1914-1918:

The Worldat WarBy: Ms. Susan M. Pojer

Horace Greeley H. S.Chappaqua, NY &

Edited by Mrs. Browne

Differing Viewpoints “Family Feud” “Fall of the Eagles” “The War to End All Wars” “The War to ‘Make the World Safe for Democracy’”

Causesof theWar

Causes of World War I Long Term Causes

– Militarism• Military power seen as a symbol of national

prestige• Glorification of war by all powers• An arms race among Great Powers

– Alliances• Agreements among nations to aid each other if

attacked

Causes of World War I Long Term Causes (cont’d)

– Imperialism• Rivalries between British, French & Germans

– Nationalism• French wanted revenge against Germany• Pan-Slavism develops in Eastern Europe• Russia is protector of Slavic peoples• German pride in military & industrial growth

1. Militarism & Arms Race

1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 191494 130 154 268 289 398

Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers [Germany, Austria-

Hungary, Italy, France, Britain, Russia] in millions of £s.

1910-1914 Increase in Defense

ExpendituresFrance 10%Britain 13%Russia 39%

Germany

73%

2. The Alliance SystemTriple Entente: Triple Alliance:

Two Armed Camps!Allied Powers: Central Powers:

The Major Players: 1914-17

Nicholas II [Rus]

George V [Br]

Pres. Poincare [Fr]

Allied Powers:

Franz Josef [A-H]

Wilhelm II [Ger]

Victor Emmanuel II [It]

Central Powers:

Enver Pasha[Turkey]

Europe in 1914

3. Economic & Imperial Rivalries

4. Aggressive Nationalism

Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914

The“Powder

Keg”of Europe

Why?

The Road to World War

The“Spark

”

The Assassination of Archduke Franz

Ferdinand & His Family

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne– June 28th 1914– Killed in the city of Sarajevo– Killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian

nationalist and member of the Black Hand

The Assassination: Sarajevo

The Assassin:GavriloPrincip

Member of the nationalist group The Black Hand

Austria-Hungary Responds

1. Austria wants to punish Serbia for the murder

2. Austria gets support from their ally, Germany

3. Austria declares war on Serbia on July 28th, 1914

Russia Mobilizes

Russia is ally to Serbia and “big brother” to all Slavic peoples in Eastern Europe– 1. Czar Nicholas II orders the mobilization

of troops against Austria-Hungary– 2. Germany sees this as an act of war

The Conflict Broadens

Germany wants to defeat France before engaging Russia (to avoid a 2-front war)– 1. Germany orders the Schlieffen Plan– 2. Germany invades Belgium and violates

their neutrality– 3. Britain declares war because they are

Belgium’s ally and ‘protector’

The Schlieffen Plan

German Atrocities in Belgium

Summary… so far…. A Serbian murders the Archduke A-H declares war on Serbia Russia declares war on A-H Germany declares war on Russia (and

France) France declares war on Germany Germany invades Belgium Britain declares war on Germany

Who’s To Blame?

Mobilization

It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go; It's a long way to Tipperary, To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there!

Home by Christmas!

No major war in 50 years!

Nationalism!

Recruitment Posters

A Young Australian Recruit

Recruits of the Central Powers

Austro-Hungarians

A German Soldier Says

Farewell to His Mother

New French Recruits

A German Boy Pretends to Be a Soldier

Soldiers Mobilized

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

France Germany Russia Britain

Mill

ions

A Modern War of theIndustrial Revolution:

NewTechnology

French Renault Tank

Krupp’s “Big Bertha” Gun

British Tank at Ypres

U-Boats

Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats

The Airplane

“Squadron Over the Brenta”

Max Edler von Poosch, 1917

The Flying Aces of World War I

Eddie Rickenbacher, US

FrancescoBarraco, It.

Rene PaukFonck, Fr.

Manfred vonRichtoffen, Ger.

[The “Red Baron”]

Willy Coppens deHolthust, Belg.

Eddie “Mick”Mannoch, Br.

Curtis-Martin U. S. Aircraft Plant

Looking for the “Red Baron?”

