WORLD HISTORY FINAL PART THREE - World War I

Background Causes of WWI

• Bismarck did not want war to wreck Germany, thought France was biggest threat → isolate France by forming Dual Alliance (1879) with Austria-Hungary and Italy; treaty with Russia in 1887
• Wilhelm II allowed friendship treaty between Germany and Russia to lapse → France and Russia made an alliance (promised to come to each other's aid if third country attacks them → dangerous for Germany because it would have to fight on 2 fronts)
• Wilhelm II didn't like Britain, envied their empire and their large navy → Wilhelm II built his own empire and started a shipbuilding program to make a navy
• Germany's aggression prompted Britain to build naval program (made the Dreadnought, biggest boat in world at that time, all guns) and seek allies → form Triple Entente with France & Russia (promised to not fight each other)
• 1907: Triple Alliance VS Triple Entente → neutral countries felt pressured to pick sides
• Balkans = Powder Keg of Europe
• Albania, Greece, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania all broke away from Ottoman Empire in early 1900s
• Serbia wanted to absorb all Slavs from A-H and OE into one nation (Pan-Slavism) → Russia delighted (they were Slavs) and thought they were strongest Slavic nation, vowed to be "Protector of all Slavs" and supported Serbia
• almost war in 1908: A-H annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina but Serbia wanted them too → Russia offered Serbia full support then Germany stood behind A-H and Russia backed down due to lack military prep
• Pre 1914: every Great Power kept standing army (except Britain had a navy) because politicians saw war BEST way to solve problems
• Military generals longed for war so could test new weapons and strategies → thought war was gonna be 6 months tops!
• Civilians thought war was exciting and patriotic, dying in it was the most glorious way to die, turn boys into men

Timeline: From Assassination to Total War

• June 28, 1914: Black Hand (Pan-Slavic nationalist group) wanted to assassinate Franz Ferdinand (A-H's heir) in Sarajevo, Bosnia → Gavrilo Princip shot F.F.
• A-H checked with Germany to turn against Serbia and Ger. gave them a "blank check" of support (unlimited support)
• A-H issues Serbia harsh ultimatum telling them to 1. stop all anti-Austrian activity (vague) 2. allow Austrian officials to investigate murder and prosecute (fair?) 3. Serbia had 48 hr to respond → Serbia accepted the terms they wanted to avoid war, A-H wanted war
• July 28, 1914: A-H declares war on Serbia → Russia mobilizes troops, weapons, supplies backing up Serbia
• Wilhelm II sees Russia's actions as threatening war so he moves soldiers to Ger. border as "precaution"
• Aug. 1, 1914: Ger. preemptively declares war on Russia → France, being part of Triple Entente and allied with Russia, makes Russia look to them for military support
• Aug. 3, 1914: Ger. declares war on France
• Schlieffen's Plan (to avoid a two front war for Ger.): attack France with 100% military might before Russia mobilizes then fight Russia with 100% might (after France defeated)
• Aug. 4, 1914: Ger. marches into Belgium (neutral nation) that warned Germans to stay out → August 5, 1914: GB declares war on Ger. claiming outrage for violation of neutral nation
• mid Aug.: Central Powers (Ger., A-H) VS Allied Powers (GB, FR, Russia, and Italy switched sides)
• Early Sept. 1914: Russia mobilized quicker and troops reached Eastern Front → Ger. high command sends thousands to Eastern Front, reducing odds of Schlieffen plan succeeding
• Sept. 6, 1914: FR and GB try to protect Paris at Battle of Marne → if Paris captured, FR would surrender; desperately British troops filled up transport trucks and overflow took taxis to battlefield

Timeline: From Assassination to Total War, Part 2

• Sept. 12, 1914: German generals gave command to retreat, falling back 40 mi north of Marne → Paris is saved! France does not surrender!
• the Schlieffen Plan FAILED → quick victory in West nor East possible, Germany faced a long, bloody, destructive war on 2 fronts…

