Unit 7: Global Conflict
Chapter 1: Global Tensions Rise 🌍⚠
By the early 1900s, industrialized nations were powerful but increasingly competitive.
Industrialization gave countries the ability to produce massive armies, weapons, and ships. At the same time, empires were competing for colonies and resources around the world.
Several forces made conflict more likely.
Militarism:
Countries expanded their militaries and believed military strength was necessary for national success.
Alliances:
Countries formed alliances that promised military support in case of war.
Major alliances included:
Triple Alliance:
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Italy
Triple Entente:
Britain
France
Russia
Imperialism:
Competition for colonies increased tensions between European powers.
Nationalism:
National pride and ethnic nationalism destabilized multiethnic empires like the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary.
These factors made Europe highly unstable.
Chapter 2: The Start of World War I (1914) 🔫
The immediate trigger for war occurred in 1914.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist.
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Because of alliances, the conflict escalated quickly:
Russia mobilized to defend Serbia
Germany supported Austria-Hungary
France supported Russia
Britain joined after Germany invaded Belgium
A regional conflict turned into World War I.
Chapter 3: Industrial War and Trench Warfare ⚔
World War I showed what industrial warfare looked like.
On the Western Front, armies fought in trench warfare, where soldiers dug trenches for protection.
Battles often involved:
heavy artillery bombardments
soldiers crossing “no man’s land”
extremely high casualties
New technologies made the war more deadly:
machine guns
poison gas
tanks
airplanes
submarines
These technologies made defense stronger than offense, creating long stalemates.
Chapter 4: Total War 🌎🏭
World War I became a total war.
Total war means governments mobilize the entire society and economy for the war effort.
Examples included:
governments controlling factories
rationing food and fuel
propaganda campaigns
censorship
Women entered industrial jobs while men fought.
Empires also used colonial troops and resources from places like India and Africa.
This made the conflict global.
Chapter 5: Revolution in Russia 🔄
The war caused economic collapse and political unrest in Russia.
Protests and military failures forced Nicholas II to abdicate.
Later that year, the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seized power.
The new communist government withdrew from the war.
Russia later became the Soviet Union.
Chapter 6: Ending the War and the Treaty of Versailles 📜
World War I ended in 1918 when Germany surrendered.
The peace settlement was the Treaty of Versailles.
Key terms included:
Germany accepting blame for the war
paying large reparations
losing territory
reducing its military
The treaty also created the League of Nations to prevent future wars.
However, the League lacked enforcement power.
Many countries, including the United States, did not join.
Chapter 7: The Great Depression and Global Crisis 📉
In 1929 the world economy collapsed.
The Great Depression caused:
massive unemployment
declining global trade
economic instability
The crisis weakened democratic governments.
Many people began supporting strong authoritarian leaders who promised economic recovery and national strength.
Chapter 8: Rise of Authoritarian and Fascist States 🪖
Economic instability helped extremist leaders gain power.
In Italy, Benito Mussolini created a fascist state based on nationalism and militarism.
In Germany, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power by promising economic recovery and national revival.
Hitler promoted racist ideology and expansion.
In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin expanded state control and forced rapid industrialization through Five-Year Plans.
Japan also developed a militaristic government and pursued territorial expansion in Asia.
Chapter 9: Aggressive Expansion 🌍🔥
Aggressive expansion threatened global stability.
Key examples:
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931.
Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935.
Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles by rebuilding its military.
Hitler expanded German territory by:
remilitarizing the Rhineland
annexing Austria
These actions were allowed through appeasement, where countries made concessions to avoid war.
Chapter 10: World War II Begins (1939) 💥
World War II began when Germany invaded Poland.
Britain and France declared war on Germany.
Earlier, Germany and the Soviet Union had signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact agreeing not to attack each other and secretly dividing parts of Eastern Europe.
The conflict quickly spread across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Chapter 11: Genocide and Mass Atrocities ☠
World War II included genocides.
The most infamous was the Holocaust, in which Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews and millions of others.
This genocide was driven by Nazi racial ideology and carried out through ghettos, deportations, and camps.
Mass atrocities also occurred in Asia during Japanese occupation.
Chapter 13: The War Ends🕊
World War II ended in 1945.
Germany surrendered after Allied forces invaded from multiple directions.
In the Pacific, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading Japan to surrender.
After the war:
the United Nations was created to maintain global peace
the United States and Soviet Union emerged as superpowers
tensions between them began the Cold War
The war also weakened European empires and helped accelerate decolonization movements across Asia and Africa.