Foundation for War

What Factors Led to “The War to End All Wars”?

• Many Nations around the world are now beginning to experience how to handle empires in a global perspective. The center for all this power is in Europe
• There are 4 MAIN factors that are going to lead to the outbreak of war in Europe
• Militarism
• Alliance Systems
• Imperialism
• Nationalism

Militarism

• Militarism is simply defined as the development of armed forces and their use of a tool or diplomacy.
• Most leaders in Europe during the time period were military leaders
• Their main focus was to expand and grow their military to protect their empires.
• This leads to what is called an “Arms Race”” When one nation rapidly expands their military, their neighboring countries will also rapidly arm.
• Since European countries are all right next to each other, nations are always fearful of being attacked by their neighbors.

Alliance Systems

• What happens when inventing and building weapons is not enough?
• Team up with other nations
• Many world powers would form pacts or alliances with other nations. These agreements would basically state that if one nation has war declared in it, the nations they are allied with will join the war on their side.

Which Alliance Were There?

• 2 Main alliances were formed during this time
• Triple Alliance
• Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary
• Triple Entente
• Britain, France, and Russia

Imperialism

• A lot of countries were also involving themselves in Imperialism
• A lot of nations fight to acquire new lands and territories.

Nationalism

• Nationalism - a devotion to the interests and culture of one’s nation
• How do we feel during the 4th of July? Why do we keep track of medal counts during the olympics?
• These are both examples of American Nationalism Today
• Many leaders in Europe push their own National agenda of their own nation coming first. Their newfound national pride helps fuel rivalries and poor diplomatic relations between countries.
• Nationalism also focuses on people who want to create their own nation.
• Many nations have certain ethnic or religious groups that are focused on creating their own nation and establishing their own government.
• The Balkan Peninsula is a hotspot for this Nationalism. Much of the region was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• People in the Ottoman Empire in the region wanted to create their own nation called Serbia.

Shot that Started the War

• June 1914 - The Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir to the throne was assassinated in the Serbian Capital of Sarajevo.
• The assassin responsible was a part of the Serbian nationalist group called the Black hand.
• Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia. This set off a chain reaction of events that took place.
• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
• Serbia had a secret alliance with Russia
• Germany declares war on Russia
• Germany declares war on France
• Britain declare war on Germany after germany invades Belgium
• With all of these countries declaring war on each other, all of their colonial declarations were as well.

The US Gets Involved in the War

Divided Loyalties

• There was division amongst the Americans when the War started for multiple reasons
• Fear of being sending young men to foreign conflict
• Sympathies of naturalized citizens towards native countries
• American interests traded towards trading partners if Britain and France
• The US sent millions of dollars in aid, weapons, and supplies because the triple entente was using those materials to supply the war effort.

Turning the Tide of the War

• As the united states is trading with their Allies, the war is taking a toll on European nations
• With the war primarily taking place in France and Belgium, the central Power forces begin to push farther and farther unto France and its capital, Paris.
• Russia, the ally of France and Britain, left the war in 19117 due to their own civil war that broke out called the bolshevik revolution. This civil war led to Russia becoming communist
• The triple entente was in trouble… but not for long.

How the US gets involved

• There are 3 main causes to how the US gets involved in the war.
• British blockades of Europe prompted the Germans to respond drastically to stop blocking food and supply shipments for countries…. Like the US
• Even though we greatly help nations like Britain and France we are also trading with Germany during the war.
• WHen Germany cannot get food and supplies, their citizens began to suffer.
• This leads to a policy by the Germans to use their submarines, U-boats.
• They begin a policy called unrestricted submarine warfare where they will sink any boat going to or coming fromBritain, Often, these boats would be sunk without warning.

The Sinking of the Lusitania

• The second cause of the US involvement is the sinking to the ocean liner, the lusitania off the coast of Britain on May 7, 1915.
• 1,198 people were killed in the attack. 128 of them were Americans..
• The Germans claimed that the boat contained weapons
• The sinking of the ships became a rallying cry for Americans and a pivot point for the nation in the issue of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare.

