History

World War IMain Causes of WWI

The MAIN causes are often remembered with M.A.I.N.

  • Militarism – Countries built up large militaries and weapons.

  • Alliances – Nations formed defense agreements that pulled many countries into war.

  • Imperialism – Competition for colonies and resources increased tensions.

  • Nationalism – Extreme pride in one’s country caused rivalries.

Years of WWI

1914–1918

Central Powers

  • Germany

  • Austria-Hungary

  • Ottoman Empire

  • Bulgaria

Allied Powers

  • Britain

  • France

  • Russia

  • Italy

  • United States (joined later)

Most Common Tactic in WWI

Trench warfare

  • Used because machine guns and artillery made open fighting extremely deadly.

  • Soldiers dug trenches for protection.

Area Between Trenches

No Man’s Land

New Technology of WWI

  • Machine guns – Rapid-fire weapons causing massive casualties.

  • Tanks – Armored vehicles used to cross trenches.

  • Poison gas – Chemical weapons like mustard gas.

  • Airplanes – Used for scouting and combat.

  • Submarines (U-boats) – German underwater attacks on ships.

Germany’s Message to Mexico

Zimmermann Telegram

  • Germany promised Mexico U.S. land if Mexico attacked the United States.

Wilson’s Peace Plan

Fourteen Points

Treaty Ending WWI

Treaty of Versailles
Important clauses:

  • Germany accepted blame for the war (“war guilt clause”).

  • Germany paid reparations.

  • Germany’s military was limited.

  • Germany lost territory.

Organization Created After WWI

League of Nations

Russia Before Leaving WWI

  • Russia suffered huge losses, food shortages, and low morale.

Treaty Between Germany and Russia

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Main Issues in March 1917 Russian Revolution

  • Food shortages

  • Continued involvement in WWI

Event That Sparked the Russian Revolution

Bloody Sunday

  • Troops fired on peaceful protesters near the Winter Palace.

Define Total War

A war where governments use all resources and civilians to support the war effort.

British Passenger Liner Sunk by Germany

Lusitania

Communist Revolutionary Group in Russia

Bolsheviks

Interwar YearsImportant PeopleAdolf Hitler

  • Dictator of Germany

  • Leader of the Nazi Party

  • Started WWII in Europe

  • Responsible for the Holocaust

Benito Mussolini

  • Fascist dictator of Italy

  • Allied with Hitler

Joseph Stalin

  • Communist dictator of USSR

  • Used terror and industrialization to control the country

Neville Chamberlain

  • British Prime Minister

  • Known for appeasement toward Hitler

Stalin’s Five-Year Plan

  • Rapid industrialization and modernization of the Soviet Union.

Great Purge

  • Stalin removed and executed anyone seen as a threat.

Collectivization

  • Government control of farms.

  • Done by Stalin in the Soviet Union.

Black Tuesday

  • October 29, 1929 stock market crash.

Economic Hardship of the 1930s

Great Depression

Define Fascism

A government with:

  • Dictatorship

  • Extreme nationalism

  • Militarism

  • Limited freedoms

Define Totalitarianism

Government controls all aspects of life.

Importance of Spanish Civil War

  • Germany and Italy tested weapons and military strategies before WWII.

Effectiveness of League of Nations

  • Mostly ineffective; failed to stop aggression.

Munich Conference

  • Britain and France allowed Hitler to take part of Czechoslovakia to avoid war.

Chinese Political Parties

  • Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek

  • Communists led by Mao Zedong

Why Japan Invaded China

  • Wanted resources and territory.

  • Nanking Massacre: Japanese troops killed and abused many civilians.

World War II / HolocaustKey DatesSept. 1, 1939

Germany invaded Poland; WWII began.

Dec. 7, 1941

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

June 6, 1944

D-Day invasion of Normandy.

May 8, 1945

V-E Day; Germany surrendered.

Aug. 14, 1945

Japan surrendered (V-J Day).

Causes of WWII

  • Treaty of Versailles resentment

  • Economic depression

  • Rise of dictators

  • Failure of appeasement

  • Expansion by Germany, Italy, and Japan

Appeasement

Giving in to demands to avoid conflict.
Example: Britain allowing Hitler to take Sudetenland.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

Allowed Germany to avoid a two-front war while invading Poland.

Nuremberg Laws

  • Took rights away from Jews in Germany.

Holocaust

The systematic murder of about 6 million Jews by Nazis.

Kristallnacht

“Night of Broken Glass”

  • Nazis destroyed Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues.

Allied Nations

  • Britain

  • France

  • Soviet Union

  • United States

  • China

Axis Nations

  • Germany

  • Italy

  • Japan

Why the U.S. Stayed Out Early

  • Isolationism and desire to avoid another European war.

Battle HistoryBattle of Britain (London Blitz)

  • Germany bombed Britain.

  • Britain successfully resisted invasion.

Turning Point in Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic

  • Allies defeated German U-boats.

Turning Point in Eastern Europe

Battle of Stalingrad

  • Major Soviet victory over Germany.

D-Day

  • Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Battle of the Bulge

  • Last major German offensive in Western Europe.

  • Allies won.

Importance of Iwo Jima and Okinawa

  • Important islands for launching attacks on Japan.

  • Extremely deadly battles.

Battle of Berlin

  • Final battle in Europe.

  • Soviets reached Berlin first.

Atomic Bomb Decision

  • Bombs dropped on:

    1. Hiroshima

    2. Nagasaki

  • Goal: force Japan to surrender and avoid invasion.

Yalta Conference

Leaders discussed:

  • Postwar Europe

  • Germany’s future

  • Creation of the United Nations

Cold WarInternational Organization After WWII

United Nations

Leaders at Beginning of Cold War

  • U.S.: Harry S. Truman

  • USSR: Joseph Stalin

Goals After WWIIUnited States

  • Democracy and free markets in Europe.

Soviet Union

  • Communist governments and buffer states for protection.

Containment

  • U.S. policy to stop spread of communism.

  • Proposed by George Kennan.

  • Example: Korean War or Marshall Plan.

$400 Million Aid to Greece and Turkey

Truman Doctrine

$13 Billion Rebuilding Plan

Marshall Plan

NATO and Warsaw PactNATO

  • Military alliance of democratic nations against communism.

Warsaw Pact

  • Soviet alliance of communist nations in Eastern Europe.

Berlin Blockade and Airlift

  • Soviets blocked land access to West Berlin.

  • U.S. and allies flew in supplies by air.

DefinitionsGlasnost

Openness and freedom of speech reforms in USSR.

Perestroika

Economic restructuring reforms in USSR.

Détente

Relaxation of Cold War tensions.

Non-aligned Nations

Countries that stayed neutral during Cold War.

Cold War Hot SpotsKorean War

  • North Korea (communist) invaded South Korea.

  • U.S./UN defended South Korea.

  • Ended in stalemate at 38th parallel.

Vietnam War

  • North Vietnam (communist) fought South Vietnam.

  • U.S. supported South Vietnam.

  • North Vietnam eventually won.

USSR-Afghanistan War

  • Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

  • Afghan fighters resisted with U.S. aid.

  • USSR withdrew.

China During Communist TakeoverMao Zedong

  • Communist leader who founded People’s Republic of China.

Great Leap Forward

  • Mao’s program to rapidly industrialize China.

  • Led to famine and millions of deaths.

Cultural Revolution

  • Mao’s campaign to remove “old ideas.”

  • Caused chaos and persecution.

Tiananmen Square

  • 1989 pro-democracy protests crushed by Chinese government.

Symbolic End of the Cold War

Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)