ORIGINS OF WWI

The outbreak of WWI was a surprise.Previous differences in Europe had

always been settled.

WWI put an end to 3 European empires1. Russian2. Austrian-Hungarian3. Ottoman

It was beloved that the war would be short and bloodless due to technologyThis of course was not the case

There was an honest belief in the progress of man,Diplomacy had evolved to the point where

war would be avoided.

Concert of Europe: 1815. Body of representatives where grievances were aired.

In theory all countries would meetIn practice only the Great Powers do

so.The assumption was that pace was the

goal and diplomacy was to be the means.

Balance of Power: In another event that one power tried to over power another, smaller powers would rise up and stop it.

Nation-States emerged unevenlyEspecially in Central Europe

A conglomeration of some 300 principalities that were not united

Eastern Europe: 3 empires in declineNone was a true nation-state

1870-1871: Germany and Italy emerge as nation-states.This was destabilizing

Ex : France had always sought to keep Germany divided. Now it was unified and a cause of concern for France.

Franco-Prussian War: Alsace-Lorraine given to Germany in the settlementHonor, manhoodAnd pride all compromised (France)Calls for war arise.

While nation-states did not exist, nationalism did.Nationalism appears at different times in

different places, much like nations themselves

Awareness→Philosophy→Demand→Fact

Many nationalities arise, but few have nations of their own.

The Balkans (S.E. Europe)Rivalries in this are were spurred on by

Russia¿Why?

The problem of unrequited nationalism was greatest in AustriaTwo dominant nationalities

1. Austrians (Germanic)2. Magyars (Hungrian/Asiatic)

There was dual monarchy (Austria-Hungary)

2 separate gov’ts.oShared a king,

foreign minister and foreign policy

Various nationalities wanted:

Home rule Outright

independence Concentration of

ethnicities

But no one actually sought the destruction of the A-H Empire

IMPERIALISM AND GREED

There is a surge of imperialism among European powers. Not a cause of the war per se, but does make for a good opportunity for a cool cartoon.

Intense rivalries among powers

All would end up on the same side in WWI

Economic Greed

Today, many believe that war is driven by economics, but in early 20th Century Europe, most businessmen did not favor war. Except for…

…arms makers.

Countries amassed weapons, but why?

Tensions caused arms build-up. Not the other way around.

Otto von Bismarck: German chancellor and foreign minister.Responsible for German

reunificationCold-bloodedHard-hearted

Not emotional or sentimental

Realizes that victory vs. French would mean another war.

Calculated that as long as France was ruled by rational leaders, it would not wage war on Germany. But perhaps with allies she might…

Who might France’s allies be?England?---No.Austria and Russia?---Maybe.

Bismarck decides to ally himself with Aus. & Prussia before France does.

A loose arrangement was created but was not really viable due to an Austrian/Russian rivalry.1879: Bismarck signs a treaty of alliance with

Austria-Hungary.oEach would assist the other if attacked by

Russia.

Several years later…Bismarck secures an agreement with Russia by which each would remain neutral should the other go to war.These are the first peace-time alliances in

Europe.They are crazy and can cause you to have

headaches.They are just beginning…

OvB is not done…Also signs an agreement with Italy, a rival

of Austria :/The Italians fear the French (really?)

more than the Austrians so they sign.France is on the outside looking in.

Only Bismarck is shrew enough to hold the alliance together.

1880: Kaiser Wilhelm II comes to powerFires Bismarck

Bismarck had realized that for power to be effective it ad to be used sparingly.

¿What does Bismarck mean by this?

The Kaiser’s provocative action shocks EuropeHe allows the treaty with Russia to lapse.

Russia is now free to get closer to FranceIt enters into a military alliance w/ France⅓ of Russian army to act if France is attacked

Bismarck’s strategic nightmare is now very real.

This is what it’s coming to.

Many Germans share the thought that Germany did not receive the respect and prestige she deserved.The Kaiser shares the same thought.

1900: Germany decides to become a world-class naval power.Battleships are the measuring stickThis alarms England

A larger German fleet is seen as a threat to the British Empire

This is a game

THIS IS NOT!

Britain had tried to stay out of European affairs1905: England enters in to peace agreement for

the first time.

