Transcript Chapter 26: World War I

Chapter 26: World
War I
Section 1: The Great War
Begins
There were four main causes to WWI:
 1. Militarism: Massive military buildup.
 2. Alliances: Countries formed
partnerships to protect themselves.
 3. Imperialism: Rival empires seek to
keep power.
 4. Nationalism: Loyalty and devotion to
their country or culture.
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The event that triggered the war was the
assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in
Sarajevo, Bosnia.
He was killed by Gavrilo Princip,
a member of a terrorist
organization known as the Black
Hand.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
on July 28. Russia had promised that they
would protect Serbia, so then Germany
declared war on Russia as well as France.
Central Powers: Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman
Empire.
Allies: France, Great Britain,
Russia, United States.
Germany had developed a battle plan
years earlier called the Schlieffen Plan.
 It called for German troops to quickly
defeat France in the West and then head
East to fight Russia.
 The first thing Germany did was to move
through Belgium, a neutral country,
which led to Great Britain declaring war
on Germany.
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The Battle of the Marne in September
1914, was the beginning of trench
warfare.
The Germans were on their way to Paris
when the Allies pushed them back. The
Germans and the Allies then dug a series
of trenches and the battle quickly
became a stalemate.
 This region became known as the
Western Front.

Section 2: A New Kind of
War

Life in trenches was miserable. Rainstorms
produced puddles and thick mud and
sanitation was a big problem.
Dead bodies would often stay there for
days and lice and rats were always
around.
 Sometimes soldiers would go “over the
top” and attack the enemy trench. Many
soldiers would be cut down by machine
guns.

Poison gas was used for the first time. It
could blind, choke, or burn soldiers and
even kill them.
 Gas masks were developed as a way to
combat this. Machine guns came into wide
use as well as artillery and shells.
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Tanks and airplanes were used for the
first time during WWI. Tanks could cross
rough terrain and offered some protection.
Aircraft was used for observation and
attack.

Factories started to produce military
equipment and civilians conserved food
and goods so they could be used by the
military.

Governments also censored newspapers
and used propaganda to influence
people’s opinions. Women also started to
work in factories.
Battle of Verdun (Feb-Dec 1916):
Attack by the Germans in an
attempt to kill as many French
troops as possible. France would
suffer 400,000 casualties. It ended
in a stalemate.
Battle of the Somme (July-Nov
1916): British launch attack to push
Germans away from Verdun. The
British would lose 60,000 troops
the first day. Over a million troops
would die in all. The battle also
ended in a stalemate.
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Gallipoli Campaign (April-Dec 1915): The
Allies used the Dardanelles to ship
supplies to Russia. The Allies would give
up after 200,000 troops had been killed.
In late 1914, Russia launched an attack
on Turkey where ethnic Armenians lived.
 Ottoman leaders claimed the Armenians
were helping the Russians so they ordered
the removal of Armenians.
 600,000 Armenians would die and the
Ottoman Empire would be accused of
genocide.
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Section 3: Revolution in Russia

The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir
Lenin and wanted to make Russia a
socialist country.
Economic conditions started to worsen in
Russia and many people wanted Russia to
leave WWI by 1917.
 On March 8, 1917, Russian citizens took to
the streets to protest a lack of food and
fuel.
 Police would not follow orders to shoot the
protesters.
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Czar Nicholas II ordered the Russian
Duma to disband, which they didn’t. By
March 15, Nicholas realized that he no
longer had power over the Russian people
and he was forced to step down. A
provisional government would be put in
place.

In November 1917, Bolshevik factory
workers attacked the government, which
caused it to collapse.
The Bolshevik’s
controlled Russia
and their leader
was Vladimir Lenin.
 He would establish
a Communist
government. They
would give land to
Russian peasants.
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Russia then signed the Treaty of BrestLitovsk ending their involvement in WWI.
This upset some people because the
Russians lost land.
 Two armies fought for control: White
Army and Red Army.
 The Bolsheviks would win in late 1920.
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Section 4: The War Ends
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President Woodrow Wilson did not want
to enter the war, which is how most
Americans felt. This is called isolationism!
German U-boats kept attacking
merchant ships in the Atlantic, angering
many.
 The British passenger ship, Lusitania,
would be sunk by a German U-boat in
Sept. 1916, killing 200 Americans.
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In February 1917, the Zimmermann
Note was discovered. This proposed that
Mexico attack the United States with
German support. By April 1917, the U.S.
entered the war on the Allied side.
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Germany started to lose more troops and
more battles until finally the end was in
sight. On November 11, 1918 an
armistice was signed. The Allies had won
the war.
Woodrow Wilson had come up with his
own plan for peace called the Fourteen
Points.
 It called for freedom of the seas and for
the right of all people to choose their own
government.
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It also called for a League of Nations, a
place where all countries could meet to
discuss their differences.
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The Treaty of Versailles would be
signed in 1919. Germany was blamed for
starting the war and had to pay
reparations to other countries. They also
had to limit the size of their military.
Nearly 9 million soldiers were killed in
battle. 13 million civilians died and over 20
million were wounded.
 The war cost about $332 billion.
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50 million more people would die in the
Spring of 1918 because of a world wide
influenza outbreak.
Summary of WWI
Who fought –
Central Powers (Triple Alliance)… Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy,
Ottoman Empire
VERSUS
Allied Powers (Triple Entente)… Britain, Russia, France, and later the
United States
 All started with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of AustriaHungary by a Serbian Assassin
 Germany ended up splitting its army to fight on both the Western
Front vs. France and the Eastern Front vs. Russia
 The U.S. is brought into the war with the sinking of the Lusitania
 WINNER – Allied Powers
 Treaty of Versailles – blames Germany for the war
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– Woodrow Wilson – president of U.S. wanted the fourteen points and league of
nations, but it did not last
Effects of WWI
United States becomes a world power
 Loss of an entire generation
 Economic Loss
 Germany blamed for WWI
 Embittered countries, Japan and Italy
 Creation of the United Nations
 New Nations are created – Austria, Czech,
Yogu, Hungary, Iraq, and Palestine
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