Study Notes on World War I and Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
Causes of World War I
Alliances
Formation of alliances contributed significantly to the onset of World War I.
Germany
Formed in 1871 as a new nation from disunited German-speaking states.
Rapid growth in economy, military, and empire led to nervousness among other European powers.
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created alliances to stabilize Germany.
Allied with Austria-Hungary (a neighboring German-speaking empire).
Incorporated Russia in 1873, known as the League of the Three Emperors.
Additionally, secretly aligned with Italy in 1882, forming the Triple Alliance.
Russia left the alliance in 1887 due to conflicts with Austria-Hungary.
Russia later formed the Triple Entente with France and Great Britain in 1907.
Implication of Alliances
Any conflict between two major powers could drag all major powers into war.
Imperial Competition
Increased competition among European countries for colonies led to tensions.
Germany’s late emergence in imperialism raised alarms among existing colonial powers.
Moroccan Crises (1905 and 1911)
Tension between Germany and France over Moroccan sovereignty.
First crisis nearly led to war in 1905 due to French occupation.
Second crisis in 1911 involved border concessions in Morocco.
Germany was the primary aggressor, thus escalating tensions with France.
British Concerns
Perceived Germany's actions as overly aggressive.
Nationalism
Growing nationalist movements within empires created instability.
Slavic Nationalism
Minority groups, especially Southern and Eastern European Slavs, desired independence from empires.
Focus on Serbia and actions of the Black Hand, a Serbian anarchist group.
Engaged in terrorist attacks to unify the Slavic peoples under Serbia.
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914) initiated the conflict.
Impact of Assassination
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after failed negotiations.
Russia, sharing Slavic ties, declared war on Austria-Hungary, cascading into a larger conflict.
Outbreak of World War I
Alliance Activation
The declaration of war triggered the alliance systems, leading to a broader conflict.
Germany entered the war against Russia to support Austria-Hungary.
Anticipated French involvement led Germany to engage France as well.
Ottoman Empire sided with Germany against Russia.
Great Britain initially remained neutral before joining the conflict over Germany's invasion of Belgium (neutral).
Schlieffen Plan
Germany sought to defeat France quickly by invading through neutral Belgium, avoiding the heavily fortified Maginot Line.
Objective to incapacitate France and then shift focus to the Eastern Front against Russia.
Initial success saw German forces nearly capturing Paris, but British participation thwarted quick victory.
Characteristics of World War I
Industrialization of Warfare
WWII was characterized as the first fully-industrialized war.
Old tactics became obsolete due to new technology, particularly machine guns.
A single machine gun team could kill hundreds, affecting traditional warfare strategies.
Trench Warfare
Resulted in extensive trench systems, particularly on the Western Front.
Trenches became unsanitary, infested, and challenging environments for soldiers.
Barbed wire reduced offensive movements, exacerbating the stalemate.
Artillery and New Weapons
Major reliance on artillery to destroy enemy defenses.
Chemical Weapons
First used by Germans, particularly mustard gas, eventually adopted by British and French forces.
Psychological Effects
Continuous trauma led to psychosomatic symptoms in soldiers.
Symptoms included blindness, deafness, and shaking without physical injury.
Known as Shell Shock, emerged as psychological damage from constant exposure to war.
The experience of soldiers birthed The Lost Generation, marked by despair and trauma.
Entry of the United States into WWI
U.S. Neutrality
Maintained neutrality until April 1917.
Factors leading to participation:
Sinking of the Lusitania (1915) by German U-boats inflamed public opinion.
The Zimmerman Telegram intercepted, proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the U.S.
U.S. joined the Entente powers in 1917.
Impact of American Forces
Despite initial inexperience, U.S. numbers and supplies ultimately overwhelmed German forces.
Germany's earlier victory against Russia in 1917 complicated the war for Allies but did not deter U.S. assistance.
The entry of U.S. troops made the conflict unwinnable for Germany, leading to their surrender in 1918.
Treaty of Versailles
Negotiation Outcomes
End of WWI marked by the Treaty of Versailles, held in Versailles, France.
Major powers sought to punish Germany for its role in the war.
Germany was held solely responsible and imposed with significant reparations for war damages.
Military restrictions placed on Germany:
Army limited to 100,000 soldiers.
Navy dismantled and turned over to Britain.
Rhineland demilitarized and border adjustments made to reconstitute Poland.
Control of important industrial areas, like the Ruhr Valley, ceded to France.
The treaty left Germany economically and militarily incapacitated, fostering resentment among the German populace.
Wilson’s Opposition and Fourteen Points
President Woodrow Wilson refused to sign the Treaty, denouncing its punitive measures.
Advocated for a peaceful resolution and proposed the League of Nations to prevent future conflicts.
The League of Nations aimed at diplomatic communication but was undermined by U.S. Congress’s refusal to join, leaving critical powers excluded.
Successful advocacy for self-determination led to the dissolution of various empires (Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire) and the creation of new nations (Poland, Hungary, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia).