Mud, waste and technology

The First World War

What you need to

know
Militarism

you need military strength to

acquire territories and subdue populations
and keep others from stealing your colonies

Alliances

there were a series of

agreements to provide military support in
case of war in Europe
The Triple Alliance included Germany, Austria-

Hungary and Italy (the Ottoman empire)

The Triple Entente included Britain, France and
Russia

 Imperialism

the
Great Powers of
Europe invaded
other countries in
order to establish
economic outposts

Germany

struggled
to be as strong an
imperial power as

 Nationalism

intense,
passionate loyalty
and identification with
a cultural group
coupled with a desire
to live independently

Competing

international interests
in the Balkans
complicated
nationalist zeal

What you need to

understand
War

was seen as purposeful

There

were opportunities for war to

be avoided

What

is political is also personal

How did it start?

Royal relations

Why does Franz Ferdinand

matter?
Austria

issued an ultimatum to Serbia

because of the assassination of Franz
Ferdinand
Serbia accepted some but not all of the

demands and this led Austria to declare war

against Serbia
This was in line with expectations war was wanted

There

was a failed bid for peace

mediation because Kaiser Wilhelm II
didnt want to accede to Britain

 With

the ultimatum rejected AustriaHungary declared war with Serbia

It was weeks after the initial declaration

of war that the Austro-Hungarian army

was ready to fight this gave Kaiser
Wilhelm II the chance to persuade Russia
not to get involved

Wilhelms telegram
Nicky,

I share your wish that

peace should be maintained. It
would be quite possible for
Russia to remain a spectator of
the Austro Serbian conflict
without involving Europe in the
most horrible war she ever
witnessed. I think a direct
understanding between your
government and Vienna
possible and desirable and my
government is continuing its
exertions to promote it.

Some Alliances come

into play
Russia

had an alliance with Serbia and

had initially agreed to call off mobilization
Fear of looking weak, apprehension about

domestic politics and the pressure of the

military leaders led Tsar Nicholas to begin
mobilizing forces
Germany had an alliance with Austria and tried
to stop Russia from mobilizing, Tsar Nicholas
did not stop
Germany

because

declared war on France

Schlieffen plan (1905)

In

the likely event of war with Russia

Germany would launch a harsh offensive
attack on France.
The fear was that Russia in the near
future would become invincible (though
it was weak after the Russo-Japanese
war)
France was strong militarily and would
come to the aid of Russia gack! Its war
on two fronts!

Schlieffen plan (1905)

The

expectation was that Russia would

take a long time to mobilize troops so
by the time Germany was done with
France they could fight Russia without
being caught in a war with two fronts.
Fatal Flaw: Belgium is between
Germany and Franceto get to France
they would have to go through
Belgium

Britain and Belgium

Belgium

refused to
give permission to
Germany so
Germany invaded

Britain

had a treaty
with Belgium and
once the Schlieffen
plan was in motion
Britain was involved

Crash Course explanation