**Reasons for WWI: *Nationalism, especially in Balkans *Militarism and arms race *Entangled Alliances *Social Darwinism: Survival of fittest *Planning for War *Colonial Rivalries Agreements: Dual Alliance, Franco-Russian, Entente Cordiale, British-Belgium Triple Alliance Triple Entente Gy -- Germany Fr -- France AH -- Austria-Hungary Br -- Britain (protector of Belgium) It -- Italy Rus -- Russia (protector of Serbia) Germanic/Slavic/Romantic nation groups. ultimatum = demand that should not be refused annexation=bringing new territory in and making it part of the greater country mobilization = preparing army by sending it to borders, beginning war plans WAR PLANS Germany "Schlieffen Plan" Main elements of the plan: 1. Large weight of the army is thrown against France in a sweeping movement through Belgium. Within 6 weeks capture Paris. This before the full mobilization of Russia in the East. 2. Smaller defensive army holds in the East against a slow Russian advance into Prussia. 3. After the defeat of France, German armies shift from West to East and defeat Russia. France: Attack Germany through Alsace-Lorraine. Russia: Two army groups one rush into Prussia (GY); one into Galicia (AH). Steamroller Austria: Two army groups one hold against Russia; one destroy Serbia. British: Army sent to France and Belgium to defend. Navy bottles up German navy in North Sea. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- June 28, 1914 *Assassination of _Franz Ferdinand the heir to the throne of AH_. He is shot by a Bosnian Serb_. Suspected in the crime is _Serb secret service_. Serbs make up a large minority in the south of A-H's empire. *AH turns to their ally in the Dual Alliance -- Germany_. July 5 *Germany gives blank check to AH. **Kaiser wanted AH to punish Serbia quickly.** Kaiser's mistaken thoughts: He thought Rus might agree with AH and Gy against Serbia. Why? Why would they start a war over an insignificant small country? He thought it might split the Entente -- Fr/Br would not fight for Rus over Serbia. Russia seemed weakened after its war with Japan (1905) unwilling to fight. *Austria gives ultimatum to SERBIA_. AH was intent on destroying Serbia. Austria's mistaken thoughts/actions: They were preserving their nation's status/prestige as a world power. They believed that Germany backed them up completely. *Willy-Nicky telegrams: Willy KAISER WILHEM II_ Nicky TSAR NICHOLAS II -Rus concerned with AH's intentions on Serbia. Asks for Kaiser's help with AH. -Gy mediates, but sees Rus as readying for war. Gy CANNOT LET Rus mobilize before she does. Why? THEN RUSSIA WOULD HAVE THE UPPER HAND IN A WAR BY HAVING THE FIRST PUNCH. -Rus readies because AH readies for war. -Gy mobilizes -- against Rus and Fr. Why against Fr? B/C IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE WAR, THEN EVENTUALLY FRANCE WOULD BE AN ENEMY ON ITS BORDER. BETTER TO STRIKE FIRST THEN LATER WHEN FRANCE WAS MORE PREPARED.
WAR I. Beginning movements (First Year of the War) A. July 28, 1914: 1. AH declares war on Serbia_. Also, army mobilizes against Russia_. 2. _Russia_ mobilizes its army. Why? To be ready to stop Austria, who has mobilized. 3. _Germany_ mobilizes its army. Why? To be ahead of Russia and France in mobilizing. 4. _France mobilizes. 5. _Britain_ mobilizes. B. Declarations of August, 1914: 1. Gy declares war on Russia_ 2. Gy asks Belgium for free passage_. Belgium _refuses passage_. 3. Gy declares war on _France_. 4. Br declares war on Germany_. 5. Gy declares war on Belgium. 6. US - neutral -- "Declaration of Neutrality" by President _Wilson 7. AH declares war on Russia. II. Fronts A. Western Front 1. Gy attacks _Belgium_. "_Schlieffen " Plan. 2. Fr attack Germany_ in Alsace-Lorraine. 3. "Battle of the _Marne " -- 1st major battle (and defeat of Germans) German armies are halted outside Paris. B. Eastern Front 1. Rus attacks _Germany in Eastern Prussia_. 2. Gy send best generals East: _Hindenburg and Ludendorf (symbol--hl 3.. Gy traps two _Russian_ armies. Great victory: Battle of Tannenberg_. C. Other Fronts: Italian, Desert, Sea, Air, Balkan Turkey joins _Central Powers Italy joins Allies.
