Unit 4: World War I Causes of World War I 1864-1871- Unification of 38 German states by Otto von Bismarck 1870-71- Franco-

o- Prussian War where the French were caught off guard o Humiliating treaty of giving up Alsace and Lorraine and the Prussian marched out to Versailles and crowned King Wilhelm I of Prussia as the Kaiser He had to stay friendly with the other three Powers: Britain, Russia, and Austria- Hungary 1871 and 1888- Bismarck signed military alliances with both Austria and Russia o Austria and Russia were in a rivalry over the Balkan o Both wanted Germany in an exclusive alliance 1888- Wilhelm I dies and is followed by Wilhelm II o New aggressive personality and had no intention of following Bismarck 1890- Bismarck fired Wilhelm chose Austria for an Alliance because Russia was militarily weak Rivalry with Britain because of building up navy 1890-1914- he built up his navy which forced the British to build up their navy 1904- Britain decided to become allies with France because Germany was growing in power 1914- Franz Josef I was emperor of Austria Hungary o He was old and his only legacy was his cousin Franz- Ferdinand who he had a bad relationship with o Franz-Ferdinand wanted to visit his wife in Bosnia and the Black hand, a Serbian trained group of operative, was sent to assassinate him o When he was driving one of the members threw a grenade that was avoided but Ferdinand thought Josef would be proud of this kid o He went to visit the hospital were the wounded were and he was doing a U-turn when an assassin was right there shot two shots and killed the archduke and his wife Austria Hungary had a rivalry with the Serbs which has an alliance with Russia so if AH declares war then R would declare war too July 28- AH declares war on S 29th-Russia announces mobilization 30th-AH mobilizes against Russia 31st-G warns R to suspend mobilization August 1- GR, F begins mobilizing 3rd- GF 4th-Germany invades Belgium BG

The Great War begins Germany: Schlieffen Plan o 2 fronts: Russia- needs six weeks to mobilize France needs to be taken out in those six weeks Invade Belgium because a direct French/German border attack would run headlong into French army o 5 armies would sweep through Belgium and capture Paris then attack French forces from the rear on border Britain would not involve itself because it would take three weeks to mobilize and by then France would be captured France: Plan XVII o Recapture Alsace and Lorraine working on lan vital or Frenchmen fight spirit o Advance of 4 armies o Assumed Britain would hold Germany in Belgium Austria Hungary: Plan B and R o B- For Balkans assumed war would be limited in Serbia o R- For Russia assumed war with both Russia and Serbia and Germany against Russia Russia: Plan G and 19 o G- Austria and Germany full scale attack on Russia o Relied on Russian defense of retreating inland and using scorched earth o Germany would be forced to withdraw from Russia because France on the other front o 19- France rather than Russia Russia would go on offence and attack East Prussia and Austria Hungary Britain: Army and Navy Plans o Army- had small volunteer army not conscripts o Germany attack Belgium, Britain Army defends Belgium protecting France o Navy- Naval Blockade of Germany in the English Channel and North sea 1914 August 4th- Germany invades Belgium o Belgians resisted o August 5-16 battle of Liege Germany won o August 14 British forces arrived but were driven out August 23 Joseph Joffre kicked Plan XVII into gear and invaded o Helmut von Moltke diverted some divisions from Belgium to Germany- France border Pushed France out of A/L

September 5-10-Battle of the Marne River were Germany threw everything they had at France but Failed o French and British were able to Hold off the German Front Trench warfare was rugged o Waterlogged, no mans land, curved, trench Foot, front line barbed wire August 17 Russia put Plan 19 into action and invaded o Hindenburg and Ludendorff defeated the Russian at the Battle of Tannerberg on August 26-30 o Russia was defeated again at the Battle of Masurian Lakes on September 9-14 H/L were heroes in Germany Russia had better success in Austria- Hungary

The War Deepens and Widens, 1915-1917 Turks enter o Feared that Russia would seize the Bosphorus and Constantinople October 1914- T and G launched attack on Russian navy bases on Black Sea o Russia is in trouble- many loses already and did not have industry to continue December- Winston Churchill planned for the royal navy to force its way through Dardanelles and capture Constantinople so they could ship supplies to Russia forcing two front war o British Admiral Carden was in charge and started on February 19 1915 but was slow so he was replaced by Vice-Admiral de Robeck o March 18- they enter the Dardanelles and the Bouvet hit a mine and later Irresistible and ocean did as well (three more damaged but not destroyed) o Needed to capture Gallipoli so Churchill sent army Lord Kitchener and Ian Hamilton in charge and sent to Lemnos, a island near Gallipoli Disaster and lose Lusitania o February 1915- German government announces unrestricted warfare meaning ships to allied countries was in danger o Lusitania had ammo on it and passengers o Germans were suspicious that it held ammo o German U-boat used two torpedoes to sink Lusitania which killed 128 USAians Italy enters o 1915- Secret meeting with Britain to attack Austria Hungary o May- Launch attack but was weak o High Casualties 1909- The Zeppelin was excepted into the army of Germany 1916- Battle of Jutland