The Zeppelin

FlameThrowers

GrenadeLaunchers

Poison Gas

Machine Gun

A Multi-Front War

The Western Front:

A “War of

Attrition”

Trench WarfareThe Western Front• Large trenches• Bodies used to

repair the trenches• Often filled with

mud, muck & water• rats• Barbed wire• Had to go “over

the top” to attack• No Man’s Land

Trench Warfare

“No Man’s Land”

The Western Front

Verdun – February, 1916

e What: Germany tried to overrun the French defenses & break the stalemate

eWhat: Each side had 500,000 casualties.

eWinner: A French “technical” victory

The Somme – July, 1916

e What: an Allied offensive against Germany

e What: 60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.

e What: Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.

eWinner: none … stalemate

TheEastern

Front

The Eastern Front The Eastern Front

– More mobile than the Western Front– Extensive use of the calvary– Higher casualties– Covered larger areas of land

The Tsar with General Brusilov

The Eastern Front and push to Tannenberg

The Battle of Tannenberg, 1914 What?

– Russia had pushed into eastern Germany– Germany regroups at Tannenberg– Russian troops had few supplies & were

poorly equipped Winner?

– Germany wins; Russia suffers one of the worst defeats in the war

The Italian Theater

The Italian Theater

The Battle of Caporetto, 1917 What?

– Fought along the Italian border– 35 German and A-H divisions used heavy

artillery, grenades and flamethrowers to break Italian lines

– Over 300,000 casualties

Winner?– The Central Powers

The Middle East

The Gallipoli ”Disaster”, 1915

The Battle of Gallipoli, 1915 Background

– The Ottoman Turks had closed off the Dardenelles to Allied ships

What?– The Allies send a massive

force to open the Dardenelles

– The troops are bogged down on the beaches

– The battle lasted 10 months

– Over 200,000 died

Winner?– The Ottoman Turks &

the Central Powers

The War at Sea

The British Blockade of Germany

What?• The British try to “break”

Germany through a blockade

• Germany continues unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic Ocean

Winner?• stalemate

War Is HELL !!

Sacrifices in War

The“Colonial

”Fronts

Fighting in Africa

British Sikh Mountain Gunners

Black Soldiers in the German

Schutztruppen[German E. Africa]

Fighting in Africa

3rd British Battalion, Nigerian Brigade

Fighting in Salonika, Greece

French colonial marine infantry fromCochin, China - 1916

Sikh British Soldiers in India

Womenand theWar

Effort

Financing the War

For Recruitment

Munitions Workers

French Women Factory Workers

German Women Factory Workers

Working in the Fields

A Woman Ambulance Driver

Red Cross Nurses

Women in the Army Auxiliary

Russian Women Soldiers

Spies

e “Mata Hari”e Real Name:

Margareetha Geertruide Zelle

e German Spy!

America

Joinsthe

Allies

The Sinking of the Lusitania

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare– After the Germans sunk the British liner the Lusitania (1915) killing 128 Americans and the French steamer the Sussex (1916), the US threatened to break diplomatic relations with Germany.

– The Sussex Pledge was made which stated that the Germans would not sink neutral boats and the Allies would not blockade

– On February 1st, 1917, Germany announced (return to) a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare which warned that they would attack any ship headed for Allied ports.

Zimmerman Telegram– A message from the German foreign secretary,

Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister in Mexico

– Urged a military alliance between Germany and Mexico promising Mexico support in regaining their lost territories in the United States.

The Zimmerman Telegram

Cultural Ties– Many Americans felt ties to the culture and

language of Britain and to the democracy of France

– Others sympathized with the Central Powers because of a similar heritage and ancestry.

Russian Revolution– In March 1917, the czar was overthrown– The US assumed more moderate forces would

take over in Russia, therefore if the US went to war they would be joining an alliance of democratic nations

The YanksAre

Coming!

Americans in the Trenches

Posters:

WartimePropagan

da

Propaganda What is it?

– Ideas spread to influence public opinion either for or against a cause

What form can it take?– Slogans, posters, artwork, songs, etc.

What types of messages can it send?– Can be either positive or negative– Can arouse certain feelings like pride, guilt

or hatred

Australian Poster

American Posters

Financing the War

German Poster

Think of Your Children!