Entente: Declaration of friendshipBritain and France

Both agree that in the event of a German attack, the General staffs would meet

Agreed to cover each other’s backsNOT obligated to go to war, however

The Germans also begin to express interest in the Near East.Want to build a railroad from Berlin to Baghdad.Germans send generals to train Ottoman soldiers

1907: Britain and Russia sit down and patch-up differences.They split Iran into

spheres of influence

TRIPLE ENTENT:

TRIPLE ALLIANCE

Europe is now an armed camp

Reasons for war:

Revenge

Prestige

Weakness

National tension

Alliance only a symptom, not a cause of tension.

CRISIS IN THE BALKANSJuly 1914: Involves:

1. Austria2. Serbia3. Serbians in Austria

Serbia had been a part of the Ottoman EmpireGained independence in 1878

Land lockedPoor

Many Serbs lived in BosniaPart of Austria

oBosnia Serbs and Serbia looked to merge and become Yugoslavia.

The threat to Austria is both internal and foreign.Many terrorist organizations spring upGov’t officials often

know about them.Austria wants to

eliminate this problem.oAssassinations,

etc.

Russia backs SerbsRussia had been defeated 3 times in the past

decade.Russia seen as a paper tiger

Her threats to assist Serbia were not taken seriously.

Austria looks for a pretext to crush Serbian terrorism

The Black HandTerrorist

group established and directed in and from Serbia.

Sarajevo, June 28, 1914…

Gavrillo Princip Gun

=+

One dead Archduke(Heir to the

Austrian-Hungarian throne)

Princip was not a member of the Black Hand, but did receive assistance from them

Ferdinand had been considering giving autonomy to the Austrian Serbs but…

The terrorists felt that autonomous Austrian Serbs would lose interest in a Serbian nationoThis makes Ferdinand an excellent target.

The A-H Government KNOWS ABOUT THE PLOT but…

DOES NOTHING!

why?

BecauseThey decided to use the assassination as a pretext to attack Serbia.oA-H checks with Germany who of course promises

to back her.

Mid July: A-H frames an ultimatum:10 demands

Extreme and insulting and destructive of Serbian autonomy

Designed to force Serbia to reject and give A-H and excuse to fight

…

Russia begins to respond to the crisis after Serbia consults themRussia indicates she will fight if Serbia is attacked.

She feels a need to help after failing to do so before.

Russia threatens to mobilize its armyTo protect their Serbian brothers.

Serbia accepts 9 of the 10 demandsHas Russian support

Refused to allow A-H participation in the investigation, capture, and conviction of the assassins.

July 25: Austria breaks diplomatic ties with Serbia and mobilizes her army. But…She DOES NOT declare war.

The England proposes a conference but…She DOES NOT push hard.

France is engaged with egging on Russia to back the Serbs.France had no intention of going to war with

GermanyA fact not advertized publically.

Finally…

July 28, 1914: A-H declares war on SerbiaThe Kaiser gets scared

Advocates that A-H occupies Belgrade and go no further.

The Tsar gets scaredCorrespondence resumes with Germany

Russia mobilizes her armed forces.

Russian forces a-mobilizin’

July 31: Pro-war demonstrations in Europe

Hitler a-demonstratin’

Socialist believe—and hope, that the proletariat would conduct a general strike in the event of war. But…Class consciousness vanishes

Strike never takes placeIn fact, many socialists enlist in the armies of

their country.

Russia at first mobilizes along the A-H borderLater, they mobilize along the German border.

Done for defensive purposes, but…Germany considers this an act of war.

Germany hopes to avoid a two front war.

The Schlieffen Plan:1. If Germany goes

to war with Russia she will attack and defeat France quickly

2. After the French are defeated, all forces would be turned to Russia

July 31: Germany sends an ultimatumAug 1: Germany declares war on Russia and FranceEveryone declares war on everyone else as per the alliances and ententes.

Italy and the U.S. remain neutral

In 1839, England promised to uphold Belgian sovereignty.Germany plans to go thru Belgium to get to France

Per the Schlieffen PlanBritain warns Germany not touch Belgium.

Germans don’t believe the English threats and move on Belgium, so…

IT ALL MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

World War I was probably inevitableLong term problems from the 1800’s still existed.

