Transcript Chapter 12 Section 1 - mrs-saucedo

Chapter 29 Section 1
The Stage is Set for War!
Objectives:
 Identify the major causes of unrest in
Europe.
 Discuss the results of the strategy that
was used during the early fighting of the
war.
 Explain why the war settled into a
stalemate.
Causes:
 4 MAIN Causes
 Militarism
 Alliances
 Imperialism
 Nationalism
Imperialism
 Quest for colonial empires.
 Caused tension and conflict between
nations competing for colonies in the
world.
 Caused by industrialization and the
need for raw materials and markets to
sell goods.
Militarism
 Nations built huge militaries to defend
and gain colonies.
 Developed larger, more powerful
weapons.
 Arms race.
 Developed the desire to use these
militaries
Alliances
 Feeling of militarism led European
nations to sign secret treaties with each
other pledging assistance if the other
was attacked.
 Created a system of alliances putting
one nation against another.
The Alliances:
 Germany Pledged to help Austria Hungary if
attacked.
 A year later added Italy, known as the Triple
Alliance.
 France pledged to help Russia if attacked
 Russia pledged to help Serbia if they were
attacked
 Britain pledged to help Belgium if attacked
and was in a loose alliance with France/
Russia. Called the Triple Entente
Alliances created a fragile balance
of power.
Nationalism
 Intense national pride.
 Strong in Central European region of
the Balkans.
 Area was unstable politically
 Known as “the powder keg of Europe”
 Ottoman Empire had ruled the area
from 1400s to1800s.
Ottoman rule
1900s
 After war between Ottoman Empire and
Russia, Serbia (Slavs) claimed
independence.
 Also claimed the Slavic area of Bosnia and
Herzegovina to the west.
 Bosnia- Herzegovina was occupied by
Austria- Hungary, annexed land in 1908
 Serbia grew in strength and threatened
Austria- Hungary’s control of territory.
 Bosnian Slavs wanted to become part of
Serbia and an intense feeling of nation pride
began.
Spark
 June 1914
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand- heir to
the AustroHungarian throneand wife Sophie
visits Sarajevo,
capital of Bosnia.
 They are
assassinated by
Gavrilo Princip- a
Serbian
 Member of the
Black Hand
 Assassination
marks the
immediate cause
of the war
War Begins
 After the assassination Austria- Hungary
sends Serbia an ultimatum- demands.
 Serbia agrees to all but two of the
demands- 1 was the placement of
Austro- Hungarian troops in Serbia.
 Serbia turns to Russia for support.
 Austria- Hungary, afraid Russia will
attack, looks for support from Germany.
 Germany gives them “Carte Blanche” blank
check- would back Austria- Hungary with
whatever happened.
 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia-July
28
 Sets of a long chain reaction of alliances.
 Russia begins mobilizing- preparing its troops
for war.
 Germany told Russia to stop. Russia refused.
 Germany declares war on Russia 1 August
1914.
System of alliances turned a local
conflict into a World War.
Opening Phase
 Germany’s military
strategy “Schlieffen
Plan” called for
massive strike
against France to
knock it out of the
war, then go east
and fight Russia
 Germany attacks
France through
Belgium on 3-4
August 1914
 Invasion of Belgium brings Great Britain into
the war.
 Belgian troops put up stiff resistance.
 Gives time to British and French to gather
forces in front of Germans.
Alliances
 Battle lines are clearly drawn: Austria-
Hungary and Germany (Bulgaria and
Ottoman Empire later join) called Central
Powers because of central location
 On the other side, France, Russia, Great
Britain called Allies
 Italy will break alliances with central powers
over Belgium invasion, and join allies
Stalemate.
 Germany is able to force Allies to the Marne
River.
 First Battle of the Marne, Allies hold and are
able to push Germans back 40 miles.
 After fighting for 4 days, German generals
gave orders of retreat
 War then becomes stabilized, neither side
able to dislodge the other.
 By the end of 1914 leaders realize the war
will not be over quick.
 The first Battle of Marne was perhaps the
single most important event of the war
 Why?
 The defeat of the Germans left the Schlieffen
plan in ruins
Powers.
 Allied Powers- France, Russia, Great Britain.
 Central Powers- Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.
New Weapons.
 World War I was
fought with a
variety of new
weapons unseen
on any battlefield.
 Included:
 Machine Gun
 Tank
 Airplanes- 1st used
as reconnaissance
and then armed to
attack other
reconnaissance
planes/ troops.
 Planes fought in
aerial combat known
as “Dogfights”.
 Submarines
 Poison gas, could
be released as a
cloud or from an
exploding shell.
 Most feared
weapon.
New weapons contribute to the
stalemate.
Trench Warfare.
 By 1915 both sides
occupy trencheslong ditches dug into
the earth for
protection- along the
front.
 Stretch from the
North Sea to
Switzerland.
 Trenches are separated by thin strips of
bombed out land filled with barbed wire and
landmines known as “No man’s land.”
 A new type of warfare known as “Trench
warfare” began.
 Battles began with massive artillery barrages
 Soldiers went “over the top” of the trenches
and charged into no man’s land and were
killed by machine gun fire.
 Both sides used 19th century tactics with 20th
Century weapons.
Life in the Trenches.
 Soldiers were plagued by rats and lice.
 Rain flooded trenches.
 Dead left unburied for days.
 Unsanitary.
 Just as many died from disease in the
trenches as from battle .
Battle of Verdun.
 1916 Germany designed a new
offensive to cause as much damage to
the French as possible.
 Launched in February 1916.
 Aimed at the French city of Verdunknew French would defend.
 Battle started with 21 hours of artillery
barrage.
 1 million shells fired.
 Germany attacked with 1 million
soldiers against 200,000 French.
 Battle swayed back and forth until
July 1916
 2 million dead.
Battle of the Somme.
 To relieve pressure at Verdun, Allies attacked
along northern front near the Somme River.
 Had same objective as Germans at Verdunexhaust the enemy.
 British suffered 60,000 dead in one day.
 Battle lasted 4 months and resulted in
another stalemate.
 1st use of the tank.
 1 million dead.
Eastern Front
The Eastern Front
 The Eastern Front was the battlefield along the
German and Russian border.
 At the end of August 1914, Germany counterattacked
the Russians near the town of Tannenberg.
 During the 4 day battle , the Germans crushed the
Russian army and drove them into retreat.
 Germany regained East Prussia and seized
numerous guns and horses from the enemy.
More than 30,00 Russian soldiers were killed.
Limanowa
 In a 17 day battle near Limanowa, Austria
defeated the Russians and drove them
eastward.
 Two weeks later, the Austrian army pushed
the Russians out of Austria-Hungary.
Russian Industrialization
 Russia had yet to become industrialized.
 As a result, Russian army was continually short on
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food, guns, ammunition, clothes, boots, and blankets.
The Allies were unable to ship supplies to Russia’s
ports.
In the North Germans blocked the Baltic Sea.
In the South the Ottomans controlled the
Mediterranean Sea.
The only asset Russia had were its numbers.
Russia Valuable
 Throughout the war, More than 2 million
Russian soldiers were killed, wounded, or
captured in 1915.
 The army was still able to rebuild ranks.
 For more than 3 years, the Russian army
managed keep hundred of thousands of
German troops in the east.
 Thus, German could not hurl its full fighting
force at the West.
Assessment:
 What were major causes of unrest in Europe?
 Militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism
 What were the results of the strategy that was
used during the early fighting of the war?
 Stalemate, trench warfare.
 Why did the war settle into a stalemate?
 Because of the new weapons used
 What was Russia’s advantage?
 Population