WWI The "Central Powers" : Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria start: August, 1914 vs. end: November, 1918 The" Allies": BR, FR, RUS, IT, Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Rumania "fronts" Major Powers Fighting Type Warfare Western Front BR, FR, GY, BELGIUM TRENCH Eastern Front _RUS, GY, AH MOBILE, LARGE AREA LONG FRONT Balkan Front AH, SERBIA, GREECE, BULGARIA congested area, mountains, seas Rumania, Turkey, Germany, Britain War at Sea GY AND BR SUBMARINES BY GY FEW LARGE BATTLES Italian Front IT, AH MOUNTAINS Palestine/Desert Front TY, BR DESERT, VERY MOBILE GUERILLA WARFARE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- PIVOTAL YEAR OF 1917-1918 A. Trench warfare = stalemate A. Russian revolution begins: 1. Tsar quits. Reasons: Loyalty to the Entente; Russian generals force him to abdicate. 2. New government stays in war and attacks AH -- results losses and little progress Vladimir Lenin makes a deal with _Germany to get Russia out of war.and start a revolution. 3. Bolshevik coup topples government: Communist Leaders: Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky 4. Russia drops out of the war. 1 st major power to leave the war. B. Germany takes much territory in Russia (Ukraine/Baltics) C. Germany begins to shift armies from East_ to West_.
What about the United States? In the beginning, the U.S. had no formal alliances. Therefore she was NEUTRAL. President Woodrow Wilson's campaign slogan for 1916: "HE KEPT US OUT OF WAR." Wilson started to get the U.S. prepared for war in 1916 Eventually, the U.S. joined which side? ALLIES_ **Why? ** 1) Sympathy for the "Allies", especially the BRITISH and Belgium-- b/c culture, respect for law, freedom 2) Main trading partners were in _WESTERN EUROPE. German secret agents did acts of ESPIONAGE/Sabotage 3) May 7, 1915 German U-boats sank the passenger ship _LUSITANIA_. 4) Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (Untersee boot) against all ships around the British Isles, even ships from _U.S._ 5) British agents intercepted and decoded a secret message from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance. The note was then (March, 1917) published in U.S. newspapers. This note, The ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM, infuriated Americans. April 2, 1917 President Wilson asked Congress to declare war. **Main contribution and fame of the American armies**: 1. In the last year of the war (_1918_), defending against the last offensive by the GERMANS_ 2. Leading the attack against the Germans that brought the war to an end. ** Main contribution and fame of America**: 1. League of Nations AGREEMENT TO WORK TOGETHER FOR WORLD PEACE, WITHOUT ALLIANCES_ 2. Versailles Treaty -- _TREATY ENDING WWI, KEY ELEMENTS: *GERMAN WAR GUILT, *GERMANY LOSES TERRITORY, *GERMANY PAYS REPARATIONS, * GERMANY REDUCES MILITARY 3. Wilson's Fourteen Points PROPOSALS FOR STABILITY AND ORDER IN EUROPE, FREE OF COLONIES, NEW STATES, NEW BORDERS, BREAK-UP OF EMPIRES. End Results of the War I. Generally: Allies are victorious. Central Powers are the losers. II. Specifically: *Armistice ends the war on this date: 11/11/18 (11:00 am)_ *Treaty that determined the winners and losers: _Treaty of Versailles Main architects of the Treaty: Clemenceau Fr President "The Big Four_" Lloyd George_Br prime Minister Orlando It Prime Minister Woodrow Wilson_US President Main points of the Treaty of Versailles: 1. League of Nations created 2. Boundaries of Germany reduced: Loses Alsace-Lorraine, Prussia to Poland, Schleswig to Denmark. 3. Germany loses overseas colonies. 4. Germany s military severely restricted. Disarmament! 5. Reparations (payments) from Germany to France and others 6. War guilt on Germany. 7. Trade and freedom of movement established 8. New states formed: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine,