1. Nationalism2. German want for prestige3. Alliances and ententes

WORLD WAR I

Everyone thought the war would be shortThe Schleiffen Plan was enacted to prevent a

two front war but…Russia mobilizes much quicker than anyone

thought possible and…The French use all roads and vehicles to met

the Germans before they advance too far, so…

¿What was the inherent problem with the Schlieffen Plan?

Exactly! The Schlieffen Plan is a very important aspect of World War I and I knew you guys would figure it out!

Great job!

With that very important question answered, let’s move on…

This in no way is meant to represent an endorsement of the Democratic party. Teachers shouldn’t proselytize about politics or religion.

We have now determined that the Schlieffen Plan was more suited to pre-industrial timesThere should be no surprise at the fact that the

front froze in France for the rest of the war.The invention of the machine gun causes both

sides to stay in trenches.

Other weapons are developed to neutralize the machine gun:

Gas: unreliable and uncontrollable

Tanks: First used by the British

Planes: changed everything

So did submarines

Repeating rifle & smokeless powderLarger armies able to be transported by rail.

Nothing much happens for 3 years and then…

The Americans enter the war.The Germans know they must win the war quickly and make one last pushThe Americans help prevent this.

The years 1914-1917 end up like this:

German generals realize they cannot win the war.They hope to persuade

the Kaiser to abdicate and install a democratic governmentOr this:

The generals gamble that the U.S. would be more lenient to a democratic government than that of the Kaiser.

11-11-1918: Armistice ends the war.German armies are still on foreign soil when she

surrendersImportant fact because the Germans could

reasonably believe they had not lost the war militarily.

President Wilson insists on the Kaiser’s removalHe believed that monarchies were inherently

illegitimate.oPerhaps Wilson’s insistence on the Kaiser’s

removal was a mistake.

WWI destroyed the old regime in Western and Central Europe.

1. Monarchy2. Church3. Aristocracy

The end of the war accelerated the end of European imperialism.

The war was long and casualties high.

War Socialism:Governments impose wage and price controls to

prevent profiteering.Food rationingCurtailing of civil liberties

Later restoredWWI transformed European and American liberalismThe state was no longer seen as the ogre it had beenBecomes the model for the welfare stateWomen flood the workforce due to the absence of

menBeginnings of the Feminist MovementWomen in western countries received the right

to vote.

PEACE TREATY

Paris 1919:Clearly, U.S., France, and Britain were the dominant

states.The Heads of State sent to negotiate

1. US= Wilson2. France+= Clemençeau3. UK= Lloyd George

NO RUSSIANS! Why?

Germany sends two low-level bureaucrats

Wilson believed an international organization was neededLeague of Nations

Wilson thought this would prevent war

Neither Germany nor the Bolsheviks were allowed in L.o.N

US Senate refuses to ratify the treaty containing a proviso for a L.o.N.

This is not a real newspaper.

Treaty of VersaillesSigned in the Palace of Louis the XIVWilson came to the conference with a different

agenda that Britain and FranceHad to give in on some points to secure their

support for the L.o.N.Britain and France want to “stick it” to the

Germans. Why?Domestic opinions had to be taken into account

in ways they had not been before. Why?The war was so long and deadly that many

stories of atrocities surfaced.Most were not true.

French were so fearful of the Germans that they demand her complete de-militarization.

The allies could not deal leniently if they wanted to because of public opinion. Therefore…

The Treaty of Versailles is a vindictive treaty.1. French retake Alsace-Lorraine.2. Germany split into two areas:

a. Germany Properb. Prussia

3. No German conscription alloweda. Army limit set t 100k

4. Germany loses colonies5. Germany loses navy6. Germany had to pay reparations to victims• Britain wants ALL war costs paid including widow’s

pensions

Article 231: The War Guilt ClauseDid not blame Germany for the war but…Did say she caused aggression.

Germans are humiliated by the Versailles treaty.German politicians worked for its revocationMany in the West agree with the Germans

“The Versailles treaty was too harsh for the hardship it contained.”Germany was NOT divvied up

into zones of occupation as some had wanted.

German gov’t in a precarious position.