Transcript Chapter 27 Part 2

World War I
Chapter 27-2
The Alliances
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Central Powers (Triple Alliance): Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
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Allies (Triple Entente): Britain, France, Russia
and later Japan, Italy, and the U.S.
The Western Front: The Schlieffen
Plan
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Plan was to invade France through Belgium,
defeat France quickly by sweeping around Paris
and then redeploying to the east to defeat Russia
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Battle of the Marne 1914 After Germany came
within sight of Paris, French and British forces
pushed the Germans back
The Marne
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French forces led by Joseph Joffre
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This battle represented the end of the mobility
on the Western Front
The Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
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The Belgians put up more resistance than
expected…slowed down invasion, gave France
time to prepare
The left of the German line failed to lure France
into a trap at Alsace-Lorraine
Russia mobilized faster than expected. Germans
had to deploy part of its forces early
French and British effective in stopping
Germans at the Marne
Trench Warfare
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Helped to create a stalemate and made the war
last for 4 years
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Trenches went from the North Sea to the Swiss
border
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By 1916 massive casualties on both sides but
little ground gained
Battle of Verdun February, 1916
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France lost 540,000
Germans lost 430,000
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French General Petain a national hero
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Battle of the Somme July, 1916
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British and French offensive to break through
the German lines
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Britain lost 420,000
France lost 200,000
Germany lost 650,000
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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Erich Remarque (1929)
Film depicting the horrors of trench warfare
Rats!
War and the New Technology
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Added to the death rate
Machine Guns: most important reason for large
number of casualties
Tanks: Artillery now mobile, could navigate
rough terrain
Airplanes:
at first pistols and rifles fired from planes
 Then Fokker: propellers and machine guns
synchronized
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Technology and War
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Poison Gas used by the Germans early in the
war
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The use of mustard gas was negated by allied use of
gas masks
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U-Boats: first by Germans (most important
reason the U.S. entered the war
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Zeppelins: used by Germany to bomb London
New Technology
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Radio: Wireless technology useful to
communicate on the battle field
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Germans tapped phone lines of Russia to
discover Russian battle plans
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Russians did not have radios
The Eastern Front
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Tannenburg: General von Hindenburg and
General von Ludendorf defeated Russian
Armies
The Russians poorly organized and had huge
numbers of casualties
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (12-17) Lenin took
Russia out of the war. Cost him ¼ of Russian
territory
Gallipoli 1915
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Brits and Australians failed to take Dardanelles
as a step toward taking Constantinople and
defeating the Turks
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200,000 British troops killed or wounded
Middle East
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T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) a British
officer who had major victories against the
Turks
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British gained support of Arab tribes who
resented Ottoman rule
Allied Naval Blockade
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Goal: to strangle Central Powers
Brits did cut off Central Powers from overseas
trade
Germans were cut off from her colonies
Germans responded by sinking allied vessels
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The Lusitania (1915) 1200 died
Germany engaged in unrestricted submarine
warfare
Archangel Expedition
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Summer 1918
The Allies invaded Russia to prevent a Bolshevik
victory
Allies also sent troops to Siberia to prevent
Japanese control of the region and to rescue
stranded Czechs
This DID contribute to prolonging the Russian
Civil War
Total War
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Civilians involved:
Zeppelins bombed civilian population
British blockade caused civilian starvation
Massive conscription drafted most able-bodied
men in their prime
Intense nationalism demanded support of entire
populations
Total War
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News was censored
Propaganda demonized the enemy: the Hun
German socialists (SPD) agreed to support the
war as part of a “civil peace” (compromise) with
the government called burgfrieden
English socialists did the same (war diverted
attention from the Irish Question)
Economics
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Free market economy abandoned
Needed strong central planning
Women to the factories= suffrage later
Labor unions supported the war: workers were
in demand = prestige
Rationing of food and commodities
Civilians financed the war by buying war bonds
Total War
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Both sides tried to starve the other out
Increase in centralized control of governments:
Clemenceau in France a virtual dictatorship
Germany: the world’s first totalitarian regime
The British economy was planned and regulated
War Diplomacy
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1915 Italy entered the war on the Allied side in
exchange for promise of Austrian, Balkan, and
German territories Italia Irredenta
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Zimmerman Note: proposal to Mexico from
Germany to keep the U.S. busy if U.S. entered
European war. Mexico would then receive lost
lands to the north
War Diplomacy
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The Balfour Note 1917: Arabs and Jews in
Palestine were promised autonomy if they
joined the allies
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Big problems later
Wilson’s 14 Points
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Points 1-5 Elimination of the general causes of
war: End Tariffs, end Arms Race, give Freedom
of the seas, etc
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Points 6-13 Self-determination for nations:
Poles, Czechs, Serbs, Croats, etc., return AlsaceLorraine, German evacuation of Russia, etc.
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Point 14: A League of Nations
Spring 1918 Meuse-Argonne
Offensive
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Having defeated the Russians, Germans planned
massive offense on the West
U.S. entered the War on time to help stop
German offensive
Germany surrendered Nov 11
Austria surrendered Nov 3
Both thought they would get fair treatment; a
peace based on the 14 Points…were wrong
1919 Paris Peace Conference
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The Big Four:
Wilson…U.S.
Lloyd George….England
Clemenceau…..France
Orlando…Italy Left early. Angry because
she did not get what was promised
Central powers not included
Russia not included
1919 Versailles Treaty
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Mandates were created for former colonies and
territories belonging to the Central Powers
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Much of the Middle East was now controlled by
England and France
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Article 231: placed the sole blame of the war on
Germany
Treaty of Versailles
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Germany to pay huge reparations to Brits and
France
German army and navy big-time reduced
Rhineland demilitarized
Saar coal mines taken by France
Germany lost all colonies
League of Nations: No U.S., Russia, Germany
The Cost of the War
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10 million soldiers died
10 million civilians
20 million The Spanish Flu
15 million in the Russian Revolution
Birthrate fell after the war
But illegitimate births were up
The War and Society
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Promoted greater social equality: blurred class
lines
Russian Revolution abolished the nobility and
gave women more rights than any country in
Europe
Women in factories (paid less than men), then
suffrage
Nobility in Germany and Austria lost prestige
The War and Society
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Dissent increased as the war continued
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Russia: the Czar was overthrown
England 1916 Easter Rebellion
Germany: militant socialists and anti-war
activists jailed: Rosa Luxembourg, Clara Zetkin
Crowds of women in Austria, Italy, France
protested working conditions and high prices
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The End of Important Dynasties
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Hapsburgs lasted 500 years…Austria
Romanovs lasted 300 years…Russia
Hohenzollern lasted 300 years…Germany
Ottomans lasted 500 years…Turkey
Map of Europe was Redrawn
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Creation of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Yugoslavia
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Germany split in two by Polish Corridor
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Russian Revolution resulted in world’s first
communist country
Germany
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Harsh treaty led to German resentment that
doomed Weimar Republic
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Above responsible for the rise of Hitler in the
1930’s
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Unresolved financial and political issues will lead
to WWII
Shift in Power
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The United States will emerge as the world’s
leading creditor and greatest producer
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John Maynard Keynes: The Economic Consequences
of the Peace (1919) predicted the harsh terms of
the treaty would hurt Germany’s economy, and
therefore the economy of the rest of Europe
and lead to significant political unrest