World War I

World Civilizations

The Great War: In a Nutshell

• The first war to include multiple countries• The first war to include countries from Europe,

the Middle East, and Asia--drawn together by complex alliance system

• The first “modern” war• Use of modern technology: first airplanes, first

tanks, first gas attack• Most dead in a single battle• The first “European” war the U.S. fought in• Largest mobilization effort, to date

M.A.I.N. Causes of the War

Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

Causes of the Great WarOr why did the nations of Europe turn on each other?

Video

Militarism• During the Industrial Revolution,

many European nations greatly increased their ability to produce “stuff.”

• Countries such as Germany and France began applying their industrial production power to an arms race.

• Militarism made countries feel patriotic, but also increased distrust among nations of Europe.

• Guns- Use ‘em or Lose ‘em• Alfred Thayer Mahan- The Influence

of Sea Power Upon History

Building Dreadnoughts, 1906-1914

0

2

4

6

8

Germany 0 0 4 3 1 3 2 3 1

Great Britain 1 3 2 2 3 5 3 7 3

1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914

Alliances• Countries seek to protect themselves

through alliances• Bismark- Goal was to isolate France• Drikaiserbund- Three Emperor’s

League- Germany, A-H, Russia• Triple Alliance- G, A-H, It• 1890- Bismark forced to retire,

Drikaiserbund breaks up• Russia and France team up• Germany now faces a 2 front war• 1907- Triple Entente- France, Russia,

GB, not binding, but at least stay out• GB pledges to protect Belgium’s

neutrality

Alliances and the First World War:

Triple Alliance, 1882

Then Bismarck allied with Italy and Austria-Hungary (the TRIPLE ALLIANCE, 1882). Together with his friendship with Russia, this kept Germany safe.

Alliances and the First World War:

Germany encircled

But when Kaiser Wilhelm became Emperor, he dumped the Russian alliance. He kept the Triple Alliance, but this did NOT solve the problem of Germany’s encirclement.

Alliances and the First World War:

Franco-Russian Alliance, 1892

Instead, in 1892, Russia made an alliance with FRANCE.Although it was only a DEFENSIVE alliance, it was Germany’s worst nightmare!

Alliances and the First World War:

Triple Entente, 1907

In 1907 Russia joined Britain and France to make the Triple Entente. So by 1914 Europe had divided into two massive superpower blocs. People thought this BALANCE OF POWER would keep the peace.

A World War

• CENTRAL POWERS

• Germany• Austria-Hungary• Bulgaria• Ottomon Empire

• 23 million troops

• THE ALLIES• Australia Belgium• Brazil Britain• Canada China• Costa Rica Cuba• France Greece• Guatemala Haiti• Honduras India• Italy Japan• Liberia Montenegro• New Zealand Nicaragua • Panama Portugal • Romania Russia• San Marino Serbia• Siam South Africa• United States • 42 million troops

Imperialism• After the Industrial Revolution, the European powers-

including Great Britain, Germany and France-needed new markets for their goods and new producers of raw materials.

• They looked to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, lands which they considered their for the taking, and established colonial control. Including completely dominating the other nation.

• Countries saw that Imperialism made them powerful. More colonies = stronger, better.

• The countries of Europe competed for what little “unconquered” lands remained. These rivalries caused tension and mistrust among the nations of Europe.

• Resulted in competition over territorial acquisition• Resulted in long-term aggression over border disputes,

natural resources, and new markets– Examples:

• France v. Germany over Alsace-Lorraine• Austria-Hungary v. Russia over Balkans• Video

Nationalism• Nationalism is patriotism gone wild. It is

loving your country by hating on others. • 2 kinds

– Rivalry between powers– Smaller groups want freedom

• The belief that each country was culturally superior to any other countries

• European governments fueled prejudice and mistrust against neighboring rival nations.

• This mistrust of others and crazy patriotism lead to the countries teaming up, because “my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”

• Long term cultural hatred (the Russians hated the Germans, the Bosnians hated the Serbs, the Ottomans hated the Greeks, etc)

• Resulted in a global effort to prove superiority

– Evident in growth of military, the growth of industry, the acquisition of territories

– Resulted in large scale international tension

Problems in the Balkans• Ottoman Empire

starts to collapse• Both Russia and AH

want to take over their Balkan lands

• AH wants more power

• Russia wants a warm water port

• 1908- AH annexes Bosnia

• Serbia and Russia protest

• Germany backs AH• Serbia backs down,

but tensions still there

• Slavic Nationalism

The Snowball Effect…• In the spirit of nationalism and self-

determination, the small country of Serbia seeks independence from Bosnia, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary.

