WWI: The Outbreak of the Great War

Causes of the War in Europe:

-the national alliances (alliance system) -Slavic nationalism (Serbs wanted to unite the Balkans) -Serbian nationalists kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand -the chain of alliances leads to all-out war

A New Kind of War:

-machine guns, airplanes, tanks, and poison gas -(led to): trench warfare -German submarines (attacked civilian supply ships)

The US is Drawn Into the War:

Germany invades neutral Belgium Zimmerman Telegram Freedom of the Seas denied (US ships sunk by Germany)

Prussia Expands, Uniting German States

 The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions, but by iron and blood.

Otto Von Bismarck and Realpolotik

Otto von Bismarck defeats Napoleon III (Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871)

German Imperial Lineage:

Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Preuen (Kaiser Wilhelm II)

(years of rule): Wilhelm I: 1866-1888 Frederick III: 1888 Wilhelm II: 1888-1914

German Empire Map (1914)

Nationalism and Alliances

Nationalism - a belief, creed or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one's nation. (patriotism, or strong belief in defending your nation and its interests against those of foreign nations) By the 1890s, Europe was divided into 2 alliances: Germany and Austro-Hungary on one side, and Great Britain, France, and Russia on the other. Austro-Hungary was an empire made-up of smaller nations; and many of the Balkan nations (like Serbia) opposed Austrian influence.

 Major battles since 1000 AD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hsDn2kNriI Strong Military Culture (militarism): -Europe was used to frequent wars. European countries maintained strong military culture and institutions, and were inclined to attack first, rather than be attacked. Imperial Rivalry: The major powers of Europe were already competing with each-other for imperial territory around the globe.

European Rivalry

French recruitment poster

Russia-Serb Relations (Slavic Heritage)

By the 1900s, The Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Serbia had established an alliance. Russia and Serbia both shared a Slavic culture. Russia worked through Serbia (gov. influence and military supplies) in order to maintain peace and order in the Balkans (southern, Slavic part of Europe) Slavs - Slavs are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group living in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia, who speak the Slavic languages, and share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds.

Modern-Day Map: Slavic Countries

Cultural Ties:
Germany & Austro-Hungary: Germanic -mostly Catholic, some Protestant Russia & Serbia and the Balkans: Slavic -Eastern Orthodox Church Great Britain: Anglo-Saxon -Anglican Church (Protestant) Ottoman Empire (Turkey): Turkic -Islam
(Orthodox Cross)

Austro-Hungary and Serbian Conflict

The Powder Keg of Europe: In 1909, Austro-Hungary annexed the Slavic nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (in Balkans)away from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). -This angered nationalists in Serbia, who didnt want their ally to be under control of a Catholic, Germanic country. (they wanted the Slavic countries to work together) -The 1st and 2nd Balkan Wars (1912-1913), fought between Balkan nations and the Ottoman Empire, it brought more chaos to the region of southern Europe. The Black Hand: was a Serbian nationalist terrorist group that was lead by military officers and politicians. Their goal was to unite all of the Slavic nations in the Balkans under Serbia. -they felt that if they started a war with Austro-Hungary, Russia would come to their aid.

Austro-Hungarian Empire Map (1914)

The Shot Heard Around The World

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCTIaiiGB4o On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austrian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Duchess Sophie, were touring Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia a new part of their Empire. After several failed attempts by other Black Hand assassins that day, they were later both shot dead by Gavrilo Princip. Austro-Hungarian officials discovered that the assassins were linked to members of the Serbian military and government; and issued the July Ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia refused, and Austro-Hungary declared war a month later.

The Outbreak of War (1914):

June 28th Franz Ferdinand and wife are assassinated July 5th Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II) pledges to defend Austro-Hungary if Russia enters the war. July 23rd Austria gives the July Ultimatum to Serbia -list of demands that would weaken Serbia (they refused) -France promises to support Russia in the event of war July 28th Austria declares war on Serbia July 30th- Russia begins mobilizing its military August 1st Germany declares war on Russia; France begins mobilizing its military August 3rd Germany declares war on France August 4th Britain declares war on Germany *April 4, 1917 The US declares war on Germany*

WWI: The Allies and the Central Powers

-During World War I, the warring nations were eventually split into 2 main groups:

Allies: Great Britain, France, Russian Empire, Serbia, Romania, and Greece later the US and Japan ~Italy began as Central, but switched sides Central Powers: German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey and its Arabian colonies) Neutral: Switzerland, Belgium (later allied), Spain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and others.