“Art”of

WorldWar I

“A Street in Arras”John Singer Sargent, 1918

“Oppy Wood” – John Nash, 1917

“Those Who Have Lost Their Names”

Albin Eggar-Linz, 1914

“Gassed and Wounded”Eric Kennington, 1918

“Paths of Glory”C. R. W. Nevinson, 1917

The End of the War

1918 Flu Pandemic: Depletes All Armies

50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died

Germany in 1918 Last Offensives

– With Russia out of the war; Germany attempts to push West and defeat the Allies

– 2nd Battles of the Marne & the Somme failed Kaiser William II abdicates on Nov 9th New Government Weimar Republic

– One of the 1st acts of the new government was to sign the armistice … left many Germans bitter

11 a.m., November 11, 1918

The Armistice is Signed!

9,000,000 Military Deaths

The Somme American Cemetary, France

116,516 Americans Died

World War I Casualties

01,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,0006,000,0007,000,0008,000,0009,000,000

10,000,000RussiaGermanyAustria-HungaryFranceGreat BritainItalyTurkeyUS

Turkish Genocide Against Armenians

A Portent of Future Horrors to Come!

Turkish Genocide Against ArmeniansDistricts & Vilayets of

Western Armenia in Turkey 1914 1922Erzerum 215,000 1,500Van 197,000 500Kharbert 204,000 35,000Diarbekir 124,000 3,000Bitlis 220,000 56,000Sivas 225,000 16,800     Other Armenian-populated Sites in Turkey    

Western Anatolia 371,800 27,000Cilicia and Northern Syria 309,000 70,000European Turkey 194,000 163,000Trapizond District 73,390 15,000

Total 2,133,190 387,800

Cost of War– Human Costs

• Over 20 million dead and wounded• The creation of the “Lost Generation”

– Political Costs• Collapse of governments• Unrest in colonies• Increase/Spread of communism

– Financial Costs• War loans• Destruction• Reparations

The Paris Peace

Conference& The Treaty of

Versailles

The Paris Peace Conference

January 1919– Representatives of the Allied nations met in

Paris to make the final settlement for WWI– Each nation had certain interests – Germany was not invited to attend– Russia did not attend because it was in the

middle of a civil war

The Paris Peace Conference: The Big Three

Britain– Prime Minister David Lloyd George– Wanted Germany to pay for the war ($)

France– Premier Georges Clemenceau– Wanted revenge on Germany & national

security against future threats United States

– President Woodrow Wilson wanted a just and lasting peace

Wilson’s Fourteen Points Wilson’s basis for the peace settlement

– Reduction of weapons by all nations– Self determination: all nations should have

the right to decide their governments– To create an international organization to

guarantee peace, independence & territorial integrity

– Create a new world order based on democracy & cooperation

The Versailles Treaty New nations were created out of the German,

Austrian, Russian & Ottoman Empires– Finland– Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia (the Baltic States)– Poland– Czechoslovakia– Austria– Hungary– Turkey– Yugoslavia

The Versailles Treaty

The Versailles Treaty League of Nations

– Created as an international peacekeeping organization

– Wilson hoped it would be able to fix unfair territory issues that remained after the Treaty!

Mandate System– Nations in the Middle East that had been

promised independence did NOT get it!– Instead made into “mandates”

The Versailles Treaty & The Mandate System

The Versailles Treaty Unfair treatment of Germany?

– Article 231 “War Guilt Clause”• Germany was responsible for starting the war

– Peace dictated by the victors• Germany had to pay reparations ($$) for ALL

damages that the Allied governments had encountered

• Germany lost her colonies, her military, and territory in Europe

• Many Germans were outraged by the terms

The Versailles TreatyGermany’s “Stabbed in back” theory

• Many Germans did not know how badly the war had been going (thanks to the propaganda!)

• Many thought the new German government had made a huge mistake by accepting the treaty

• They felt betrayed by the new Weimar Republic • …. This would cause HUGE problems in the near

future and would lead to the rise of

Notable Results of World War I

End of 4 Empires New Republics formed Women’s Rights Europe’s Supremacy is closing Psychological Cost of War

– Value of technology?