Transcript Causes of WWI – MANIA!

World War I
Causes of WWI – MANIA!
Militarism - policy of building up a strong military to prepare for war
Alliances – agreements between nations to provide aid and protect
on another
Nationalism – extreme pride in one’s country
Imperialism – when one country takes over another country
economically and politically.
Assassination – of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Militarism
1910-1914 Increase in
Defense Expenditures
France
10%
Britain
13%
Russia
39%
Germany
73%
Militarism
• Arms Race,
pg. 754
– Manufacturing
• Schlieffen Plan
– pg. 754, ID
Term
Alliances: Balance of Power
How was the balance of power in Europe
threatened in the late 19th century?
• German Threat
• GB & France
• Austro-Hungarian ethnic
rivalries
• Serbia, Bulgaria =
Pan-Slavism
• Russia vs. Ottoman
Empire
• Great Britain = “splendid
isolation”
Alliances
Triple Alliance
Triple Entente
Nationalism
• At the settlement of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the
principle of nationalism was ignored in favor of
preserving the peace. Germany and Italy were left as
divided states, but strong nationalist movements and
revolutions led to the unification of Italy in 1861 and that
of Germany in 1871. Another result was that France lost
Alsace-Lorraine to Germany, and regaining it was a
major goal of the French. Nationalism posed a problem
for Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, areas comprised of
many conflicting national groups. The ardent Pan
Slavism of Serbia and Russia's willingness to support its
Slavic brother conflicted with Austria-Hungary's PanGermanism.
Nationalism: Balkan Wars
• 1st & 2nd Balkan Wars
– 1912 Balkan League (Se, Bu, Mo, Gr) vs. Ottomans
– 1913: Gr, Se, Ro, OE vs. Bu over Macedonia & Albania = Serbia
blocked; Albania independent
Imperialism
• Great Britain, Germany and France needed
foreign markets after the increase in
manufacturing caused by the Industrial
Revolution.
• These countries competed for economic expansion in
Africa. Although Britain and France resolved their
differences in Africa, several crises foreshadowing the
war involved the clash of Germany against Britain and
France in North Africa.
• In the Middle East, the crumbling Ottoman Empire was
alluring to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans and Russia.
The
“Spark”
Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and
Duchess Sophie at Sarajevo, Bosnia,
on June 28th, 1914.
Austrian
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand was
killed in Bosnia by
a Serbian
nationalist group
called the Black
Hand who
believed that
Bosnia should
belong to Serbia.
Domino Effect
Austria blamed Serbia for Ferdinand’s death and declared
war on Serbia.
Germany pledged their support for Austria -Hungary.
Russia pledged their support for Serbia.
Domino Effect
Germany declares war on Russia.
France pledges their support for Russia.
Germany declares war on France.
Germany invades Belgium on the way to France.
Great Britain supports Belgium and declares war on Germany.
Central Powers
Allied Powers
World War I
Why was WWI a Stalemate?
• What’s a stalemate?
– Neither side can make a move to win.
• Machine gun. How did this change war?
How was it fought before?
• Trench Warfare = “solution”.
• Millions die without gaining ground.
What new weapons were used in
WWI?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Machine gun
Poison gas
Submarine
Airplane
Tank
Why these weapons? Why now?
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION!!
Causes of War’s End
• War Exhaustion
– Austro-Hungarian breakdown
• Emperor Franz Ferdinand dies
• Pro-Slavic military deserters
• Attempted assassination of young Emperor
Charles I
• 1916 Charles I tries to enter into secret treaty w/
Allies
– Calls for Peace
• From Lenin to Luxemburg to Wilson
– Workers Striker & Soldiers Mutinies
Causes of War’s End
• US enters the War
– Zimmerman Telegram
– Germany unrestricted submarine warfare
• Russia pulls out of the War
– Russian/German armistice
• Lenin wants “peace without annexations and war
indemnities”
– Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 1918
• Annexations: Russia loses ¼ of its prewar
population and farmable land; ½ of its coal fields
and iron manufacturing
• Moscow becomes new Russian capital
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Germany’s Defeat
• Spring 1918 – last German offensives on
western front fail
– Germans shocked at loss
• Nov. 1918
– German generals and emperor step aside
– New republican gov’t. broker armistice
•
•
•
•
•
•
Return Alsace-Lorraine
Give up submarines; destroy artillery
Release Allied prisoners of war
Annul Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Agreed to pay war damages
Naval blockade remains in place until Treaty is signed
Chaos and Destruction
• Political chaos ensues
– Worker and soldier uprisings in Germany
• Middle class citizens fear for their lives and
property
• Lenin believes Communist revolution’s time has
come across Europe
– Creation of new countries
– Dismantling of old countries
• Destruction of lives, economies and
territories
– Spanish Flu epidemic
Casualties?
• Total troops mobilized by all countries in WW1
65,038,810
• Total troops dead from all countries in WW1
8,556,315
• Total troops wounded from all countries in WW1
21,219,452
• Total missing or POWs
7,750,945