Chapter 27 World War I

CHAPTER  27 STUDY GUIDE (WORLD WAR I and RUSSIA)

27-1

Causes of War

Nationalism - identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.

Imperialism - the extension of a nation’s power over other lands.

• The competition of lands abroad, especially in Africa, led to conflict and heightened the existing rivalries among European states

• Reason - initially resources then power

Militarism - the aggressive preparation for war: they drew up vast and complex plans for quickly mobilizing millions of soldiers and enormous quantities of supplies in the event of war.

Alliances - a union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations.

• Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (more formal)

• Triple Entente: France, Great Britain, and Russia (less formal)

Conscription - a military draft that most Western countries had established as a regular practice, and European armies doubled in size.

OUTBREAK OF WAR

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and responses - Gavrilo Princip succeeded in fatally shooting Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria, and his wife when they visited the city of Sarajevo in Bosnio. Princip was a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist organization that wanted Bosnia to be free of Austria-Hungary and to become part of a large Serbian kingdom. Serbia was supported by Russia but Austria Hungary did not want this to happen but they also feared Russia would intervene. So Austria Hungary asked for and received a “blank check” from Germany that promised Germany’s full support if war broke out between Russia and Germany. On July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

Mobilization - Russia was determined to support Serbia’s cause and Czar Nicholas II ordered partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary. Mobilization is the process of assembling troops and supplies for war, and it was considered an act of war. However, Russia could not just partially mobilize against only Austria-Hungary because in the end they were going to have to go against Germany aswell. The czar then ordered full mobilization of the Russian army.

Schlieffen Plan - General Alfred von Schlieffen had helped draw a plan for Germany that called for a two-front war with France and Russia because of their military alliance. In this plan, Germany would conduct a small holding action against Russia while most of the German army would carry out a rapid invasion of France. Invading France meant the need to pass through Belgium, where an ultimatum by Germany was offered that Great Britain claimed “violated Belgian neutrality,” and Great Britain declared war on Germany.

27-2  WORLD WAR I

Propaganda - Goverment propaganda—ideas that are spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause—had stirred national hatreds before the war.

Trench warfare - Fighting from ditches protected by barbed wire, as in World War I, is seen in the First Battle of Marne, where the German advance was halted a short distance from Paris. To stop the Germans, French military leaders loaded 2,000 Parisian taxi cabs with fresh troops and sent them to the front line.The war quickly turned into a stalemate as both sides were kept in virtually the same positions for four years.

War of attrition - World War I had turned into a war based on wearing down the other side with constant attacks and heavy losses.

Total war - As World War I dragged on, it became a war that involved the complete mobilization of resources and people, affecting the lives of all citizens in the warring countries, even those remote from the battlefield.

Planned economies - In order to mobilize all the resources of their nations for the war efort, European nations set up planned economies (an economic system directed by government agencies).

Western Front vs Eastern Front (differences) - Trench warfare developed on the Western Front (France) due to the use of new technologies and the nature of the terrain. However the Eastern Front (Russia) was characterized by mobile warfare due to its vast geography and terrain.

Balkans and Gallipoli - The Allied Powers declared war on the Ottoman Empire and tried to open a Balkan front by landing forces at Gallipoli. However, the campaign was disastrous and the Allies withdrew.

Unrestricted submarine warfare (impact) - In reposnse to Britain’s blockade, Germany set up itw own blockade of Britain and enforced it with the use of unrestricted warfare, including the sinking of passenger liners. 

Lusitania - German forces sank the British ship Lusitania, where about 1,100 civilians, including more than 100 Americans, died,

United States enters war - After the sinking of the Lusitania, unrestricted submarine warfare was temporarily suspended before resuming as Germans were eager to break the deadlock in the war. This decision did not end well for the Germans, as the British were not forced to surrender and the U.S. was brought into the war. The entry of the United States into the war gave the Allied Powers a pyschological boost and a major new source of money and war goods

Impact of Total War - It affected the lives of all ciizens in the warring countries, however far from the battlefields, and the home front was rapidly becoming a cause for as much effort as the war front. A deadly influenza also killed 50 million people worldwide.