o Only major sea battle 1916- Verdun Offensive o Germany attacked Verdun and wanted to bleed the French dry o Started February 21 and by 24th French was on the third line o General henri-Philippe Pertain o Longest battle ending December 18th 1916- Somme Offensive o British And French attacked Somme o General Douglas Haig planed for an 8 day bomb of German line starting June 23 but continued to July 1 o After the bombing he sent waves at the Germans who were not beaten at all and destroyed those waves o Continued through summer and fall o Brave lion lead by a stupid donkey Russia Faces Collapse USA enter

The February 1917 Revolution: The Collapse of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia 1914- Patriotism at beginning of war But soon lost o Many battles, Could not get help from allies, Could hardly feed their solider and horses 1915 August- Tsar Nicholas II personally takes command of the army o He was awful o He would now personally be blamed for the war o Thought it would inspire the solders o He did not act like a general and he hardly fought Alexandra and Rasputin o Tsar had five children and one of them, Aleksei, was declared heir to the throne when he was born but he had hemophilia o 1905- a holy man from Siberia named Rasputin came He was a fake A friend recommended him to Alexandra and Rasputin recommended something know at the time and he amazed Alexandra at the success o She keep his hemophilia a secret People wondered why he was in the royal house o When she took control of domestic affairs Rasputin became her chief adviser He gave advice on selecting government officials who were clearly unfit 1916- Everyone did not like Rasputin o Feliks Iusupov decided to do the deed and kill him on December 16

o He laced his food with cyanide, shoot him, and again, but died of drowning February Revolution 1917 o The war was hopeless, economy was about to collapse, prices high, weather was cold, Alexandra was crazy after Rasputins death o Tsar dependence on drugs o 23rd- women began protesting food shortages, cold out in petrograd o 24th number grew to 214000 people and clashes broke out between people and police o 25th-300000 people Tsar get word and demands a stop th o 26 - the police started firing o 27th- Tsar demanded a recapture of the city for his return March 1 His general had no intention of recapture and he signed the abdication document o Duma is now a provisional government until elections could be held Problems: wanted quick end of war, and lower prices

The October 1917 Revolution: The communists Take Control of Russia 1917 March 15- Power officially handed over Provisional government had goals: o War to a conclusion o Maintain law and order o Ensure better supply of food o Lower prices o Rebuild economy o Write a constitution Wanted immediate peace with Germany but had to give over 1 million miles of good land o If Russia was in a powerful position maybe the peace could be less harsh Kerensky persuaded provisional government to give in and ensure only a few more months of hardship o Summer 1917- massive offensive of German lines but Germany pushed back Offensive collapsed- people abandoned their position o What now? Chaos ensued: peasant burnt down noble houses, workers rebelled Rise of the Petrograd Soviet o Soviets- worker/soldier/peasant o Most powerful is the Petrograd Bolsheviks seize control of Petrograd soviets o Lenin is the leader and organized the Bolsheviks

o Lenin told Germany if they helped him get to Russia he would pull Russia out of the war on their terms o April 16th- he was shuttled back October revolution o 22nd- Kerensky order the arrest of the Bolshevik leaders o 25th- Lenin and Trotsky decided to go on with their plan and order the Red Guards to surround the winter palace where provisional government was o The Bolshevik had little to no opposition o November 12th- election day and the Bolshevik lost bad o They disregarded the results and people did not know what they wanted o Bolsheviks called themselves the Russian Communist Party Out of war o The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1 million square miles and 6 billion dollars

1918: The End of World War I 1918 march 3- Brest- Litovsk o No more two front war April 1917- Wilson declares war on Germany and the USA had 14 goals or his fourteen Points o He wanted a peace treaty that was the war to end all wars and peace without Victors November 11, 1918- Armistice o Germany surrenders June 28, 1919- Treaty of Versailles o Germany and Russia were not invited o Austria Hungary had no leader to go o Harsh on Germany Article 231 war guilt Clause Germany fully responsible Return lots of land Lose of resources o League of nations created without Germany or Russia o Too harsh, too soft? (DEBATE)