Transcript WWI

The Road to World War I
Main Ideas
• Militarism, nationalism, and a crisis in the
Balkans led to World War I. 
• Serbia’s determination to become a large,
independent state angered Austria-Hungary
and initiated hostilities. 
Key Terms
• conscription 
• mobilization
The Road to World War I
Preview Questions
• How did the assassination of Archduke Francis
Ferdinand lead to World War I? 
• How did the system of alliances help cause
the war?
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Nationalism and the System of
Alliances
• Liberals during the first half of the 1800s
hoped that the formation of European
nation-states would lead to peace. 
• However, the imperialist states that
emerged during the second half of the
1800s became highly competitive over
trade and colonies.
(pages 499–500)
Nationalism and the System of
Alliances (cont.)
• Two main alliances divided Europe:
• The Triple Alliance (1882)
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy; and
the
• Triple Entente (1907)
France, Great Britain, and Russia.
(pages 499–500)
Nationalism and the System of
Alliances (cont.)
• During the early 1900s: crises erupted in the
Balkans
• Created a great deal of anger and tension
between the nations of the two alliances. 
• Each nation was willing to go to war to
preserve its power.
(pages 499–500)
Nationalism and the System of
Alliances (cont.)
• European ethnic groups:
• Slavs in the Balkans
• Irish in the British Empire
• Dreamed of creating their own national
states, which also increased tensions in
Europe.
(pages 499–500)
Internal Dissent
• Another source of strife in Europe was
dissent within nations. 
• As socialist labor movements used strikes
to achieve their goals. 
• Conservative national leaders feared that
revolutions would break out. 
• Some historians believe that these
leaders may have been willing to go to
war in order to suppress internal dissent.
(page 500)
Militarism
• Conscription–compulsory service in the
military-common in Europe before 1914. 
• Between 1890 and 1914 - European
armies doubled in size. 
• The numbers of soldiers in European
armies:
Russia -1.3 million
France and Germany- 900,000 each
Britain, Italy, and Austria-Hungary250,000 to 500,000 each.
(pages 500–501)
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• Russia and Austria-Hungary competed for
control of states that gained
independence from the Ottoman Empire. 
• In 1914- Serbia wanted to form a large
Slavic state in the Balkans. 
• Serbia was supported by Russia and
opposed by Austria-Hungary. 
(pages 501–502)
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• In June 1914, Archduke Francis
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his
wife were killed by the Serbian terrorist,
Gavrilo Princip in the city of Sarajevo. 
• The Serbian terrorists wanted Bosnia
to become independent from AustriaHungary.
(pages 501–502)
Triumph of the Communists (cont.)
• The opposition to the Communists was
not unified and was torn by political
differences and mistrust. 
• They lacked a common goal. 
• Some wanted to restore the czar. 
• Others wanted a more democratic
government.
(pages 518–519)
Triumph of the Communists (cont.)
• They were also able to put their ideals to
work in practical ways, for example by
controlling banks, farms, and industries
to serve the Communist war effort, a
policy known as war communism.
• The Cheka, or secret police, sought out
anyone who opposed the Communists
and created an atmosphere of fear among
the people.
(pages 518–519)
Triumph of the Communists (cont.)
• By 1921, the Communists had complete
control of Russia. 
• The country had become a centralized
state dominated by a single party. 
• Because of the role of the Allies in the civil
war, the Communists mistrusted them and
remained hostile.
(pages 518–519)
The 1919 Treaty of Versailles demanded
that Germany pay $5 billion in reparations
for damages caused by the war. In 1921,
Germany had paid nearly half the amount.
However, the reparations committee met
and decided that Germany should pay a
total of $32.5 billion by 1963, an amount
that many experts agreed could cause
the German people to starve.
The Last Year of the War
• During 1917, the Allies had been defeated
in their offensives on the Western Front,
and the Russians had withdrawn from the
war. 
• The Central Powers appeared to have the
advantage.
The Last Year of the War (cont.)