New Technology in WWI

• Automatic Machine Gun: GB first used it, ADV: fast fire, 600 rounds per min; good range, up to 4,500 yards (over a mile); consistent fire and easy to reload, 1 is as deadly as 40 men with manual-loaded rifles, DIS: not portable, heavy, stayed on tripod mount; very expensive, about $10,000 today; could overheat causing jamming, required 2-3 people to use it, led to use of trenches
• Tanks: GB first used it, ADV: cross over trenches easily, helped infantry, transported weapons, hard to destroy, crushed barbed wire protecting trenches, DIS: very slow (3-8 mph), really expensive, inside very hot and cramped, big and loud, got stuck in howtzer holes in "No Mans Land"
• Military Airplane: ADV: observe enemies movements from air (spying), drop small hand-held bombs (not primary purpose), seeing it spooked/threatened enemies, aided in strategic planning, spying/recon main purpose, DIS: limited range, unreliable engines, communication difficulties, weather depended, primitive basic inaccurate weapons, pilots not trained properly led to high mortality rate, slow
• Poison Gas: GR first used it, ADV: low cost, long range, surprise factor, disrupts enemy, psychological/physical impacts: blindness, burns, internal bleeding, cancer, respiratory issues, maimed and injured not kill, DIS: weather dependent, could backfire by wind blowing it back to you, no guarantee of killing, have to wear a mask when using it, lots of chlorine gas exposure damages eyes, scared soldiers using it too, ethical concerns as civilians could be hurt (banned before)
• Submarine "U-Boat": GR first used it, ADV: torpedo enemy boats (taking out weapons, supplies, resources for war), could not be detected → stealth advantage, DIS: unethical weapon → hurt GR global reputation, GR said they had right to attack any ships, including neutral ones

Trench Life in WWI

• boring (played card games, who could kill most rats, cleaned tools to pass time)
• stressful
• painful
• smelly (ammo discharge, rotting bodies, latrines, earth, men themselves)
• dirty, unclean, unsanitary
• scary ("When is it my turn?")
• corpses everywhere
• loud
• cold, canned, tinned food
• likely to get disease especially from the rats everywhere that ate rotting bodies
• soldier came back with Shell Shock: like PTSD, got it from living in trenches, close encounter with death, seeing friends die, gunshots, rotting corpses, gore, blood, gun powder, poison gas
• Trench Fever: fever (comes and goes, 4-6 days), headaches, leg and shin pain, occasionally rash; caused by bacteria Bartonella Quintana, transmitted to humans through bites and feces of an infected human body lice, wet environment; could be cured
• Trench Foot: pain in the toes and heels, numbness or tingling, swelling, redness or blueness of skin, blisters, ulcers, and gangrene (tissue death); caused by feet kept wet and cold for prolonged periods, prolonged exposure to cold (above freezing) and damp conditions; could be cured
• Trench Mouth: severe pain, inflammation, ulcers on gums, bleeding gums, bad breath, fever, and general discomfort; caused by poor oral hygiene, overgrowth of mouth bacteria, stress, smoking, nutritional deficiencies, salty food; could be cured
• soldiers who signed up to fight in WWI thought the war would be a short, fun, exciting adventure but in reality, fighting along the Western Front was torturous, long, loud, dangerous, painful, traumatizing, and scary. Once you got there and finally understood with war was like, you knew you would not get out alive.

WWI was a GLOBAL War

• Allied Powers used British Indians, French West Africans, Canadians, New Zealanders, Australians to fight in their side
• Central Power used Ger. colonies in Africa and Asia, South Africans, Mexicans to fight on their side
• some colonial people volunteered to fight for the imperialists in WWI → expecting citizenship, independence, or respect in return (got NONE)
• other than soldiers, indigenous populations worked as laborer and suppliers during WWI
• lot more troops/soldiers
• made it a global war (beyond Europe)
• made it last longer (more people fighting)
• once the war was over, the indigenous people did NOT gain independence/citizenship → grounds for distaste and revolt
• colonial people were not freed, empires remained
• colonial people's nationalism soared because they did not get their freedom

