Transcript Chapter 27 Notes - Home

Chapter 27 Notes
World War I and Its Aftermath
Section 1
The Stage is Set
The Pursuit of Peace
1896 – first modern Olympic Games
Push for woman’s suffrage
Pacifism –
Hague Tribunal
– World court to settle disputes between nations
Aggressive Nationalism
- Leading cause of international
tension
France and Germany
– Germany wanted to show off
its military power and
industrial leadership
– France was bitter from defeat
in Franco-Prussian War and
wanted to regain its status as
a power in Europe
Eastern Europe
– Pan-Slavism
Russia’s idea to combine
nations that shared common
nationalities (Russia, Serbia)
– Balkan Wars
Balkan states attacked
Turkey, then amongst
themselves
Became known as the
“powder keg of Europe”
Rivalries Among European Powers
- Britain feels threatened by Germany’s rapid economic
growth
- Germany thought other European powers did not give
them enough respect
Imperialism
– Britain tried to limit the amount of territory Germany was gaining
in Africa
– Brought France and Britain closer as allies
Militarism –
– Militarists made war look romantic and appealing to young men
in newly unified countries
– Expanded armies and navies; especially naval rivalry between
Britain and Germany
– These arms races increased suspicions and made war more
likely
A Tangle of Alliances
Intended to create powerful
combinations that no one would
dare attack
1882 – Bismark forms the Triple
Alliance
– Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary
– Became known as Central
Powers
1894 – France and Russia form
an alliance
1904 – France and Britain sign
entente –
– France, Britain, Russia become
known as the Allies
Britain gets closer to Japan
Germany signs treaty with
Ottoman empire
Section 2
The Guns of August
Assassination in Sarajevo
- Sarajevo, Bosnia: under Austrian rule but home to many Serbs and
Slavs
Serbian Outrage
– Viewed Austrians as foreign oppressors
– Archduke Francis Ferdinand scheduled a visit the same date as Serbian
independence from Turkey (Ottomans)
The Fatal Shots
– Archduke and wife ignored warnings of anti-Austrian feelings; rode
through streets in open car
– Black Hand
Serbian terrorist group
Stationed themselves along the parade route; one member threw a bomb at
the archduke but missed killing another officer in another car
Later in the day, archduke and wife went to go another officer at hospital
– Gavrilo Princip
Remained stationed along route and waited
Fired two shots killing archduke and wife
The Conflict Widens
- Incident gave Austria-Hungary excuse to attack Serbia
Harsh Ultimatum –
– Serbia must end all anti-Austrian agitation and punish anyone involved
in murder plot; also let Austria join investigation
– Serbia did not agree to all terms and on July 28, 1914, Austria
declared war on Serbia
From Capital to Capital
– Germany’s Kaiser William II actually encouraged Austria to declare war
and had their back
– Russia asked Germany to urge Austria to soften demands but was
rejected
– Russia began to mobilize for war; Germany declares war on Russia
– France saw opportunity to avenge defeat in Franco-Prussian War by
backing Russia; Germany demanded France to keep out, France
refused; Germany declared war on France
The Schlieffen Plan
Plan by General Schlieffen designed to
avoid a two-front war (France and Russia)
– Had to defeat France quickly then fight Russia
Required Germans to march through
Belgium
– Invaded Belgium on August 3
Britain outraged at Germany’s invasion on
neutral country
– Declares war on Germany
Section 3
A New Kind of Conflict
French mobilize 8.5 million men
British mobilize 9 million
Russians mobilize 12 million
Germans mobilize 11 million
1 out of 4 died, many were maimed or
became mentally ill
The Western Front
Schlieffen Plan Didn’t Work
– Russia mobilized quickly forcing
Germany to fight a two-front war
– British troops helped French push
German lines back in the battle of
the Marne
– Conflict turned into a long deadly
stalemate -
Trench Warfare
– System of trenches stretched from
Swiss frontier to the English
Channel
– Linked bunkers, communications,
and gun emplacements
– Scorching hot during summers,
freezing in winters; infested with
rats and lice
– “no man’s land”
Land between two opposing
trenches
Armies would charge forward
usually just to get mowed down by
machine gun fire
Occasionally would overtake a
trench only to be counter attacked
The Western Front
Costly Battles
– Verdun
11-month struggle
where Germany tried to
overrun France
½ million casualties on
both sides
– Somme River
5 month long battle that
killed over 1 million
without either side
gaining advantage
Britain would lose
60,000 soldiers in one
day
Technology of Modern Warfare
Machine Guns and
Artillery
– Could shell lines or cities
10 miles away
1915 – Germany begins
using poison gas
– Allies would also use it
1916 – Britain introduces
armored tank
– Slow and broke easily
Airplanes and Zeppelins
–
Submarines or U-Boats
and convoys -
A Global Conflict
Eastern Europe
– Defeat at Tannenburg forced Russia to retreat
– Very poorly equipped but kept sending soldiers into
battle
Southern Europe
– Bulgaria joins the Central Powers and defeats Serbia
– Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary and Germany
– A-H and Germany launch offensive on Italy but
stopped by British and French forces
A Global Conflict
The War Outside Europe
– Japan seized German
outposts in China and the
Pacific
– Ottoman Empire joined
Central Powers
Closed the Dardanelles to
Allied ships
– Arabs in the Middle East revolt
against the Ottomans with
