Transcript The League of Nations

The Great War
WWI:A New Type of War
M.A.I.N. Causes
Militarism
• By the early 1900s, powerful nations in Europe
had adopted policies of aggressively building
up armed forces and giving the military more
authority over government and foreign policy.
M.A.I.N. Causes
Alliances
In a complicated system of
alliances, different groups
of European nations had
pledged to come to one
another’s aid in the event
of attack.
M.A.I.N. Causes
Imperialism
Competition for colonial lands in Africa and
elsewhere led to conflict among the major
European powers.
M.A.I.N. Causes
Nationalism
One type of nationalism inspired the great
powers of Europe to act in their own interests.
Another emerged as ethnic minorities within
larger nations sought self-government.
Spark that Ignites WWI
• The immediate cause of the Great War was the
assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in
Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914.
• At the time of his assassination, Francis
Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the AustroHungarian Empire, had been visiting Bosnia, a
new Austro-Hungarian province. He was shot by
Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Bosnian nationalist
who believed that Austria-Hungary had no right
to rule Bosnia.
American Response
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Because many Americans were
European immigrants or the children
of European immigrants, many felt
personally involved in the escalating
war.
Most Americans supported the Allies.
– Did not approve of one ruler with
unlimited power (Germany)
– Anti-German propaganda, or
information intended to sway public
opinion, turned many Americans
against the Central Powers.
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To protect American investments
overseas , President Wilson officially
proclaimed the United States a
neutral country on August 4, 1914.
Stalemate
• By September 1914, the war
had reached a stalemate, a
situation in which neither side
is able to gain an advantage.
• When a French and British
force stopped a German
advance near Paris, both sides
holed up in trenches separated
by an empty “no man’s land.”
Small gains in land resulted in
huge numbers of human
casualties.
• Both sides continued to add
new allies, hoping to gain an
advantage.
Events that Draw the US into WWI
1. Submarine warfare
angered the U.S.
German U-Boats
torpedoed American
ships trading with the
Allies.
2. The Lusitania, a British
passenger ship, was
sunk by the Germans.
1200 people were killed,
including 128
Americans.
Events that Draw the US into WWI
3. Zimmerman Note
– Britain intercepted the
telegram. Germany tried to
convince Mexico to declare
war on the U.S. Mexico would
receive part of the U.S. if they
won the war.
4. Russian Revolution
– Czar Nicholas II was removed
from power in Russia. The
new government promised
democratic reforms which
made it easier for the U.S. to
come into the war on Russia’s
side.
WWI Weapons
• Machine Guns
– Machine guns needed 4-6 men to
work them and had to be on a flat
surface. They had the fire-power of 100
guns.
– Large field guns had a long range and could deliver devastating blows
to the enemy but needed up to 12 men to work them. They fired
shells which exploded on impact.
• Poison Gas
– Chlorine gas causes a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains.
Death is painful - you suffocate!
– Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used. It was fired into the
trenches in shells. It is colorless and takes 12 hours to take effect.
Effects include: blistering skin, vomiting, sore eyes, internal and
external bleeding. Death can take up to 5 weeks.
WWI Weapons
• Airplanes
– Planes were also used for the first time. At first
they were used to deliver bombs and for spying
work but became fighter aircraft armed with
machine guns, bombs and some times cannons.
Fights between two planes in the sky became
known as 'dogfights'
WWI Weapons
• Tanks
– Tanks were used for the first
time at the Battle of the
Somme. They were
developed to cope with the
conditions on the Western
Front.
• The first tank was called 'Little
Willie' and needed a crew of 3.
Its maximum speed was 3mph
and it could not cross
trenches.
• The more modern tank was
not developed until just before
the end of the war. It could
carry 10 men, had a revolving
turret and could reach 4mph.
WWI Weapons
• Trench Warfare
– Trenches began as simple
ditches that were deep
enough for men to take cover
from gunfire, but soon they
became very complicated.
– Between the two sides, there
was a desolate area called
"No-man's Land", because it
belonged to no one. wide. It
was an area of devastation:
with fragments of buildings,
shattered and burnt down
trees and craters and deep
holes in the ground left from
intense shelling, which were
often filled with water.
