WW1

Militarism

World powers believed that strong armies were

essential in deciding world issues

• Guaranteed peace through preparing for war

(Strong Nation= No Enemy Attack

Alliances

Are formed when two or more countries band

together against a common threat.

Imperialism

Is the forceful expansions

of a nations authority

through territorial

conquest, which creates

political and economic

domination.

Industrialization led to

ideas of gaining new

colonies, and building

huge empires.

Cause

Bosnia had been annexed by Austria.

• Many Serbians still lived in Bosnia and hated

Austrian rule.

• So Bosnian Serbs wanted to free Bosnia and

unite it with Serbia

Consequence

• Created a terrorist group called “The Black

Hand”

Trigger

On June 28, 1914

Archduke Franz

Ferdinand, heir to the

Austrian Hungarian

throne was assassinated

in Sarajevo, by a Serbian

Nationalist Gavrilo Princip

from the Black Hand.

(Terrorist Organization)

Consequence

All this was used as an excuse for Austria to

attack Serbia.

They gave them 48 hours to…

1. Put down hatred of Austria

2. Punish Assassins

3. Help Defeat the Black Hand

Or they would declare War.

Serbia Refused

Blank cheque

Germany had given Austria a “Blank Cheque”

stating that they would help Austria at any

time of need.

• This cheque was cashed to deal with Bosnia

and Serbia

Who created Schlieffen Plan

Developed by the German General, Alfred von

Schlieffen

The Schlieffen Plan

The Plan:

– Expected Russia would be slow to mobilize

their troops

– Germany would mislead the French about

the main point of attack so the French would

send their troops to the wrong location

– The German army would sweep through

neutral Belgium and attack France from the

north and capture Paris

– This plan was estimated to take six weeks

Why Schlieffen failed

Plan was based on an old treaty

guaranteeing that Belgium would

remain neutral

– Germany assumed that Britain would

not object to the invasion of Belgium

During execution, the German army

turned south too soon and were met by both

French and British troops

Consequence

Defending Belgian neutrality, The British

Empire declared war on Germany.

• Thus Canada was now at war!

• Both sides dug in and four years of trench

warfare began