WWI was a TOTAL war

• channeling of a nation's entire resources into the war effort
• government played a stronger role in people's economic and cultural lives
• government raised taxes
• government borrowed huge amounts of money
• government rationed food, boots, gasoline, and more
• citizen's daily cost of living went up
• workers could not strike
• citizens had limited items to buy
• government set prices and forbade strikes
• Nationalization: government takes control of factories and sets prices all towards war
• male citizens expected to fight in the war, and if couldn't fight work in factories
• female citizens expected to take over men's jobs, keep the nation's economy going, manufacture weapons and supplies, join women branches of armed forces, grow food, be nurses → increased a woman's pride and confidence, helped them get the right to vote!
• government wanted to keep complete casualty figures and discouraging news about WWI AWAY from public → so RESTRICTED: popular literature, historical writings, motion picture, the arts
• propaganda (spreading of one-sided info to convince someone of one PoV, promote a cause, damage opposing cause) used by government: motivate military mobilization, get people to loan money to gov., control public opinion, make people think they were winning, get people to enlist

US Entering WWI

• Ger. used unrestricted submarine warfare: sinking ships (even neutral) without warning
• May 1915: Ger. torpedoed British cruise the Lusitania, killing 139 US citizens, Ger. justified the sinking by saying it was smuggling weapons for GB (they were right), but Ger. promised US (to reduce public anger) to warn neutral ships before firing
• 1917: British blockade around Ger. ports left Ger. hungry and desperate → Ger. returned to unrestricted submarine warfare
• Ger. tried to starve GB into surrender but GB protected its boats with convoys
• Feb 1917: Zimmermann sent top secret telegram to Mexico, offering to help Mexico get back its land from Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if it joined Central Powers and sneak attacked US → Britain intercepted it and made sure US newspapers have full access to telegram
• US public demanded war against Ger. when they saw the telegram in newspapers → April 2, 1917 US joined WWI on Allied Powers side

Russia Quitting WWI

• Russia lost more soldiers than any other nation due to poor military leadership, limited food, and little weapons and ammunition
• Russians blamed Tsar Nicholas II for military losses and rebels overthrew him in March 1917 → new government continued to fight along Eastern Front
• Ger. sneaked Lenin across border to have him rise to power in Russia and then make peace with Ger.
• Nov 1917: Bolsheviks with Lenin as leader, took control of Russia
• Treat of Brest Litovsk signed between Lenin and Ger. → Russia quit the war; Ger. ended the fight on the Eastern Front, sent troops there to the Western Front, no more two front war; France, Great Britain, and USA had more troops to fight on the Western Front, hated Lenin, waged war to get rid of Lenin

The END of WWI

• Russia withdrew, Ger. concentrated all military power on Western Front
• early June: Ger. on edge of Paris again
• Germans grew tired and began to run low on supplies, while 250,000 troops from US arrived every month to join FR and GB → did not have much military experience but brought much needed levels of energy, confidence, and optimism to battlefield
• one by one, Ger. allies abandoned the Central Powers
• Nov 9 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, Ger. had a republic whose first urgent task was ending the war
• NOVEMBER 11, 1918 at the STROKE OF 11:00 AM: the Great War came to an end, the last bullet flew (President Truman was there, and disgusted → impacted his decision in WWII)

Armistice

• an agreement to stop fighting
• WWI's signed on November 9, 1918

Financial Cost of WWI

• Germany had to pay $31 billion ($33 billion) in reparations over 30 years, Germany paid its last reparations installment in 2010!
• all the money that went towards manufacturing ONLY weapons (total war)

Human Cost of WWI

• millions died
• soldiers came home with shell shock, traumatized

Peace Process of WWI: Wilson's Fourteen Points

• hope and goal: make people use democracy, create a fair and morally correct plan with NO revenge
• Point 1. Ending Secret Treaties → fix problem of pre-war standing alliances
• Point 2. Freedom of the Seas → fix problem of unrestricted submarine warfare
• Point 3. Removing Economic Barriers or Tariffs on Trade → free trade would boost positive interaction between nations
• Point 4. Reducing the Size of Armies and Navys → fix problem of militarism
• Point 5. Changing Empires so they are fairer to the people that live in them → fix problem of growing nationalism
• Points 6-13: redrawing national boundaries according to self-determination → Wilson encouraged people around the world to embrace DEMOCRACY
• Point 14. Wilson thought this goal was the most IMPORTANT one, it was a chance for big and small countries to meet and discuss goals and problems (talk problems out, NOT fight). Made an international group dedicated to democracy called the "League of Nations"