• The region, the Balkans, is THE highway for all trade and communication between Europe and Asia.

• The Balkans is a region ALL COUNTRIES want to control.

• The Balkans is convulsed by civil war.

Assassination in Sarajevo• Franz Ferdinand and his

pregnant wife, Sophia, were murdered in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.

• His assassin was a 19-year old Serbian nationalist and member of the terrorist group “The Black Hand.”

• He kills Ferdinand because of Slavic Nationalism

Degenerating to War: The Fall of 1914

• June 28, 1914: Austria-Hungarian Archduke assassinated– Austria blames Serbia– Germany gives AH a “blank check”

• July 23: AH gives Serbia an ultimatum, do all these ore else, decide in 48 hrs.

• July 25: Serbia accepts all but one. Austria-Hungary mobilizes army and declares war on Serbia

• July 30: Russia mobilizes army against Austria-Hungary and Germany

• July 31: AH mobilizes against Russia, Germany tells Russia to demoblize or else, Germany asks France are you neutral or with Russia, France says its with Russia

• August 1: Germany declares war on Russia• August 3: Germany declares war on France, Germany goes

into Belgium, GB protests• August 4: Angered, Great Britain declares war on Germany• August 6: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia

Germany.

In Munich, crowds greet the news that war has been declared with excitement. Adolf Hitler, is there.

Plan XVII (17th itemization of plan for war against

Germany)• Based on two postulates

– Germans wouldn’t use reserves - not strong enough to advance through Belgium

– French soldier was irresistible in the attack, so they should advance through German center

• Pledged not to violate Belgium’s Neutrality

• Staff negotiations committed England to provide land forces to secure left wing

Schlieffen Plan• Germans want to finish off French before Russia is ready

to fight

• Germans believe French will immediately try to retake Alsace-Lorraine

• Original plan called for economy of force on the left while heavily weighting the right flank• Von Moltke revised and distributed forces more evenly across

the front

• Plan failed when Germans were held up by Belgians, then stopped by French and British at the Battle of the Marne• Russians also mobilized more quickly than expected

Schlieffen Plan

Problems with the Schlieffen Plan

• Moltke modified Schlieffen’s original plan– Weakened the right wing and strengthened

the left • Moved four and a half corps from the west to the

east to protect East Prussia• Modified sweep of right wing so that Germans

would not violate the Netherlands’ neutrality• Added a counterattack mission to the left wing

– Violated Schlieffen’s dying words to “Keep the right wing strong”

Problems with the Schlieffen Plan

• Became inflexible “war by timetable”– Required enormous logistical effort to

move men and equipment from Aachen to around Paris in a little more than five weeks

– Committed Germany to a two front war• Necessitated attacking before Russia or

France could seize the initiative (even if Germany wasn’t ready)

Result

Schlieffen Plan works initially but stalls due to logistical demands; static warfare begins

STALEMATE• Allies halt Central Powers;

both sides dig in• No flanks for either side to

attack• Barbed wire entanglements up

to 150’ deep• Neither side gains more than

10 miles in over 2 years• Countries will try new

technology to break the stalemate

• Mass is supreme principle• Massed assaults• Massed fires

Trench Warfare• Machine gun and

artillery make it difficult to attack a trench

• Huge artillery preps make “No Man’s Land” virtually impassable

• Huge casualties for attackers

Stalemate• The Tactics of Trench Warfare

– Generals were unprepared for the development of trench warfare: their training was in army mobility

– Main strategy: • To use a combination of heavy artillery and MORE MEN

to break the trench line• First, to use artillery to “soften up” the enemy and

destroy barbed wire• Second, to fix bayonets and lead a charge across No

Man’s Land• Third, to kill the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

– Exceptions, by mutual consent:• No bombing the latrines.• No bombing before breakfast.• No bombing on major holidays.