Results of the WWI for the Main Powers: Germany Large numbers of casualties. Loses territory: Alsace-Lorraine to France; Loses most of Prussia to Poland; loses Schleswig to Denmark. Army and navy drastically reduced; No air force -- Disarmament. Forced to sign Treaty taking the blame for starting the war. Reparations to France for war. Government forced to change loses its Kaiser. Loses all foreign colonies. Western territory (Rhineland) occupied by France. Austria-Hungary Large numbers of casualties. Empire completely broken up. Government forced to change loses its emperor. Hapsburgs gone! Turkey Loses its empire in Middle East: Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Iraq Government changes less religious, more secular/western France Enormous casualties. Thank God for the French army. Blames Germany to receive large reparation payments. Receives Alsace-Lorraine from Germany. Through secret agreement with Britain receives Syria and Lebanon (from Turkey) Britain Enormous casualties. Through secret agreement with France receives Iraq and Palestine (from Turkey) Balfour Declaration (1917) promised a homeland for Jews in Palestine. U.S. Small numbers of casualties (1 year of war experience) President Wilson architect of League of Nations and reorganization of Europe. Becomes the leader of the free world militarily, economically (trade/manufacturing) Russia Signed a treaty with Germany in 1917 ending its alliance with the West. Enormous casualties. Nobility obliterated in WWI and Civil War. New Government loses the Tsar; Romanov s gone! Duma gone. Loses territory: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Becomes a communist dictatorship. Bulgaria Loses territory Newly-formed countries: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Turkey
These last 2 pages have battle details which are optional for possible bonus questions on test. Some of this information you have on other pages, like the Lusitania s sinking, Lenin and the Russian Revolution, US joins Allies, and the 14 Points. 1915 A. Trench warfare (including _poison gas_ attacks) B. Gy begins unrestricted submarine_ warfare. 1. Sinks the _Lusitania_ -- angers the US. A. Rus attacks into Austrian territory. B. Bulgaria joins Central Powers 1916 1917 III. Southern Front A. Br attacks Ty -- results in _defeat_ at Gallipoli. B. Italy joins _Allies_. 1. Italy attacks _AH C. Gy/AH conquer _Serbia_. A. Gy attacks FR 1. Battle of the _Somme_ -- huge/bloody; tanks_ used 1st time A. Rus attack AH and Gy -- Rus is seriously weakened. B. Romania joins _Allies -- but is routed immediately. A. Trench warfare = stalemate A. Russian revolution begins: 1. Tsar quits. Reasons: Military leaders forced him to abdicate in order to stay in the war. 2. New government stays in war and attacks AH -- results some success_. Vladimir Lenin makes a deal with _Germany_ to get Russia out of war. 3. Bolshevik coup topples government: Communist Leaders: Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky 4. Russia _signs treaty with Germany. Brest-Litovsk Treaty B. Germany takes much territory in Baltics and Ukraine_ C. Germany begins to shift armies from _East_ to _West. III. US joins _Allies_ A. Reasons for joining: 1. Zimmerman telegram 2. Unrestricted U-Boat Warfare 3. Lusitania sunk IV. Middle East A. Br and _Arabs_ push Ty armies out of _Arabia (including Palestine and Syria)_.
1918 I. US A. Wilson composes "_14 Points " speech: 1 Open covenants of peace, 2 freedom of seas, 3 removal of trade barriers, 4 arms reduction, 5 settle colonial claims, 6 evacuation of Russia, 7 restoration of Belgium, 8 return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, 9 adjust Italy's borders, 10 break-up of Austria-Hungary, 11 restore Balkans, 12 breakup Turkish Empire, 13 Independent Poland, 14 League of Nations. B. Western Front in 1918 1. Gy makes last big attack. 2 nd Battle of the Marne defeats Germany 2. Fr, Br, US counterattack defeats Germany