Society - World War I created new jobs for women because so many men left to fight at the front. Women were now temporarily employed as chimney sweeps, truck drivers, farm laborers, and factory workers in heavy industry. However at the end of the war, unemployment for women rose and the wages who were still working were lowered. In the end, in Germany, Austria, and the U.S. women were given the right to vote (In Britain, women over the age of 30 could stand for Parliament. Also, many upper and middle-class women gained new freedoms where young women took jobs and lived in their own apartments

• Allied Powers: Britain, France, Russia, Italy, U.S., Australia, India, New Zealand, Japan

• Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria

27-3  RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Background - Russia was unprepared militarily and technologically for the total war of World War I after its defeat by Japan in 1905 and the Revolution of 1905. Russia had no competent military leaders and its industry was unable to produce the weapons needed for the army.

Nicholas II - As Czar, he insisted on taking personal charge of the armed forces despite his lack of ability and training, and also as autocratic ruler he relied on the army and bureaucracy to hold up his regime.

Alexandra - She was Czar Nicholas II’s wife, and with him at the battlefront she made all of the important decisions after consulting Rasputin.

Rasputin - Rasputin was a mystic that began to influence the czar’s wife, and his influence made him an important power behind the throne. However as the Russian people grew more upset with the czarist regime, Rasputin was assassinated, but it was too late to save the monarchy

Peace and Bread riots - Working-class women that were exhausted and distraught over their half-starving and sick children, led a series of strikes in the capital city of Petrograd after struggling to obtain bread. They demanded, “Peace and Bread” and “Down with the Autocracy.” This strike shut down all the factories on March 10.

Kerensky - The provisional government that replaced Nicholas was made up of middle-class representatives and was headed by Aleksandr Kerensky. Their decision to carry on the war to perserve Russia’s honor was a major blunder.

Soviets - The soviets were Russian councils composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers. They were a challenging authority to the government as they were largely made up of Socialists that represented the more radical interests of the lower classes. The Bolsheviks were a group that came to play a crucial role.

Lenin and Bolsheviks

How did Bolsheviks seize power? - The Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917 by taking advantage of the Provisional Government’s weakness, growing public anger over war, hunger, and land shortages, and by gaining support from workers, soldiers, and Soviets. Led by Lenin, they launched a nearly bloodless coup in Petrograd, capturing key buildings like the Winter Palace and declaring a new socialist government promising “peace, land, and bread.”

Communism - Communism is a political and economic system where all property is owned collectively, and there are no social classes. The goal is to create a classless society where everyone shares resources equally. After the Bolsheviks took power, they began turning Russia into a communist state by taking over land, banks, and factories and giving control to the workers and peasants.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - Signed on March 3rd, 1918 between Bolshevik Russia and Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia’s involvement in World War I. In exchange for peace, Russia gave up large amounts of land, including Ukraine, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic provinces. The treaty was unpopular in Russia but allowed the Bolsheviks to focus on gaining control at home.

Civil War

Red army vs. White army - The Red Army was the Communists and the White Army was made up of the groups that were loyal to the czar but also liberal and anti-Leninist socialists. The White Army was joined by the allies who were concerned about the Communist takeover. They also sent troops to Russia in hope of bringing Russia back into war and gave material aid to anti-Communists. In the end, the White forces had been defeated.

Abdicated - After the czar formally gave up control of Russia, he, his wife, and their five children had been held as prisoners, where they were later murdered by members of the local soviet and burned in a nearby mine shaft.

Triumph of communists

Know factors that helped the Red Army win 

• Well-Disciplined Fighting Force

  • As commissar of war, Trotsky reinstated the draft and inisisted on rigid discipline

• The Disunity of the Anti-Communist Forces

  • Some Whites insisted on restoring the czarist regime, while others wanted a more liberal and democratic program

• War Communism

  • Used to ensure regular supplies of the Red Army, which meant the government controlled the banks and most industries, seized grain from peasants, and centralized state administration under Communist control.