Effects of Trench Warfare
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Many people lost their lives trying to cross barbed wire. Also trench walls were sometimes unstable,
but trench walls usually only collapsed under heavy shelling, the force of which would kill a soldier,
before he had time to worry about being buried alive under a collapsed wall.
•
Diseases killed many soldiers in trench warfare and thousands of soldiers died unnecessarily of their
wounds.
• Standing in cold water for hours on end ruined soldier’s feet and lack of
proper toilets, opportunities to wash and sewage removal, allowed typhus
and skin diseases to thrive.
•
Lice and rats spread fatal diseases, but lice and rats themselves were not
killers.
•
Trench warfare cost so many lives in WWI
due to the plan of a war of attrition and
because of poor living conditions.
WWI Death Tolls by Country
Country
Mobilized
Killed
Wounded
Total
Casualties
USA
4,272,500
117,000
204,000
321,000
8%
Germany
11,000,000
1,718,000
4,234,000
5,952,000
54%
Great Britain
5,397,000
703,000
1,663,000
2,367,000
44%
Russia
12,000,000
1,700,000
4,950,000
6,650,000
55%
AustriaHungary
6,500,000
1,200,000
3,620,000
4,820,000
74%
French Empire
7,500,000
1,385,000
4,266,000
5,651,000
75%
African Americans and Women of
WWI
• African Americans fought in WWI but served
in segregated troop.
– Many did not see combat.
• Women contributed to the war but nursing
was almost the only area where females
experienced the war or front line.
– Women were called on, by necessity, to do work
and to take on roles that were outside their
traditional gender expectations.
Working Towards Peace
• President Wilson developed a program for peace around the world
known as the Fourteen Points, named for the number of provisions
it contained.
• Some of Wilson’s Fourteen Points called for:
– an end to entangling alliances
– reduction of military forces
– the right of Austria-Hungary’s ethnic groups to self-determination, or
the power to make decisions about their own future.
• Although both Wilson and the German government assumed that
the Fourteen Points would form the basis of peace negotiations,
the Allies disagreed. During peace negotiations, Wilson’s Fourteen
Points were discarded one by one.
Wilson Forced to Compromise
• Although Wilson claimed
that he was not
interested in the spoils, or
rewards, of war, his Allied
colleagues were
interested in making the
Central Powers pay for
war damages.
• Wilson was forced to
compromise on his views,
especially concerning selfdetermination for former
German colonies.
The League of Nations
• One of Wilson’s ideas, the
formation of a League of Nations,
was agreed upon at the Paris Peace
Conference. The League of Nations
was designed to bring the nations
of the world together to ensure
peace and security.
• Republicans in Congress, however,
were concerned about Article 10 of
the League’s charter, which
contained a provision that they
claimed might draw the United
States into unpopular foreign wars.
Versailles Treaty
• The treaty which was
negotiated at the Paris Peace
Conference redrew the map of
Europe to the Allies’ advantage.
• Nine new nations were created
from territory taken from
Austria-Hungary, Russia, and
Germany. Although most
borders were drawn with the
division of ethnic minorities in
mind, the redivisions created
new ethnic minorities in several
countries.
Versailles Treaty
• France insisted that Germany be humiliated and
financially crippled. The peace treaty required
Germany to pay billions of dollars in reparations,
or payment for economic injury suffered during
the war. Wilson, however, opposed this plan,
claiming that these demands would lead to
future wars.
• On June 28, 1919, the peace treaty, which came
to be known as the Versailles Treaty, was signed
at Versailles, outside of Paris.
Aftermath of WWI
Congress and the Treaty of
Versailles
• Despite Wilson’s intensive
campaign in favor of the
Versailles Treaty, Congress
voted against ratifying it in
November 1919.
• The United States declared the
war officially over on May 20,
1920. It ratified separate
peace treaties with Germany,
Austria, and Hungary.
However, the United States
did not join the newly formed
League of Nations.
Difficult Postwar Adjustments
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The war had given a large boost to
the American economy, making the
United States the world’s largest
creditor nation.
Soldiers returned home to a hero’s
welcome but found that jobs were
scarce.
African American soldiers, despite
their service to their country,
returned to find continued
discrimination.
Women began fighting for the right
to vote.
Many American artists entered the
postwar years with a sense of gloom
and disillusionment.
Over 100 Years Later…