”)

Europe on the Brink of War

• Rising tensions…

• MAIN

• Militarism• Alliances• Imperialism• Nationalism

MILITARISM

• Massive military buildup in European countries, late 1800s and early 1900s

• Wanted to protect overseas colonies

• Growing power of armed forces left all sides ready to act

• Minor disagreements had potential to turn to armed conflict

ALLIANCES

• Nations formed partnerships

• Believed no one nation would attack another, because of alliance systems

Triple Alliance Triple EntenteGermany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

France, Russia, Great Britain

IMPERIALISM

• Late 1800s and early 1900s saw quest to build empires

• Created rivalry among European nations

• Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain raced to become great imperial nations

• More land= more power

NATIONALISM

• Strong devotion to one’s national group or culture

• increased in late 1800s• Led to formation of new

countries & struggles for power

• Hot spot= Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe

• Home to many ethnic groups trying to break free from Ottoman Empire

SERBIASome of strongest nationalist tensions in Balkans in Serbia, independent nation

• Serbian leaders wanted to expand borders,

• unite people in “greater Serbia”

• Austria-Hungary, powerful empire to north, opposed expansion

• Feared growth might encourage ethnic groups there to rebel

• Tensions continued to rise in early 1900s…

ASSASSINATION

War Breaks out!!

• Who is assassinated??

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand

WAR BEGINS!• Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-

Hungary decided to visit the Bosnian city of Sarajevo

• Serbian Gavrilo Princip assassinated archduke & wife

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

• Russia prepared to support Serbia

• Austria-Hungary ally Germany saw Russia as threat

• Germany declared war on Russia, ally France

CLIP

SCHLIEFFEN PLAN

• Germany faced war on two fronts: Russia to east, France to west

• Decided to strike France quickly then move to Russia

• Began with quick strike into neutral Belgium

• Attack on neutral country led Great Britain to declare war on Germany

SIDES FORM

Central Powers Allied Powers

• Germany,• Austria-

Hungary

• France• Russia• Great Britain• Serbia• Italy (1915)

FIGHTING IN 1914

• War quickly turned into a bloody stalemate

• Germany wins Battle of the Frontiers

• Both sides suffered heavy losses

• Russia attacked German territory from the east

• Russians defeated in Battle of Tannenberg

• Germany distracted from France, Allies turned on German invaders

TRENCH WARFARE BEGINSBattle of the Marne• September 1914• Allied troops drove Germans

back• Retreating Germans dug series

of trenches• Waited in trenches for Allied attack

• Trenches elaborately constructed, concealed

• Allies dug trenches of their own• Months with little change in positions• Deadlocked region= Western

Front

CONDITIONS IN THE TRENCHES

Clip- All Quiet on the Western Front

SECTION 2: A NEW KIND OF WAR

MAIN IDEA: With the introduction of new types of warfare and new technologies, World War I resulted in destruction on a scale never before imagined.

1. How was the World War I battlefield different than those of earlier wars?

2. How did the war affect the home front?

3. What happened on the Western Front?

4. How did the war spread around the world?

THE BATTLEFIELD

New Weapons

• Poison Gas in response to deadlock

• Both sides develop gas masks

• Rapid-fire machine guns more effective- widely used

• Artillery and exploding shells

Hundreds of miles of trenches

Trenches not new idea

• But never used on this scale• Rainstorms produced deep puddles, mud

• Lice, rats, bad sanitation constant problems

• Removing dead bodies often impossible

• Trench foot…

WARFARE

Soldiers ordered out of trenches to attack enemy• Sprinting across area known as “no-mans-land”• Thousands on both sides died, cut down by enemy

gunsTanks and Aircraft• Tanks developed to cross no mans land• Developed by British• Not always reliableAircraft more useful• First used for observation• Then added machine guns & bombs• Used to attack cities and battlefields• WWII flying aces

FLYING ACES

Manfred von Richthofen “The Red Baron”

WAR ON THE HOMEFRONT

Total war• Must use all of societies resources,

EVERYONE involved• Factories produced military

equipment, citizens conserved food, other goods

Countries tried to control public opinion• Censored media• Propaganda

• Tried to influence opinions and get volunteers

• Portrayed enemy as brutal

WOMEN IN WAR

Millions of men at battleWork on home front done by

women• Some worked in factories,

produced war supplies• Others served as nurses

Contributions of women • Transformed public views of

women• Helped women win right to vote

BATTLES ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Didn’t start off well for Allies…• After being loosely sided with Central Powers, Italy

joined Allied Powers, May 1915• Sent forces against Austria-Hungary at border• Series of back-and-forth battles

• Little progress made…Battle of Verdun• Germans attack French fortress, Verdun• Meant to kill, injure as many French soldiers as

possible• 400,000 French casualties, 10 months of fighting

• almost as many for Germany

BATTLES

The Battle of the Somme• British launched attack in Somme River area

• Plan to pull German troops away from Verdun• Main assault during 1916, but NO major breakthrough • Both sides lost great number

• Brits nearly 60,000 casualties 1st dayThe Third Battle of Ypres• Failed offensive caused rebellion in French troops-

spring 1917• Brits began offensive near Ypres, Belgium, site of

German attacks• Disaster for British

Front lines remained virtually unchanged!

WAR AROUND THE WORLD

WWI became true world war as fighting spread around the globe

• Over 30 nations officially took sides in the war

• Ottoman Empire joined Central Powers, late 1914

• Controlled sea passage, Dardanelles

• Used by Allies to ship supplies to Russia

Gallipoli Campaign• Allies landed force

on Gallipoli Peninsula

• Attempted to destroy guns, forts on Dardanelles

• Gave up after months of fighting, 200,000 deaths

Spring 1915• Ottoman subjects

in Arabian Peninsula rebelled later in war

• British sent T.E. Lawrence to support Arabs

• Arabs overthrew Ottoman rule

Major Loss

ARMENIAN GENOCIDEOttoman Empire• Caucasus: home to ethnic

Christian Armenians (minority)• Ottoman leaders claimed

Armenians aided Russians • Began forcibly removing

Armenians from Caucasus, spring 1915

• 600,000 Armenians died in massacre

• Ottoman leaders commit genocide (destruction of racial, political or cultural group)

OTHER FIGHTING

War also fought in Asia and Africa

Japan declared war on Germany• Part of military agreement with Great Britain• Japanese captured German colonies in China• British, French attacked German colonies in Africa

Allied colonies scattered around world made

contributions to war

• Some colonists worked as laborers to supply armies• Others fought, died in battles in hope of winning

independence• Hopes were in vain