• The German military official Erich von
Ludendorff decided to take a military
gamble. 
• In March 1918, the Germans launched a
large offensive on the Western Front and
came to within 50 miles of Paris. 
• The Germans were stopped at the
Second Battle of the Marne by French,
Moroccan, and American troops and
hundreds of tanks.
(pages 521–523)
The Last Year of the War (cont.)
• In 1918, the addition of more than one
million American troops helped the Allies
begin to advance toward Germany. 
• By the end of September, General
Ludendorff told German leaders that
the war was lost.
(pages 521–523)
The Last Year of the War (cont.)
• The Allies were not willing to negotiate
with the German government under
Emperor William II. 
• The German people were angry and
exhausted by the war. 
• In spite of attempted government reforms,
German workers and soldiers in towns
such as Kiel revolted and set up their
own councils. 
• On November 9, William II left the country.
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• The Austro-Hungarian government
wanted to declare war on Serbia but
was worried that Russian would come
to Serbia’s aid. 
• Austrian leaders asked for help from their
German allies. 
• Emperor William II agreed to give
Germany’s full support. 
• In July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared
war on Serbia.
(pages 501–502)
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• Russia responded by supporting
Serbia. 
• Czar Nicholas II ordered partial and then
full mobilization of the Russian army. 
• Austria-Hungary and Germany
considered the mobilizations acts of war.
(pages 501–502)
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• The Germans warned the Russians to
halt mobilization, and the Russians
refused. 
• Germany then declared war on Russia
on August 1. 
• Because Russia and France were allies,
Germany had planned to defeat France
first and then attack Russia with full force.
(pages 501–502)
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• This plan, designed by General
Alfred von Schlieffen, was called the
Schlieffen Plan. 
• Germany declared war on France on
August 3.
(pages 501–502)
The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914
• The Germans demanded that Belgium–a
neutral country–allow German armies to
pass through it on the way to France. 
• This action led Britain, who was allied with
France and Russia, to declare war on
Germany.
• Treaty of London of 1839

• By August 4, World War I had begun.
(pages 501–502)
1914 to 1915: Illusions and
Stalemate (cont.)
• All European wars since 1815 had only
lasted a few weeks. 
• In August 1914, most people thought the
war would be over by Christmas.
(pages 503–505)
1914 to 1915: Illusions and
Stalemate (cont.)
• First Battle of the Marne. 
• The Western Front turned into a
stalemate, with neither side able to push
the other out of the system of trench
warfare they had begun. 
• The trenches stretched from the English
Channel nearly to the Swiss border. 
• For four years both sides remained in
almost the same positions.
(pages 503–505)
1914 to 1915: Illusions and
Stalemate (cont.)
• On the Eastern Front, the war was far
more mobile. 
• The Russian army moved into eastern
Germany but was defeated at the Battle
of Tannenberg and the Battle of
Masurian Lakes. 
• The Russians defeated Austria-Hungary
and dislodged them from Serbia.
(pages 503–505)
1914 to 1915: Illusions and
Stalemate (cont.)
• The Italians, who had been allied with
Germany and Austria-Hungary, broke their
alliance in 1915 and attacked AustriaHungary. 
(pages 503–505)
1914 to 1915: Illusions and
Stalemate (cont.)
• 2.5 Million Russians either killed
wounded or captured.
• The Russians were almost out of the
war. 
• After defeating Serbia, Germany turned
its attention back to the Western Front.
(pages 503–505)
1916 to 1917: The Great
Slaughter (cont.)
• They would begin with heavy artillery and
then send in thousands of troops. 
• The men who attacked were completely
exposed to machine-gun fire. 
• Millions of young men died in these
attacks, and no breakthrough came. 
• At Verdun, France, in 1916, 700,000 men
were killed in 10 months. 
• World War I had become a war of
attrition, where each side tried to wear
the other down.
Widening of the War
• In November 1914, Russia, Great Britain,
and France (the Allies) declared war on
the Ottoman Empire. 
