World War I The Great War Causes of

World War I The Great War

Causes of WWI in Europe • • Competition from imperialism. Arms (weapons) race “militarism” Defensive alliance system in Europe. Nationalism

The “Powder Keg” of Europe

Europe in 1914

Traditional Alliance System • Triple Alliance Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary. • Triple Entente France, Great Britain, Russia.

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarejevo, Bosnia. • Heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Duke Franz Ferdinand visits Sarajevo in Bosnia. • He and his wife are shot and killed by a Serbian nationalist. • Sets off the “powder keg” that begins the Great War.

Declaration of War • Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia July 28, 1914. • Tsar Nicholas II orders full mobilization of the Russian army against Austria-Hungary July 29. • Germany declares war on Russia August 1 after Russia ignores Germany’s warnings to stand down. • Germany gives ultimatum to Belgium to let its army cross into France August 2. • Germany declares war on France August 3. • Great Britain declares war on Germany August 4 for violating Belgian neutrality.

Cousin Kings • The King of Great Britain George V, the Tzar of Russia Nicholas II, and the Kaiser of Germany Wilhelm II are cousins.

German Strategy • “The Schlieffen Plan. ” The military plan to invade France. Named after General Alfred von Schlieffen. • Germany crosses quickly through Belgium into northern France, then sweeps around the French capital Paris and encircles the French Army. WAR OVER!

The Western Front • The German plan fails. The German advance is stopped 20 miles outside of Paris. • Known as the Battle of Marne, September 6 -10, 1914.

Trench Warfare • Stalemate on the Western Front. The German and the French armies could not move each other. • The soldiers began to dig trenches originally for shelter. This became “trench warfare. ” Fighting from ditches protected by barbed wire with a “no man’s land” between the enemy trenches. • Trenches stretched from the English Channel to Switzerland. This lasted throughout the majority of the war.

Christmas Truce 1914

Eastern Front • Russian army moves into Prussia (East Germany). • Two major early defeats of the Russian army by Germans, Battle of Tannenberg August 30, 1914, and Battle of Masurian Lakes September 15. • Russia pushes Austria-Hungary out of Serbia and Galicia.

New Alliances in 1915 • Italy betrays the Triple Alliance and joins the French and British. Italy attacks Austria in May 1915. • France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia are called the Allied Powers. • Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire are called the Central Powers.

Alliance System in Europe 1914

Russian Retreat • In 1915 Germany came to the defense of Austria -Hungary and together pushed the Russian army out of Galicia and 300 miles into Russian territory. • In September 1915 Germany, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary defeated and eliminated unprotected Serbia from the war. • Russian casualties are 2. 5 million killed, captured, or wounded.

Eastern Front Map

Western Front • From 1916 -1917 trench warfare is still unsuccessful and incredibly bloody. • Millions of soldiers are killed in the attempt to breakthrough the line to capture the next trench. • Mustard gas used as a weapon and the modern rapid-fire machine gun. • “War of attrition. ” A war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses.

Mustard Gas

Vehicles used for war uses in WWI • German Zeppelins (blimps) • Airplanes • Submarines

German zeppelin and airplane bombing of Russian army position

More losses for the Allies • April 1915, Battle of Gallipoli. Allies attempted to invade the Ottoman Empire near Istanbul to control sea lanes into the Black Sea. Allies suffered major losses and retreated. • Italian forces ineffective in the fight against the Central Powers. The other Allied armies had to come rescue them.

• Between 1914 and 1916, 2 million soldiers had been killed another 4 -6 million had been wounded or captured. • In 1917 the Russian Revolution takes place ousting the Tsar. Russia surrenders and is out of the war.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare • British navy set blockade against German ships. • Germany did the same using submarines (UBoats). • U-Boats not restricted to sinking military ships, also sunk passenger ships. • May 7, 1915, passenger ship HMS Lusitania sunk by submarines. 1, 100 civilians were killed, a 100 of those civilians were Americans.

America starts getting upset! • American protests over the Lusitania sinking. • Caused U. S. to rethink policy of “isolationism, ” not wanting to commit to fighting in foreign conflicts. • Germany suspended its unrestricted submarine warfare in September 1915. • In January 1917, Germany made the error in starting this warfare again after American intelligence intercepted a telegraph message from Germany to Mexico asking Mexico to join the Central Powers. Known as the “Zimmerman telegraph” • America enters the war April 6, 1917.