Chapter 12

Section IThe Great War Begins

Europe on the Brink of War

• Tension on the rise due to 4 reasons– Militarism– Alliances– Imperialism– Nationalism

Europe on the Brink War

• Militarism– European countries throughout the 19th century

began building massive armies– Caused by the desire to protect overseas colonies

from other countries– Germany was the leading nation in army growth

Europe on the Brink of War

• Alliances– Formed with other nations to protect one another in

the event war breaks out– Triple Alliance: United Germany, Austria-Hungary, and

Italy– Triple Entente: formed by Russia and France

• Fearful of Germany's growing power• Great Britain also joined the alliance

• Belief is with alliances formed, no country would attack another

Europe on the Brink of War

• Imperialism– Quest to build an empire during the 19th century

created rivalries– Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia all

viewed themselves as great imperial nations

Europe on the Brink of War

• Nationalism– Strong devotion to one’s

national group or culture• Led to the creation of

new countries like Germany and Italy

– Power struggle over the Balkan Peninsula

• Peninsula ruled by the Ottoman Empire for 100’s of years

Europe on the Brink of the War

• Balkan Peninsula– Very diverse in ethnicity

• Serbia– Independent nation– Wanted to expand boarded to include more of the

Serbian ethnicity within its boundaries• Majority of Serbs lived outside the boarders

• Austria-Hungary was to the North and very powerful– Fearful of the Serbian expansion because other

ethnicities would want to follow and revolt

War Breaks Out

• The Impact– Princip arrested an discovered to be a Serb– Austria-Hungary made a series of humiliating

demands on Serbia then declared war July 28th 1914

– Russia promised Serbia support if Austria-Hungary attacked

– Germany declares war on Russia and Italy because of the Triple Alliance

War Breaks Out

• Fighting Begins– Germany faced war on 2 fronts

• Russia to the East; France to the West– Germany Schlieffan Plan

• Defeat France quickly then head East to fight Russia• Plan would work because Russia has a massive army and will

take time to organize– Germany attacked Belgium

• Belgium a neutral country• Germany wants to use Belgium as a pawn• This attack provoked Great Britain to declare war on Germany

War Breaks Out

• Central Powers– Germany– Austria-Hungary

• Allied Powers– Great Britain– France– Russia– Serbia

World War I also known as The Great War divided into two powers

Fighting in 1914

• Early Battles– Battle of the Frontiers• Began August 1914• Germany vs. France and Great Britain• France struggled against Germany• Russia attacked Germany from East

– Battle of Tannerberg• Germany destroyed the Russian Invasion

– Lifted the pressure off France– Russia’s invasion allowed the Allied Powers to regroup

Fighting in 1914

• Trench Warfare Begins– Battle of the Marine• September 1914• Allied Troops succeeded in driving German forces back• Germany retreated and dug a series of trenches along

the Aisne River• Allied forces also began digging trenches

– Led to a standstill for following months– Deadlock region of North France became known as

the Western Front