The Zimmerman note

• Despite the issues in the Atlantic Ocean, President Wilson still is pushing for a lack of american involvement in the conflict in Europe.
• A telegra from the German Foreign Minister to the German Ambassadir in Mexico is intercepted. This communication, called the Zimmerman note, proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico if the US joins the war on the side of the Triple Entente.
• The proposal states that if the US declares war on Germany, Mexico would declare war on the us and get help from Germany. They promise that Mexico would get their lost territory in Arizona, New Mexico and texas.
• Mexico denies any involvement and American anger turns squarely towards germany.

America Goes to War

• April 2, 1917- the US declares war on Germany and involves themselves in the war.
• The belief that the US moving towards war would pave the way for new freedoms and peace around the world.

World War I

America Mobilizes

• Pre war - 200,000 soldiers
• Selective Service Act - Passed May 1917. Required men to register with the govt to be selected for military service.

New Soldiers

• 24 million men registered
• 3 million troops were called and 2 million saw combat experience
• 400,000 African Americans enlisted
• Were not allowed to serve in the Navy or Marines
• 13,000 women served as non combat roles like nurses.
• The budget of the US military went from $377,491 to $4,869,955

Mass Production

• German U-boats are sinking ships faster than being made
• US commits to trade by:
• Any workers were exempted
• Made shipyard work seem important in the public eye.
• Prefabricated methods
• Givt took over commercial ships for war use.
• As many as 95 ships were made a day.

Convoy System

• Method of shipping goods by surrounding supply ships with war ships
• The Navy also set up a 250 mile mine field between Scotland and Norway in the North Sea.
• Basically safety in numbers concept.

Fighting in Europe

• Germany was 50 miles from Paris
• US support comes just before final push
• General John Pershinf was in command
• American troops were known as “Doughboys”.

Weapons of War

• Machine guns
• Airplane
• Tanks
• Poison Gas

Hazards for Soldier

• Soldiers exposed to rats, lice, dead bodies in trenches
• Trench Foot- STanding in cold, damp conditions, feet begin to rot… only cure was amputation
• Shell Shock - complete emotional collapse (PTSD).

End of the War

• Austria Hungary surrender to Allies
• On the same day, many Germans commit a mutiny and refuse to fight
• The next day, socialist Germans take the capitol, Berlin and make a republic
• The Germans and the Allies sign an armistice or cease-fire.

The Final Toll

• 22 million total people died in the war
• Total cost for the war: $338 billion
• The US lost 48,000 men and another 62,000 died of disease.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

• Wilson’s plan for world peace known as the fourteen points
• Points 1-5 propose measure to prevent another war
• 6-13 address how ethnic groups can form own nations or join others\
• 14 calls for international organization or league of Nations
• League to enable nations to discuss, settle problems without war.

The Allies reject Wilson’s plan

• Wilson fails to grasp the anger of the Allied leader against germany.
• French premier Gerges Clemenceau wants to prevent German invasion
• British Prime Minister David lloyd George wants to “Make Germans Pay”
• Italian Vittorio Orlando wants Austrian-held territory
• Conference excludes Central powers, Russia, small Allied NAtions
• Wilson gives up most of his points in return for the League of Nations.

Treaty of Versailles

• Treaty of Versailles creates 9 new nations, British, French mandates.
• Places various conditions on germany
• Cannot have an army
• Alsace-Lorraine returned to france
• Pay reparation, or war damages.

The treaty’s weaknesses

• War-guilt clause: Germany must accept sole responsibility of War
• Germany cannot pay $33 billion in reparations that Allies want
• Russia loses more land than germany; territorial claims ignored
• Colonized people’s claims for self-determination are ignored

Opposition to the Treaty

• Strong opposition to treaty in US
• Some, like Hoover, think the treaty is too harsh, fear economic effects.
• Some feel the treaty exchanged one group of colonial rulers for another.
• Some ethnic groups are not satisfied with new national borders.