Transcript Course of the War

World War I
Chapter 23
Causes of the War
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Europe at its height
• Industrial Revolution at its peak
• Had 25 % of world population (highest in history)
• Modernization gave them a sense they were at the peak
of world civilization
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Militarism
• Glorified war and increased military spending
• Germany competed against British naval supremacy
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Alliances
• Web of treaties to protect themselves
• Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
• Triple Entente: France, Russia, and UK
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Imperialism
• European nations competed for colonies
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Nationalism
• Great pride in one’s country or trying to become one’s
own country
• Germany and Italy recently united
• Many countries torn by tensions with nationalist groups
War breaks out
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Nationalism in the Balkans
• Diverse nations emerge as Ottoman Empire receded
• Russia & Austria competed for control of nations
• Austria annexes Bosnia; Serbia resents this
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Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
• While visiting Bosnia, Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian
nationalist of the “Black Hand” shots the Archduke
and his wife
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Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum
• Serbia refuses Austrian officials investigation
• Germany gives “blank check” military support to
Austria
• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia (July 28,
1914)
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Alliance System leads to Great War
• Russia – Germany – France - UK
Fronts of the War
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Allies
Central Powers
UK, France,
Russia, Belgium
Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
Western Front
• Schlieffen Plan
• Trench warfare. Battles of attrition
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Verdun – 680,000 casualties;
Somme – over 1 million
Eastern Front
• More mobile warfare
• Lack of modern technology led to enormous
Russian losses
• Brest-Litovsk Treaty between Germany and
revolutionary government in Russia
New Weapons
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The machine gun
• Modern industry replaced single-fire weapons
• They could fire 8 rounds per minute at 2,900 yards
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Artillery
• Improvements allowed larger rounds to be shot further
• 24 million shells were used at the battle of Verdun
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Other weapons
• 75 different types of poison-gas bombs
were used
• Flame throwers
• Tanks
• Airplanes
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Casualties
• Tactics of sending massed men toward the enemy didn’t
work against modern weapons
• The UK suffered 57,470 casualties on the first day of the
battle of the Somme
• Total losses exceeded 10 million
Reality
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Patriotic fervor to reality
• “The boys would be back by Christmas”
• “In their unsteady look one sensed visions of horror,
while their step and bearing revealed utter despondency.
They were crushed by horrifying memories.”
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The trenches
• 475 miles were dug across northern France
• British troops used over 10 million shovels (compared to
2,500 per year prior to the war)
• “over the top”, “no man’s land”, and “shell shock entered
our vocabulary
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The return home
• No crowds or heroes’ welcome after the war
The Home Front
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Mobilizing for total war
• Civilians back home had to make huge sacrifices
• Governments took control of industries, rationing put
into effect
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New jobs for women
• Worked in jobs traditionally held by men, who were at
the front
• Number in paid employment rose by more than one
million
• Generally paid less than men for same work
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Women’s changing role
• Discovered financial autonomy and greater
mobility
• Some refused to go back to domestic service
• Women won right to vote (women’s suffrage,
1921)
The Paris Peace Conference
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Peace of justice
• President Wilson’s 14 Points
• Self-determination for nations and just peace
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Peace of vengeance
• Italy and UK wanted territory
• France wanted to punish Germany
• Italy and the US left, leaving the settlement to France and UK
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Treaty of Versailles with Germany
• Germany must:
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Return Alsace-Lorraine to France
Keep the Rhineland demilitarized
Pay war reparations of $32 billion
Agree to war guilt clause
• Similar treaties signed with other Central Powers
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New Europe
• Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire, and
Russia lost territory
• Many new countries were formed
Between the Wars
1919 - 1939
Chapter 24
Between the Wars
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Uneasy peace (1919 – 1924)
• Border disputes in eastern Europe
• French demands for reparation payments
• Weak League of Nations
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U.S. not a member
• Runaway inflation
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Hope (1924 – 1929)
• Dawes Plan
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Restructured reparations payments ($200 m
loan)
New investment in Germany
Treaty of Lucarno 1925
Germany joined the League of Nations
Kellog-Briand Pact
• 63 nations signed
Between the Wars
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Great Depression (1929 – 1939)
• Causes:
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Economic downturns throughout the world
U.S. stock market crash (“Black Thursday”)
Bank panics (“runs on the bank”)
• Effects:
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Increased government involvement in the
economy
• No more “Laissez-Faire”
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New interest in Communism
People follow new promises
• The rise of dictators
Between the Wars
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Rise of dictators