help from the British
War and the Colonies
– Allies took over German
colonies in Africa and Asia
– Used people from those
colonies to help fight in the
war
Section 4
Winning the War
Total War Economic Impact
– Imposed universal military
conscription –
– Raised taxes and borrowed
money to pay for war
– Rationed food and other products
Boots and gasoline
– Set prices and forbid strikes
Propaganda War
– Censored the press, popular
literature, historical writings,
movies, and the arts
– Allied countries always portrayed
Germany as barbaric and spread
stories of atrocities against
innocent people
Impact on Women
– Took over men’s jobs and kept
national economy going
– Women’s Land Army, nurses on
front lines
– Support for war helped win the
right to vote
Collapsing Morale
- Facing bankruptcy, many casualties, food
shortages, mutiny in armies
Revolution in Russia
– March 1917 – riots in St. Petersburg led to
revolt against the monarchy
– Led by Vladimir Lenin
Signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany
which ended Russian participation in WWI
– With Russia out of the war, Germany could
focus its attention to the Western Front
The U.S. Declares War (1917)
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
– German attacks on merchant and
passenger ships carrying American
citizens and supplies to Allies
– President Wilson insisted that citizens of
neutral countries had right to safe travel
on seas
– May 1915 – German U-Boat sinks the
Lusitania
After this, agreed to give warning before
attacking ships
– Dec 1916 resumed unrestricted sub
warfare
Cultural Ties
– Felt cultural ties and language with Britain
– Sympathized with France as another
democracy
Zimmerman Note (1917)
– British intercept message from German
foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman, to
his ambassador in Mexico
– If Mexico supports Germany, Germany
would help Mexico reclaim New Mexico,
Arizona, and Texas
The U.S. Declares War (1917)
Declaring War
– April 1917 – Wilson asks Congress to declare war to make the
world safe for democracy and fight the war to end wars
– By 1918, 2 million fresh troops gave Allied troops much needed
morale boost
– Also gave financial aid to Allies
The Fourteen Points
– Wilson’s list of terms for resolving this and future wars
– Freedom of seas, free trade, large-scale reduction of arms, end
of secret treaties
– Self-determination –
– Creation of “general association of nations” to keep peace
Campaign to Victory
March 1918 – Germans launch
major offensive against the
Allies but are exhausted
Urged by German
commanders and rioting
citizens, Kaiser William II
stepped down as czar and fled
to the Netherlands
Austria-Hungary- government
collapsed and Hapsburg
empire fell
Germany sought an armistice
–
– November 11, 1918, 11:00
A.M.: Great War came to an
end
Section 5
Making The Peace
The Costs of War
-
More than 8.5 million people were dead, double that number were
wounded
A pandemic of influenza in 1918 killed more than 20 million more
Financial Burdens
– Whole towns had been destroyed and huge national war debts
destroyed the economy
– People everywhere were bitter about the war
– Allies blamed everything on their enemies and made them pay
reparations -
Political Turmoil
– Governments in Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman
empire collapsed and gave way to revolutions
– Communism began to spread like wildfire
The Paris Peace Conference
The Big Three
– Woodrow Wilson – President of the United States; really pushed
for his 14 points
– David Lloyd George – Prime Minister of Britain
– Georges Clemenceau – French President; chief goal was to
weaken Germany so that it could never again threaten France
Difficult Issues
– Italy wanted lands promised to them in Austria; violated selfdetermination
– Newly independent states were claiming lands that overlapped
others
– Wilson pushed for League of Nations
– Collective security -
The Treaty of Versailles
Germans ordered to sign treaty drawn up by
Allies
– Germany had to assume full blame for causing the
war
– Imposed reparations that covered destruction caused
by war, pensions for millions of Allied soldiers and
their families ($30 billion)
– Limited size of military
– Returned French lands and stripped hundreds more
miles of land in East and West Germany
– Stripped of all overseas colonies
Widespread Dissatisfaction
Self-Determination in Eastern Europe
– Many new nations emerged where German, Austrian, and
Russian empires once ruled
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria,
Hungary, Yugoslavia
– Remained a center of conflict
Mandate System
– Colonial leaders in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific gained new hope
of establishing their own independence with self-determination
– Leaders in Paris limited self-determination to certain parts of
Europe
– Created a system of mandates -
Widespread Dissatisfaction
Unfulfilled Goals
– Italy mad because they didn’t get promised land
– Japan mad because European leaders didn’t recognize their
claims to China
– Russia got nothing and was mad because of new countries in
their old empire
Hopes for Global Peace
– More than 40 nations joined the League of Nations
Agreed to negotiate disputes rather than resort to war
Members of the League agreed to take common action, economic or
military, against any aggressor state
– United States never joined the League opting instead to go its
own way and handle its own foreign affairs
– Was an international organization dedicated to maintaining
peace and advancing the interests of all peoples