Trench Diagram #1

Trench diagram #2

Life in the hole• The Equipment:

– 1 rifle, 1 bayonet, 170 rounds of ammo, 1 gas mask, 1 shovel, wire cutters, a full water bottle, food rations, extra clothing, medical supplies, portable cooking stove and fuel, personal belongings

• Total Weight: 60 lbs.

This is a typical BRITISH soldier.

Soldiers were expected to carry their equipment with them at all times.

They were supposed to keep it clean and in good condition.

No smiling and relaxed faces…

No fun with mates…

No clean uniforms…

Their equipment is scattered everywhere…

Boredom is obvious…

Real life in the trenches was

MISERABLE

The Trench System

British trench, Thiepval Woods, France

RUTHLESS TACTICS

• Chemical warfare made trench warfare more horrible

• Mustard/Blister agents deployed

• First used on French in 1915

The Battle for 1916:

• The Battle of Verdun: February-December, 1916– The longest battle of the WWI, lasting over 10 months.

– Over 1 million dead on the battlefield

– The battle became symbolic for WWI: French stubbornness to defend vs. German stubbornness to “bleed the French dry.”

Battle of the Somme:

1916• The Battle of the

Somme: July-November, 1916– British offensive to

relieve French allies at Verdun

– British casualties on the first day: 20,000

– Most dead on both sides: 1 million

Somme (June 1916)• “Bleed them white”

– Almost 3 million men - Allies thought mass was answer

– 1500 Guns (1 per 20 yds)– Artillery prep - 7 days, 1.7 million rounds

• In 4.5 months, Allies gained 8 miles– British lost 60,000 men first day;

attacked in waves, soldiers carried 66 lbs.

– Video

Losses

• Allies - 620,000

• Germans - 500,000

The Results

Battlefield Verdun, 1917

Battlefield Ypres, 1917

Battlefield Chateau Wood, 1917

Mass Grave, Eastern Front

New Technologies

U-Boats: unrestricted, underwater, undetectable could fire self-propelled missiles

Cyanide/Mustard Gas: launched by artillery, gas would stay close to the ground; Results in drowning/suffocation

Machine Guns: rapid fire, automatic weapons

Armored Tank: combat vehicle on tracks; used to cross barbed wire in No-Man’s Land

Tanks• Brits introduce in

Sept 1916

• Means to cross No Man’s Land with protection from machine guns

• Initially employed piecemeal and in too small numbers to be decisive

• Unreliable and slow

Tanks• Battle of Somme, Sept 1916

• 36 of 60 tanks make it into battle

• Scattered across 3 mile front

• Cambria, Nov 1917

• Used in mass (300 tanks)

• Opened 12x6 mile front

• Amiens, August 1918

• 500 tanks, 13 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, 2000 artillery pieces, 800 aircraft

First modern “combined-arms” battle

Submarines • New aspect of “Total War”• Targeting “neutral

merchant” ships• Germans announce

submarine blockade• Part physical, part

psychological weapon• Draws Allied

resources away from offensive operations• Civilian control of

production• Sinking of ships with

US passengers is major factor in US’s eventual entry into the war

• Used initially for reconnaissance/spotting• Wireless communication critical

development in spotting • Arial combat originally a counter-

reconnaissance function• Troops on the ground don’t like

the planes overhead….• By the end of the war, planes

were being used to drop bombs on railways, intersections, factories, etc…

Aviation

Jaeger

Dogs at War

Weird Weapons

Camouflage

Dummy Gun Made Of Paper

The Paris GunCould shoot a 210 lb. shell 80 miles!!!!

Before and After

The Home Front & Propaganda• Total War: The countries of

Europe committed everything to fighting the war.

• Now it was country vs. country, not just army vs. army

• Every citizen is expected to contribute in some way

• Propaganda• War Bonds

Lord Kitchener’s recruitment poster

was famous.

The Germans had recruitment posters as well. Note the historical

and religious themes.

Why did the USA enter WWI?

• 1915: Lusitania sunk by Germans; 126 Americans killed.

• 1917: Germans resume unrestricted submarine warfare around British Isles.

• 1917: Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico.• World, Allied, and British-U.S.

commerce and trade threatened.• And, of course, for freedom and

democracy.

Preparing for Preparing for warwar

• Selective Service Act: institutes nationwide conscription/draft.

• U.S. armed forces: from 200,000 to nearly 5 million!

