WWI

What were the 4 main causes for the Great War?

* **Militarism**
* New military technologies
* Arms race between countries
* Glorification of war
* **Alliances**
* Agreements to aid each other if attacked
* Most nations sign secret alliances
* Allies and central powers
* **Imperialism**
* Competition for colonies
* Many smaller wars over territory
* **Nationalism**
* Frech-German border conflicts
* Ethnic nationalism in the Balkans

When did WWI begin?

August 1914

What type of war was WWI considered to be?

A war of attrition, meaning the goal was **to kill as many people as possible**.

What were some new technologies that were introduced in WWI?

* Mustard Gas
* Planes
* Average time for a pilot to live was **6 weeks**.
* Machine guns
* Tanks
* Invented by the **British advertised to go about 30-35 mph, in reality only went 1-5 mph**.

What was the type of warfare that soldiers experienced during WWI?

Trench Warfare was extremely taxing on the soldiers. Many became shell shocked and gained a variety of diseases/infections like **trench foot**.

What were the alliances in WWI?

* Triple Entente (**Allied Powers**)
* Main countries - Russia, Britain, France (**entered first)**
* Japan, Italy, United States (**joined later**)
* Triple Alliance (**Central Powers**)
* Main countries - Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy (**switched to Allied Powers**)
* Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
* The **Balkans** were neutral.

Why did Italy switch sides during WWI?

**Italy was just seizing up the perfect time to take over the reign of their main opponent**, probably seeing a better future with its new Allies. Allied powers had also offered them some land in exchange for the switch.

What is the most immediate reason for the start of WWI?

The **assassination** of **Franz Ferdinand** **heir to Austria Hungary’s throne**. The assassination was **not the cause** for WWI, but **it is what set it off**. After this, with the help of Germany, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Serbia then declares war with the help of Russia. So and so forth.

Who assassinated Franz Ferdinand?

* Gavrilo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.
* Apart of the Serbian terrorist group known as the “Black hand.”

Battles on the Western Font

* Ran from the **North Sea coastline to the Swiss border**.
* Ran through Belgium, northeastern France, and southern Germany.
* **The Marne** - September 1914 (costly allied victory)
* **Verdun** - Long, deadly, battle throughout 1916
* **Somme** - Over 1 million casualties from July - November 1916

Battle of the Eastern Front

* Battle of **Tannenberg** - Major defeat for Russia
* Russia suffering very high casualties.
* Russian Revolution in 1917 forces Russia to leave the war in **1918**.
* Common misconception of Russia at the time was that they were very **rich and powerful**. But Russia was **actually extremely poor and unindustrialized at the time**.

Russia’s Revolution

1. **Vladmir Lenin** leads the communist group named the “Bolsheviks.”
2. **Overthrow the Czar.**
3. Signed the **treaty of Brest-Litovsk** with Germany in **1918** (**this treaty withdrew Russia from the war**)

Why did Great Britain join the war?

Germany had **marched through/invaded Belgium** who was a **neutral** country at the time in order to reach France. This outraged Great Britan at the time.

What was America like before joining the war?

* Most of America at the time is isolationist.
* Meaning they prefer **to stay away from affairs and interests of other groups**, especially the **political affairs of other countries**.
* **President Wilson** campaigns on keeping America out of the war.
* Germans destroy Titania.

Sinking of the Lusitania

* **Sinking of the Lusitania** (cruise ship)
* Germany declares “unrestricted submarine warfare.”
* **Lusitania sunk by** **German U-boat** due to suspicions of weapons being the boat in 1915.
* Kills 1000 people and **30 Americans**.
* Woodrow Wilson says Germany **must apologize** and stop targeting peaceful ships and America would stay neutral.

How was the Zimmerman Telegraph one of the causes for the U.S. joining the war?

* Secret message from **Germany to Mexico** is intercepted by the British.
* Proposes an **alliance against the U.S.**
* The plan would be for **Mexico to declare war on America** and get the lost territory after the victory.
* Causes an **outrage** in America.
* Congress officially **declares war on Germany in April 1917.**

What happens once America enters the war?

* **2.8 million Americans nicknamed “doughboys” by the French soldiers** were drafted into the armed forces.
* Fresh American troops **turn the tide of the war** for the Allies.
* Helps lead the final Allied offensives in the **summer of 1918**.

When did WWI end?

* November 1918
* Treaty of Versailles signed later on.

The Treaty of Versailles

* Signed in **June of 1919**.
* War has ended and **Germany has subsided**.
* Germany is forced to accept full responsibility of the war and must also pay reparation payments to the Allies (**proposed by Britain and France**)
* Must also now have a very limited military.
* Loses all of their territories and colonies.

What did Woodrow propose in the Treaty of Versailles?

* Woodrow Wilson did not believe **Germany should pay all reparations for the war**.
* Due to this other countries viewed him as soft and timid.
* Proposed **the 14 points.**
* Woodrow Wilson’s plan for **a long-lasting peace amongst nations**.
* League of nations/United Nations came out of this idea.
* People made fun of him for this idea.

What mistake did Woodrow Wilson make at the Treaty of Versailles?

He only brought **Democrats** to the treaty. He should have brought **Republicans** to balance out the opinion.

The Mandate System

* Great Britain and France **divide up Middle East**.
* British take **Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine**.
* France takes **Syria and Lebanon**.

How did Germany lose WWI?

The failure of the Schlieffen Plan ultimately forced **Germany** to fight a two-front war from which they could not overcome and did not have the colonies to support the war effort. The final reason for **Germany**’s **failure** in World War I was its decision to carry out submarine attack against merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean during the war.