• In 1915, they tried to open a Balkan front
by attacking Gallipoli, near
Constantinople.
(page 506)
Widening of the War (cont.)
• Then Bulgaria entered the war on the side
of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the
Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers). 
• The Allies withdrew from Gallipoli after a
disastrous campaign. 
• Italy opened up a front against AustriaHungary on the side of the Allies. 
• In 1918, British forces from Egypt
defeated the Ottoman Empire in the
Middle East. 
• They used troops from Australia, India,
and New Zealand.
Background to Revolution
• Due to a lack of experienced military
leaders and technology, Russia was
unprepared for World War I. 
• The Russian army was poorly trained and
equipped and suffered terrible losses. 
• By 1917, the Russian will to continue
fighting in the war had disappeared.
(pages 514–516)
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• The Russian people became increasingly
upset with the czar and his wife due to
military and economic disasters. 
• Conservatives wanted to save the
deteriorating situation and assassinated
Rasputin late in 1916. 
• However, this did not save the monarchy.
(pages 514–516)
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• In March 1917, working-class women led
a series of strikes in the capital city of
Petrograd. 
• They were upset about bread shortages
and rationing. 
• They called a general strike that shut
down all the factories.
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• The provisional government was headed
by Alexander Kerensky and decided to
continue fighting the war. 
• This was a grave mistake, as it upset
workers and peasants who wanted to
end the years of fighting.
(pages 514–516)
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• The government was also challenged by
the soviets–councils representing
workers and soldiers–who came to play
an important role in Russian politics. 
• Soviets sprang up around the country,
and were mostly made up of socialists.
(pages 514–516)
The Rise of Lenin
• The Bolsheviks were a small
faction of
a Marxist party. 
• They were led by V. I. Lenin and
were dedicated to a violent
revolution to overthrow the capitalist
system.
The Rise of Lenin (cont.)
• Lenin lived abroad between 1900 and
1917. 
• When the provisional government was
formed, he went to Russia hoping that
the Bolsheviks could seize power. 
• German military leaders helped him travel
to Russia in an attempt to create disorder.
(page 517)
The Rise of Lenin (cont.)
• He saw the soviets as groups already
in place that could help overthrow the
provisional government. 
• The Bolsheviks promised to end the war,
redistribute land to the peasants, transfer
control of factories and industries from
capitalists to the workers, and transfer
government power to the soviets.
(page 517)
The Rise of Lenin (cont.)
• Three slogans summed up the Bolshevik
program: “Peace, Land, Bread,” “Worker
Control of Production,” and “All Power to
the Soviets.”
(page 517)
The Bolsheviks Seize Power
• By the end of October 1917, the
Bolsheviks had 240,000 members
and held majorities in the Petrograd
and Moscow soviets. 
• On November 6, the Bolsheviks seized
the Winter Palace, and the provisional
government collapsed.
(page 518)
The Bolsheviks Seize Power (cont.)
• Lenin turned over power to the Congress
of Soviets, which represented soviets
throughout Russia. 
• He held on to the real power in a Council
of People’s Commissars, however, which
he ran.
(page 518)
The Bolsheviks Seize Power (cont.)
• The Bolsheviks renamed themselves the
Communists. 
• In March 1918, Lenin ended the war with
Germany by signing the Treaty of Brestlitovsk, giving up territory in eastern
Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic
provinces. 
• He believed that these territories would
eventually return to Russia as the socialist
revolution spread through Europe.
(page 518)
Civil War in Russia
• Soon after the Communists took power,
civil war broke out in Russia. 
• Many people were opposed to the
Communists, including groups loyal
to the czar, liberals, and anti-Leninist
socialists. 
• They were aided by the Allies, who
gave them troops and supplies, hoping
Russia would rejoin the war.
(page 518)
Triumph of the Communists
• The Communists won the civil war in part
because they had an excellent army. 
• As commissar of war, Leon Trotsky had
brilliantly organized the army and
instituted rigid discipline.
(pages 518–519)