Map of Europe in 1914

Triple Entente: (main Allied nations)

-Britain -France -Russian Empire

Central Powers Leaders:

German Empire - Kaiser Wilhelm II

Ottoman Empire - Sultan Mehmed V

Austro-Hungarian Empire - Franz Joseph I

Main Allied Leaders (Triple Entente)

Great Britain King George V (+2 prime ministers) France Prime Minister Clemenceau

Russian Empire Tsar Nicholas II

A New Type of War

During WWI, new weapons greatly increased the deadliness of war. These new weapons made it much easier to defend a position, than to attack. Thus, trench warfare became widespread. Trenches extended for hundreds of miles along the warzone border between France and Germany called the Western Front. Submarine warfare was used by Germany in response to the British naval blockade.
-German subs began attacking civilian merchant ships -this was a main cause of US involvement in WWI

 They could spray a wall of bullets and kill huge groups of people. Thus, they greatly discouraged forward attacks, and *further encouraged the digging of trenches for cover*. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3nfaSZ-Keo Hiram Maxim, an Irish-American,(in left pic) invented the first fully automatic machine gun. His machine gun was sold to the armies of Europe.

Machine Guns

Tanks
Were used as a way to advance through machine gun fire, but were overall not very effective in WWI.

 During WWI, Germany and made effective use of tear gas, chlorine gas, phosgene gas, and mustard gas - a sulfur compound. Britain responded to German gas attacks by making their own gas weapons. Poison gas killed by causing burns on the skin and lungs, and eventually death by suffocation.
(British soldiers blinded by poison gas) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASg0H -XsQ5E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWt ETJ0Pt4g

Poison Gas

 At first: *used to spy on enemies from the air, builders later began attaching bombs and machine guns so they could actually attack enemies.
(in 1914, Poland was part of the Russian Empire) (German zeppelin bombing Warsaw, capital of Poland)

Airplanes/Zeppelins

 Most infantry battles in WWI revolved around trench warfare. The danger zone between two opposing trenches was called No Mans Land, because it technically didnt belong to any country, and people werent eager to go claim it. Trench warfare led to long stalemates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXtsiqrhqsU

Trench Warfare

German Submarines: U-boats

German Unterseeboot means undersea boat German submarines were used as a weapon of fear to decrease enemy morale, and were also very effective in sinking defenseless supply ships. Allied navies developed depth charges to combat submarines from the surface.
German U-boat: U-9, pic taken in 1910

German U-boat sinks a troop transport vessel

 August 2nd, 1914: Germany invaded the neutral country of Belgium, in order to attack France. This caused a global outrage, when many civilians were killed.

Germany Invades Belgium

 Closer ties with British and French culture -WASP culture, speaking English, democracy, etc. German aggression brutal invasion of neutral Belgium, use of chemical weapons, etc. -Propaganda: US yellow journals ran news stories depicting German atrocities against civilians in Belgium and France (mostly based of true events). -German army killed about 6,500 civilians in Belgium
The Zimmerman Telegram(1917) a secret message sent by Germany to Mexico; where Germany promised to return US territories to Mexico, if Mexico would help Germany fight against the United States. -(reported on by yellow journals)

US Reasons for War (pt. 1):

US Reasons for War (pt. 2) The Seas

Freedom of the Seas ships from neutral countries and civilian ships in general were not supposed to be targets outside of territorial waters. -Germany violated freedom of the seas because they were desperate to end the blockade. The sinking of the British cruise ship Lusitania in 1915, and the French Cruise ship Sussex in 1916 caused outrage against Germany in the US. -Sussex Pledge: Germany promised not to attack civilian ships that had no solid military involvement. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare was declared by Germany in 1917, and German U-boats began directly attacking US civilian merchant ships

Sinking of Lusitania

The US Declares War

April 4, 1917 US declared war on Germany. December 7, 1917 US declared war on Austro-Hungary. President Wilson was an isolationist he didnt want the US to get too involved in foreign conflicts. However: Reasons Wilson and Congress were pressured to enter war: -US had closer ties to Brits/French -German war crimes (Belgium, gas) -Sinking of Lusitania and Sussex -Zimmerman Telegram -*German unrestricted submarine warfare* (main reason)