WORLD WAR 1

Causes of ww1

• Militarism

• Alliances

• Imperialism

• Nationalism

Militarism

Making a strong military a priority for your country. Using industrialization to expand your military.

Example of Militarism

• German government secretly decided to increase the NAVY to be more powerful than Great Britain

• Germany/Austria Hungary felt that they had to have strong armies because they were between Russia and France who were really powerful

Alliances

Agreements between countries to help each other in case of attack

Triple Entente (ex. of alliances)

Great Britain, France, Russia - allies BEFORE ww1

Triple Alliance (ex. of alliances)

Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary - alliaes BEFORE ww1

Imperialism

One nation taking control of the economic and political affairs of another nation

Examples of imperialism

• the ‘sun never sets’ on the British empire - 1913 = British empire controlling 23% of world population

• Germany/Austria Hungary wanted colonies

Nationalism

Extreme pride in or devotion on your own country

Examples of Nationalism

• SERBIA wanted to be free of Austria-Hungary.

• GERMANY felt they were the best.

• BRITAIN wanted to police all of Europe.

• RUSSIA wanted influence in Serbia

Immediate cause of WW1

Assassination of Archduke Frans Ferdinand of Austria

The July Crisis of 1914 (immediate cause of ww1)

• Austria Hungary wants to respond right away to the assassination, Russia wants Serbia free of Austria-Hungary, Germany secretly wants the territories of Belgium, France and Russia.

• late July = Austria Hungary issued a 2 day ultimatum to Serbia demanding an apology

• early August = Germany invades Belgium, so Britain declares war

When was WW1

1914 - 1918

Allies

Britain, France, Russia, Italy/Japan/US (joined later), Romania

Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria

Trench warfare

Soldiers lived and fought in long, muddy ditches. It was miserable and deadly.

New weapons used in WW1

Machine guns, poison gas, tanks, airplanes, submarines.

Why did the U.S. join the war in 1917

Germany was sinking U.S. ships and tried to get Mexico to attack the U.S

no man’s land

The dangerous, empty area between enemy trenches.

What ended World War 1

An armistice (agreement to stop fighting) on November 11, 1918.

What happened to Germany after WW1

Germany lost land, had to pay money (reparations), and was blamed for the war.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace treaty that punished Germany and officially ended the war in 1919.

League of Nations

An international group formed to keep peace, but it was weak and failed to stop future wars.

How did ww1 end

The defeat of the CENTRAL powers

Bolshevik Revolution of 1917

This ended Russias involvement in WW1 and later led to the implementation of the Soviet Union