WW1 Notes

Overview

World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from 1914 to 1918. It involved many of the world's great powers, which were divided into two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers.

Causes

  • Militarism: The arms race and military buildup among European powers.

  • Alliances: Complex web of treaties and alliances that divided Europe into two camps and turned one-on-one conflicts into greater ordeals.

  • Imperialism: Competition for colonies and global dominance fueled tensions.

  • Nationalism: Rising nationalistic sentiments, particularly in the Balkans, led to conflicts

    • Civic Nationalism - A type of nationalism in which is unified over citizenship, political views, and government

    • Ethnic Nationalism - Members that share a common culture, ethnicity, language, and etc..

  • Trigger Event: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914.

Major Countries Involved

  • Allies / Triple Entente : France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy, and later the United States.

  • Central Powers / Triple Alliance : Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Key Battles

  • Battle of the Marne (1914): Stopped German advance into France. Led to the trench war

  • Siege of Tsingtao(1914): Japan and British India battled for the German colony in China so it could be used as a naval base. In result Germany surrendered and Tsingtao was captured by Japan.

  • Battle of Tannenberg(1914): Russia launched an attack on Germany, and was a favorable win towards Germany.

  • Battle of Verdun (1916): Germany wanted to capture Verdun as it was a prized city of France, however France won and in result gained territory. Considered to be one of the longest battles of the war, significant losses.

  • Battle of the Somme (1916): French wanted to relieve stress and break down German defenses and was considered to be one of the bloodiest wars. France gained a limited amount of land but diverted Germany away from Verdun

  • Battle of Gallipoli (1915-1916): The Allies, specifically Britain, aimed to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula from the Ottoman Empire and to divert military away from Russia. But Britain lost with severe casualties

  • Battle of Jutland (1916): Germany navy vs Britain navy and was located off the coast of Jutland in Denmark. Although both countries claimed victories, Germany couldn’t break down Britain’s navy’s control

  • Battle of Amiens (1918) - A combined force of Britain, France, and USA against Germany, who quickly retreated. The dominating success of the Allied powers led to Armistice, which ended WW1.

Result of War

  • Armistice: Signed on November 11, 1918, ending the fighting.

  • Treaty of Versailles (1919): Established terms of peace; imposed heavy reparations on Germany, redrew maps of Europe, and created new nations.

  • Paris Conference (1919): Post WW1 conference in order to negotiate peace, France, Britain, United States, Italy, attended. (losing countries weren’t invited)

Germany

  • After the Congress of Vienna, German wanted to keep France in check, meaning rising tensions

Otto Von Bismarck was a Prussian statesman, appointed as chancellor by King Wilhelm, who unified Germany.

  • He used any means possible to achieve his goals and believed in militarism.

  • His goals were to increase Prussian power and had 3 wars

  1. The Danish War (1864) - Germany allied with Austria and sieged Danish territories Schleswig and Holstein.

  2. Austro-Prussian War (1866) - Bismarck provoked Austria over the border dispute and Austria attacked Prussia. Prussia won and annexed Holstein

  3. The Franco-Prussian War(1867) - Catholic southern German states resisted Protestant rule, in attempt to unify Germany with a common enemy, Bismarck edited a letter from Kaiser to France, which caused France to declare war,

    • Sept 1870 Paris backed down and Germany unified

    • Kaiser Wilhelm as crowned Emperor

United Germany

  • Germany replaces Prussia, and now can challenge Britain and France

  • Becomes Military and economic powerhouse

  • French resentment continues over the Franco-Prussian war

1890: Kaiser Wilhelm II, grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm I, fired Bismarck and believed he knew best

  • Believed in militarism and wanted overseas colonies

Foreign Policies

1. Keep France weak
2. build alliances w/ Russia & Austria
3. Improve naval power to compete w/ Britain
Bismarck opposed to an overseas empire
Feared would stall unification

Domestic Policies

  1. Tried to erase local loyalties & crush internal opposition to imperial rule.

  2. Attempted to weaken Catholic Church influence- state had to approve Catholic schools & priests (1/3 of Germany is Catholic)

The Balkans or “Power Keg” of Europe

  • Consisted of Serbia, Romania, Albania and Bulgaria

Russia and Austria wanted to dominate the countries due to ethnic relations

  • Serbia wanted to create a greater Serbia, uniting all Serbs (including Austria)

  • Russia allied with Serbia since it was mostly Slavic

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand June 28 1914: The heir of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, Princip.

  • Austria blamed Serbia and demanded an ultimatum to be fulfilled

  • Serbia refused and Austria declared war on Serbia July 28 1914

To back up Serbia, Russia mobilizes their army and Germany sees it as an act of war, and declares war.

Schlieffen Plan - Germany’s plan to avoid a two front war with France and Russia

Steps

  1. Attack France and quickly defeat them

  2. Rush troops across Germany to Russia (In thought that Russia would be slow to mobilize their troops)

  3. Quickly defeat Russia

The plan was believed to work because of Russians lack of industrialization, meaning slow mobilization

Plan FAILS! - Germany doesn’t reach Paris. Why?

  • Germans were slowed when going through Belgium

  • Belgium is allied with Britain, so Britain enters the war

  • Russia mobilized faster than expected

After the First Battle of the Marne, Germans faced a two front war and the trench warfare started

Western Front / Trench Warfare : The Zone of Fighting in Western Europe

  • Opposing forces dug and fought from deep trenches as a tactic, a stalemate which lasted 4 years

  • Soldiers faced harsh and unclean living conditions, including mud, diseases, and boredom

WW1 Firsts

  • First war fought on land, air, and sea

  • First air attacks on British citizens

  • First widespread recognition of shell shock

  • First large-scale use of triage by British forces

  • First major use of poison gas

  • First compulsory military service in Britain

  • First use of tanks in combat

  • First British women in military service

  • First widespread use of flame throwers

  • First dedicated camouflage units

Total War

  • All resources are used to help the war effort

  • Civilians were expected to make sacrifices and contribute

  • Civilians became targets

  • Economy redirected towards the war

  • Government promotes nationalism to appeal for fighting for the state

Armenian Genocide

During World War in the Ottoman Empire ruled under the Young Turks

  • The War caused rising suspicion of the Armenians leading to discrimination, deportation, and mass killings.