• Communist Revolutionary Terror

  • New red police—-known as the Checka—-began a Red Terror aimed at destroying all those who opposed the new regime

• Nationalism

  • Patriotic Russians were eager to fight against foreign troops (Japanese, British, American, and French) that landed on Russian soil

27-4 WORLD WAR I ENDS

Armistice - A new democratic republic under Ebert of the Social Democrats was created. And two days later the new German government signed an armistice, a truce or an agreement to end fighting.

Mandate - A territory temporarily governed by another country on behalf of the League of Nations, for example the Arab states in the Ottoman Empire.

Reparation - A payment made to the victor by the vanquished (Germany) to cover the costs of the war.

2nd Battle of Marne - A German military gamble was stopped at the Second Battle of Marne, where French, Moroccan, and American troops supported by hundreds of tanks, pushed the Germans back over the Marne. 

Effect on Germany and Austria

Germany - A group of radical socialists, unhappy with the Social Democrat’s moderate policies, formed the German Communist Party and tried to seize power in Berlin. The new Social Democratic government crushed the rebels and murdered their leaders, Luxemburg and Liebknecht. The new German republic had been saved but this attempt at revolution left the German middle class with a deep fear of communism.

Austria - As the empire grew weary, ethnic groups increasingly sought to achieve their independence. By the time the war ended, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ceased to exist and was replaced by the republics of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, along with the large monarchical state called Yugoslavia.

Peace Settlements

WILSON’S FOURTEEN POINTS - Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” was his basis for a peace settlement that he believed justified the enormous military struggle being waged. His proposals for a truly just and lasting peace included reaching the peace agreements openly rather than through secret diplomacy. His proposals also included reducing armaments (military forces or weapons) and ensuring self-determination (the right of each people to have their own nation).

PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE - In early 1919, delegates met in Paris to decide peace terms after World War I, but tensions quickly arose. Secret wartime promises clashed with Wilson’s idea of self-determination, and national interests caused disagreements. Despite this, the Big Three compromised: the League of Nations was created, and France gave up a separate Rhineland in exchange for a defense pact. However, the U.S. Senate rejected the pact, weakening the peace settlement.

TREATY OF VERSAILLES - The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of five treaties made with Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey after World War I. Germany was forced to accept Article 231 (War Guilt Clause), take blame for the war, and pay reparations. It had to limit its military, return Alsace-Lorraine to France, give land to Poland, and accept a demilitarized Rhineland. Though Germany saw the treaty as unfair, it had to accept it.

Know the big three and their representatives (what did each side want):

Great Britain (George) - He wanted to make the Germans pay for this dreadful war

France (Clemenceau) - The French people had suffered the most from German aggression, and desired security against future German attacks. Clemenceau wanted Germany stripped of all weapons, vast German payments (reparations) to cover the costs of the war, and a separate Rhineland as a buffer state between France and Germany.

United States (Wilson) - He wanted to create a world organization, the League of Nations, to prevent future wars.

Know terms of Treaty

War guilt clause - Germans considered the Treaty of Versailles a harsh peace because of Article 231, which delcared Germany (and Austria) were reponsible for startiing the war. The treaty ordered Germany to pay reparations (financial compensation) for all damages that the Allied governments and their people had sustained as a result of the war.

Reparations - A payment made to the victor by the vanquished (Germany) to cover the costs of the war.

Surrender of land - Alsace and Lorrain, taken by the Germans from France, were returned, and sections of eastern Germany were awarded to a new Polish state.

Impact on military - Germany had to reduce its army to 100,000 men, cut back its navy, and eliminate its air force.

• Rhine River - German land became a demilitarized zone, stripped of all weapons and fortifications.

Ottoman Empire (impact) - The Ottoman Empire was broken up by the peace settlement. To gain Arab support against the Ottoman Turks during the war, the Western Allies had promised to recognize the independence of Arab states in the Ottoman Empire. Once WW1 was over, however, the Western nations changed their minds, and France controlled the territory of Syria, and Britain controlled the territories of Iraq and Palestine.

What had Wilson hoped to accomplish? - Wilson hoped to achieve a lasting peace through his Fourteen Points, especially by creating the League of Nations to prevent future wars. He wanted to promote self-determination, reduce militaries, and avoid harsh punishment of Germany.