The U.S. Food Administration

• Headed by Herbert Hoover; advised Americans to save certain foods for export to supply the Allied war effort.

"Food will win the war, don't waste it."

•  

Women Working in Factories

 

A million women entered the American workforce during World War I. In this factory, women of all ages are packing hand grenade parts to be shipped overseas.

What about the USA?• Officially we were neutral, but really we favored

GB and the Allies• We were trading with both sides and getting

rich• With America being made up of so many

immigrants, different parts of the country supported different sides– Video

• Pro Allied- English Heritage (Language, Culture, etc), Ancestry, France helped us in American Rev. and gave us Statue of Liberty, Rape of Belgium

• Pro-Central Powers- Ancestry and link to old country, 8 million from AH, Countless Germans, 5 million Irish

• By 1915, President Wilson knows we will eventually get involved and starts making plans to get ready

Anger

• Towards Allies– Blockading and

mining North Sea– Blacklisting

American companies

– Americans losing money

• Toward Germany– USW

(Unrestricted Submarine Warfare)

– Used to try to break GB’s blockade, but also attacked our ships

usw

• Underseeboots (U-boats) could go anywhere, were hard to detect, and could use surprise

• Americans felt that GB’s blockade was reasonable, but that USW was cheating

• Britain- “underhanded, unfair, and damn un-English”

• Video

So What• Lusitania sunk off of the coast

of Ireland, 1200 dead, inc 128 Americans

• Weapons on board?• Germans warned Americans

that ships were liable to destruction

• Inflamed Americans• Germany didn’t want to bring

US into WWI, so they promised to stop USW

• Eventually they go back to it because they have to

The U.S. Joins the War: 1917

• January 1917: U.S. intercepts the Zimmerman Telegram– Sent by Germany to

Mexico– Asked Mexico for

support on a North American invasion of the U.S. in exchange for North American territory

– Violated the Monroe Doctrine--No intervention in Western Hemisphere

– Equaled a declaration of war for the U.S.

– Video

American Intelligence

The U.S. Declares War!• February 1917: Germany restarts

unrestricted submarine warfare on ALL allies: Great Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S.

• April 1917: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress for Declaration of War

• April 6, 1917: Congress declares war on Germany--the U.S. officially joins the war

• July 1917: The American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) is mobilized and sent to the Western Front.

Russia Drops Out• November 1917: The

Communist Revolution– Desperate for food and

angry at Czar Nicholas and the Romanov Dynasty for stupidity, a group of radicals declare a revolution

– Led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky

– The Bolsheveik Revolution declared:

• A return of property to the poor

• A return of power to the people

• A complete and total withdrawal from the war

• The killing of all royals

The Results: 1917

• Russia withdraws from the war

• The Western Front is reinforced

• The Eastern Front is lost to Austria-Hungary

• Now that Russia is gone it is Democracy vs. Autocracy

I WANT YOU!!!!

Video

America Prepares

• Council of National Defense, War Industries Board, National War Labor Board– Oversaw mobilization,

shipbuilding, and armament production

– Expanded size of American government

• Food Administration Board– Supported rationing,

abstinence programs, and home gardens (liberty gardens)

• Draft passed in 1917

The War at Home• The Committee of Public Information

– Headed by George Creel– Publishes propaganda and radio addresses– Called for immediate mobilization of 75,000 men – Video

• Espionage and Sedition Acts– Espionage Act made it illegal to interfere with the draft– Sedition Act made it illegal to criticize the government, President,

Army, Navy, War, etc. ($10,000 fine or 20 yrs in jail)– Kids encouraged to tell on parents– Over 1,000 people convicted

• Restricted immigration• Mail subject to censorship• “No slavery in US since Emancipation Proclamation….unless

Germany wins.”• Hatred towards Germans (9/11)• 500,000 blacks moved North to work in factories. • Budget grew from $742 million in 1916 to $14 billion in 1918

(18.86 x’s)• Daylight Savings Time • Liberty Bonds• Video

The War Unravels: 1918• January 8: Wilson proposes 14 Point Peace

Plan• May 3: German offensive at Paris is stopped• July: Germans begin to desert the army• September: Allies begin final offensive and

breaks the German “Hindenberg Line”• October: The German Army collapses• November 11: The Germans sign armistice

and surrender to the army• Video

• “Numbers have dehumanized us. Over breakfast coffee we read of 40,000 American dead in Vietnam. Instead of vomiting, we reach for the toast. Our morning rush through crowded streets is not to cry murder but to hit that trough before somebody else gobbles our share.