"the Big Four" at the Paris Peace Conference

1. David Lloyd George: represented Britain, wanted to get resources to make Britain stronger

2. Vittorio Orlando: represented Italy, wanted land for Italy

3. Woodrow Wilson: represented USA, wanted democracy and fairness

4. Georges Clemenceau ("the Tiger"): represented France, wanted revenge and to make Germany forever weak

Peace Process of WWI: Treaty of Versailles

• Russia not invited to participate in the drafting of this because they were in the middle of a civil war and other countries were bitter because they had quit first
• Germany not invited to participate in the drafting of this because they were the ones being blamed for whole war
• officially signed in the Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles → showed off France's power, the Sun King built it
• officially signed on June 28, 1919 → exactly 5 years after Franz Ferdinand's murder
• this would never create "fair and lasting peace" because it wasn't fair, they whole war was being blamed on Germany
• forced territorial losses, military restrictions, and economic terms upon Germany
• took steps to create the League of Nations

Territorial Losses Forced Upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles

• France took back control of Alsace and Lorraine (territories along Franco-German border) which were rich in coal and iron
• France took mines of Saar Basin which was rich in even more coal and iron from Germany
• Poland became a free nation by taking big pieces of land from Germany
• France, Great Britain, and Japan took over ALL of Germany's territories in Africa and Asia
• In total, Germany ended up losing 13% of its land and 10% of its population

Military Restrictions Forced Upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles

• size of army was strictly limited and could only be "defensive" in nature (only enough to defend)
• German factories could never make any "war material" → very vague on purpose; could include submarines, airplanes, poison gas, machine guns, tanks, gun powder, gas masks, bombs, boots, helmets, pots and pans; made Germany have to buy a lot of weapons/stuff in general and severely weakened their military strength
• Germany's military could never again have submarines or airplanes
• Germany could never place any troops in the Rhineland, a territory located along the border between France and Germany. It was turned into a demilitarized zone, no troops or fighting could occur there.

Economic Terms Forced Upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles

• losing territory → made Germany have less land for farming, factories, and raw materials
• losing percentage of its population → made Germany have less workers, investors, soldiers, customers, and tax payers
• Article 231, the "War Guilt Clause": Germany takes full responsibility for the war → was NOT historically accurate
• Allies demanded Germany pay reparations (money paid for war debt)
• in total, Germany had to pay $31 billion ($33 billion with taxes) in reparations over 30 years
• the Allies knew the amount they demanded in reparations would not be possible for Germany to pay off in the time given → made the demand because they wanted to embarrass and impoverish Germany. Can't build an army if they're broke!
• interesting fact: Germany paid off its last reparations installment in 2010!

Treaty of Versailles Took Steps to Create the Brand New League of Nations

• USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan would have permanent seats on the Executive Council → they were the winners of WWI, the Allied Powers
• the 42 nations that joined the Allied Powers during the war or remained neutral throughout it would have seats in the General Assembly
• GERMANY and RUSSIA not allowed to join League of Nations → not effective for achieving peace through diplomacy, it was doomed to fail because it left out the nations they disagreed with. Not able to talk out those problems and not equal

Peace Process of WWI: Territorial Changes

• Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria LOST land to create Yugoslavia
• Yugoslavia was the country for Slavs Serbia wanted to create
• GERMANY lost land to create Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia → Allied Powers justified this because all the responsibility of the war fell on Germany
• Germany and Austria-Hungary had to give up territory to create Czechoslovakia
• Sudetenland was the Western portion of Czechoslovakia with the 3 million people living here considering themselves to be Germans, not Czechs → wanted to separate from Czechoslovakia and join Germany
• 6 million people living in Austria spoke German → post-war treaties forbid any anschluss (union of Austria and Germany) from happening

US and the Treaty of Versailles

• US could not officially sign this document without Congressional ratification of its terms → President Wilson brought the document to Washington DC to present its terms to public and Congress
• US public and Congress found the League of Nations term to be the most problematic and concerning
• many Americans believed US' best hope for peace was to stay out of European affairs (independent spirit) → League of Nations did not let them do that
• League of Nations may undermine Congress' power in foreign affairs → no American soldiers could be ordered to fight without Congress consent
• US NEVER signed the Treaty of Versailles or joined the League of Nations