• By 1939 only the UK, France, Switzerland,
Ireland, BENELUX, & Scandinavia were
democratic
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Totalitarian states emerged
• Controls political, economic, social, intellectual,
& cultural aspects of society
• Use of mass propaganda
• Single party & leader
• Individual freedom subordinate to the will of
the masses
• Wanted the active involvement of the masses
• Any opposition is oppressed
Between the Wars
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Authoritarian states
• Adopted some features of totalitarian states
• Main concern was to keep the existing social
order, not to create a new mass society
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Fascism – Italy
• Named after Mussolini’s “Fascio di
Combattimento” (League of Combat)
• Glorified the state above the individual
• People controlled by the government
• Kept the monarch and the Catholic church
Adolph Hitler
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Born in Austria 1889
• Failure in high school
• Went to Vienna for art school but was rejected
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Developed basic beliefs while in Vienna
Racism – extreme nationalism – use of
propaganda
Served four years in World War I
• Very upset over the Treaty of Versailles
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Went into politics after World War I
• Joined German Workers Party. Later became
the National Socialist German Workers Party
(NAZI)
Adolph Hitler
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1923 led an armed uprising
• Arrested and put in prison
• Wrote “Mein Kampf”
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Strongly anti-Semitic and anti-communist
The right of superior nations to Lebensraum
(living space)
• Realized he would have to use legal means to
gain power
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By 1929 the NAZI Party was a national party
By 1932 it was the largest party in the Reichstag
1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor
NAZI Takeover
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Enabling Acts 1933
• Gave the new government the power to suspend the
Constitution for four years to deal with national problems
• Rearmament stopped the severe unemployment
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Nuremberg Laws 1935
• Excluded Jews from citizenship
• No marriages between Germans and Jews
• Had to have ID cards and wear yellow star of David
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Kristallnacht 1938
• Burned synagogues and Jewish businesses
• More than 100 killed & 30,000 sent to concentration
camps
• Prohibited from public buildings and transportation
• Couldn’t own or work in retail stores
• Encouraged to emigrate from Germany
World War II
Chapter 26
World War II (1939 – 1945)
Causes of World War II
1. Economic instability (Great
Depression)
2. Rise of Dictators
3. Appeasement
4. Militarism
• German – USSR Nonaggression Pact
Course of the War - Europe
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Blitzkrieg
• Combined air ground attacks (Panzers-Luftwaffe)
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Poland in four weeks
Denmark and Norway April 1940
Netherlands, Belgium, and France May 1940. June,
Vichy government setup
British army escaped at Dunkirk
U.S. remained “neutral”
• Provided food and war materials to Britain
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Battle of Britain
• Air raids on Britain failed to defeat them
• Hitler believed Britain remained only because of
expected Soviet support
Course of the War - Europe
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Hitler’s strategy
• Scheduled the invasion of USSR for spring 1941
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Delayed because Italy failed to defeat Greece in 1940
June 1941 invaded USSR
U.S. enters the war
• “Big 3” agree on unconditional surrender
• Invade North Africa and defeat Rommel May 1943
• Germany defeated at Stalingrad Feb 1943
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Two fronts in Europe
• Invaded Italy Sep 1943 and Normandy Jun 1944
• Race to Berlin – arrived Apr 1945. Victory May 7.
Course of the War - Pacific
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Japan attacks
• Sep 1931 “Mukden incident” – take Manchuria
• 1936-37 took part of north China
• Planned to ally with Germany to take the USSR
and split their natural resources
• Germany-Soviet Nonaggression Pact forced
Japan to turn to SE Asia for natural resources
• Jun 1940 announced the right to exploit
resources in French Indochina. U.S. objected
and said it would use economic sanctions
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Japan was getting oil and scrap metal from U.S.
Course of the War - Pacific
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Pearl Harbor – Dec 7, 1941
• Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Philippines, and
Malaysia
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Goal – to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and create the
Greater East-Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
Japan announced they would liberate Asian colonial
possessions from European control
• Miscalculations:
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Japan thought Roosevelt would accept Japanese
dominion of the Pacific
Hitler declared war on the U.S. thinking we would not be
effective in Europe because of the Pacific war
Midway – Jun 1942
• Turning point in naval forces
Course of the War - Pacific
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U.S. offensive
• By 1943 the U.S. was prepared to strike back at
Japan
• Conducted an island hopping campaign
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Solomon Islands Aug 1942 – Feb 1943
Tarawa Nov 1943
Saipan Jun – Jul 1944
Guam Jul – Aug 1944 and Philippines Oct 1944
Iwo Jima Feb – Mar 1945
Okinawa Apr – Jun 1945
• Hiroshima Aug 6, 1945 and Nagasaki Aug 9,
1945
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Two atomic bombs dropped
• Japan surrendered Aug 14
The “Longest Hatred”
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During Roman rule
• Jews introduce new religion
• “the chosen people”
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Early Christian stage
• Charge that Jews helped kill Christ
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Middle Ages
• 1096 sideline crusade
• 1348 black death
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They are
Different
They did
something
We should do
something
Enlightenment
• Brought into mainstream German society
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What went wrong?
• Social Darwinism
We are justified