• An equation: 40,000 dead young men = 3,000 tons of bone and flesh, 124,000 pounds of brain matter, 50,000 gallons of blood, 1,840,000 years of life that will never be lived, 100,000 children who will never be born.

• Let us use his same arithmetic for World War I; 9,000,000 dead young men equal 1,350,000,000 pounds of bone and flesh, 27,900,000 pounds of brain matter, 11,250,000 gallons of blood, 414,000,000 years of life that will never be lived, and 22,500,000 children who will never be born. The dry if imposing figure "9,000,000 dead" seems a little less statistical when we view it from this perspective.”

» Dalton Trumbo, “Johnny Got His Gun.”

Allied Powers Mobilized KIA Wounded Prisoners/ MNIACasualties Casualties &Russia 12,000,000 1,700,000 4,950,000 2,500,000 9,150,000 76.3France 8,410,000 1,357,800 4,266,000 537,000 6,160,800 76.3British Empire 8,904,467 908,371 2,090,212 191,652 3,190,235 35.8Italy 5,615,000 650,000 947,000 600,000 2,197,000 39.1United States 4,355,000 126,000 234,300 4,500 364,800 8.2J apan 800,000 300 907 3 1,210 0.2Romania 750,000 335,706 120,000 80,000 535,706 71.4Serbia 707,343 45,000 133,148 152,958 331,106 46.8Belgium 267,000 13,716 44,686 34,659 93,061 34.9Greece 230,000 5,000 21,000 1,000 17,000 11.7Portugal 100,000 7,222 13,751 12,318 33,291 33.3Montenegro 50,000 3,000 10,000 7,000 20,000 40Total 42,188,810 5,152,115 12,831,004 4,121,090 22,104,209 52.3

Central Powers Germany 11,000,000 1,773,700 4,216,058 1,152,800 7,142,558 64.9Austria- Hungary 7,800,000 1,200,000 3,620,000 2,200,000 7,020,000 90Turkey 2,850,000 325,000 400,000 250,000 975,000 34.2Bulgaria 1,200,000 87,500 152,390 27,029 266,919 22.2Total 22,850,000 3,386,200 8,388,448 3,629,829 15,404,477 67.4

Grand Total 65,038,810 8,538,315 21,219,452 7,750,919 37,508,686 57.6

WWI: The Numbers

Treaty of Versailles – end of WWI

• The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]  

• 1. Germany had to accept the Blame for starting the war

• 2.  Germany paid Reparations for the damage done during the war.

• 3.   Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force.   She could have a navy of only six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men.

•   4.  Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe (see map). Germany’s colonies were given to Britain and France.

The Big Four at the Paris Peace Talks (1919)

• Woodrow Wilson - President, United States

• Georges Clemenseau - Premier of France

• David Lloyd George - Prime Minister of Britain

• Vittorio Orlando – Foreign Minister of Italy

Video

Woodrow Wilson• Idealist - thought WWI would be “war to

end all wars”

• Wants a peace without victory

• Wants to get 14 pts. passed

• Fourteen Points (plan for lasting peace)– self-determination– peace without victory– disarmament– fair treatment of colonial peoples– League of Nations

Georges Clemenceau

• France had been destroyed in WWI and Franco-Prussian War– Wanted to make sure Germany never

did it again– Feared Germany and wanted to make

her weak

David Lloyd George

• Wants to make Germany pay for the war– Got reelected on that platform– Reparations- money paid to countries

damaged in the war

Vittorio Orlando

• Wanted land that he was promised– Was given Tryrol and Trieste– demanded more but when others

refused he walked out.– The Big Four became the Big Three

Results of the Treaty of Versialles

• League of Nations created (US never joins

• Germany loses all colonies and much land.

• Military limited to 100,000, no Air Force, U-boats, etc.

• War Reparations of $33 Billion• Rhineland occupied for 15 years• War Guilt Clause

German reaction to Treaty of VersaillesUnrepresentedNot allowed to join League of NationsForced to accept terms -Angry with armed forces reductionsInjustice - War guilt, loss of land etcReparations - set to high