Transcript World War I - Bibb County Schools

The World War I Era
(1914–1920)
Chapter 19
Section 1:
The Road to War
A. Causes of World War I
Chapter 19, Section 1
Main Causes of World War I
1 .Imperialism
Competition for colonial lands in Africa and elsewhere led to
conflict among the major European powers.
2 .Militarism
By the early 1900s, powerful nations in Europe had adopted
policies of militarism, or aggressively building up armed forces
and giving the military more authority over government and
foreign policy.
3.Nationalism
One type of nationalism inspired the great powers of Europe to
act in their own interests.
4. Alliances
In a complicated system of alliances, different groups of
European nations had pledged to come to one another’s aid in
the event of attack.
4. The Alliance System
B. How the War began-the spark
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
of Austria-Hungary
The spark that
ignited World War I:
Archduke Francis
Ferdinand, heir to
the throne of
Austria-Hungary was
visiting Serbia- a
territory the AustoHungarian empire
had just taken over.
The Crisis cont.
• “Black Hand”
Serbian terrorist
Gavrilo Princip
shoots Archduke
and wife.
• Austrians blame
Serbia for
supporting
terrorists.
• Convinced that Serbia was behind the Archduke’s assassination,
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
• Russia, as Serbia’s protector, began mobilization, or the readying of
troops for war.
• France, Russia’s ally, and Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, also
began mobilization.
• Germany, located between France and Russia, wanted to conquer
France quickly to avoid the need to fight on two fronts. To get to
France, German forces had to pass through neutral Belgium; the
invasion of Belgium brought Britain into the conflict as well.
• One week after the war started, all the great powers of Europe had
been drawn into it. Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the
Central Powers, while Russia, France, Serbia, and Great Britain were
called the Triple Entente (Allies).
The Major Players: 1914-17
Allied Powers:
Central Powers:
Nicholas II
[Rus]
Wilhelm II [Ger]
George V [Br]
Victor Emmanuel
II [It]
Enver Pasha
[Turkey]
Pres. Poincare [Fr]
Franz Josef [A-H]
Britain’s Reaction to invasion
of neutral Belgium
• 1838- UK had signed
a Treaty to protect
Belgium.
• Did not want
Germany to defeat
France and
dominate Europe.
Britain next?
• UK issued ultimatum
to Germany to
withdraw troops
from Belgium. War
declared August 4
1914
D. Stalemate and Modern Warfare
Stalemate on the Western Front
• By September 1914 the German advance on Paris
had been stopped. The war had reached a
stalemate, a situation in which neither side is able
to gain an advantage.
• Both sides holed up in trenches separated by an
empty “no man’s land.” Small gains in land
resulted in huge numbers of human casualties.
• Both sides continued to add new allies, hoping to
gain an advantage.
Trench Warfare
The soldiers had very
little decent food,
and what food they
had was often
attacked by rats.
These rats were the
size of small rabbits
and badgers because
they had fed on the
decomposing bodies
of dead soldiers.
Many men killed in the trenches were buried
almost where they fell. Corpses and food
litter attracted rats. One pair of rats can
produce 880 offspring in a year and so the
trenches were soon swarming with them.
• One soldier wrote: "The rats were huge.
They were so big they would eat a wounded
man if he couldn't defend himself." These
rats became very bold and would attempt to
take food from the pockets of sleeping men.
Two or three rats would always be found on
a dead body. They usually went for the eyes
first and then they burrowed their way right
into the corpse.
Rats killed in one trench
Modern Warfare
• Neither soldiers nor officers were prepared for
the new, highly efficient killing machines used
in World War I.
• New weapons killed thousands of soldiers who
left their trenches to attack the enemy.
• The machine gun / hand grenade / artillery /
bayonet / poison gas / flame thrower /
submarine / airplane /barbed wire /
Weapons of WWI
New Technology + old tactics = horrible losses
Trench knife
Trench Shovel-Germans
Gas Masks
German stick grenade
WWII grenade
Poison Gas
Chlorine Gas – 1915 Germans first used it
rags soaked in water or urine
Gas Mask
Mustard Gas-sulfuric acid gas - yellow
Mustard Gas
The most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the
war, it was almost odorless and took twelve hours to take
effect. Yperite was so powerful that only small amounts had to
be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the
soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks.
The skin of victims of mustard gas blistered, the eyes became
very sore and they began to vomit. Mustard gas caused internal
and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes,
stripping off the mucous membrane.
British-first tanks
Tanks
Early tank-Little Willie 1915
French Tank
German Tank – lagged behind Allies in
tank development
Both sides used bolt action
rifles for the infantry
U-boats
Submarines
U-Boats
In the beginning they surfaced
to warn the other ship
1918 depth charges improved
Fokker
Dog Fight
Airplanes
Zeppelins
Flamethrowers
The American Response
1914 -1916
Chapter 19, Section 1
• Although some had sympathies for the Central Powers, most
•
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•
•
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Americans supported the Allies.
Support for the Allies was partially caused by Germany’s rule by an
autocrat, a ruler with unlimited power. In addition, anti-German
propaganda, or information intended to sway public opinion, turned
many Americans against the Central Powers.
To protect American investments overseas (we loaned money to Britain)
, President Wilson officially proclaimed the United States a neutral
country on August 4, 1914.
Many Americans supported Wilson’s isolationism, and did not think the
war was any of our concern.
Some advocated peace, while others supported a policy of
“preparedness.”
Wilson son the 1916 election b/c “He kept us out of war!”
Section 2:
The United States Declares War
A. The course of the war 1914-1916
Both sides use a naval blockade
to stop supplies-British surface ships
Germans -- submarines
1914-1915 Germans stopped in the West—1915-1916 trench warfare brings
stalemate in the West.
Russians retreat in the East
B.The Germans lost the propaganda
war to win the U.S. over to its’ side.
• When the British cut the transatlantic cable, which
connected Germany and the United States, only
news with a pro-Allied bias was able to reach
America. American public opinion was therefore
swayed against Germany’s U-boat tactics.
• Investors in Britain had a vested interest in the
Allies winning the war. Many Americans felt the
Central Powers (mainly Germany) would destroy
democracy and freedom if they won.
1. The Sinking of the Lusitania
• One of Germany’s fiercest weapons in WWI was their dreaded Uboats- submarines
• On May 7,1915, a German U-boat sank the British passenger liner
Lusitania, which had been carrying both passengers and weapons for
the Allies.
• Since 128 American passengers had been on board, the sinking of
the Lusitania brought the United States closer to involvement in the
war.
2. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• Though the Germans had initially agreed to warn all nations before a u-boat
attack, they eventually moved to unrestricted submarine warfare- attacking all
ships without warning.
• The Germans knew this would encourage the US to enter the war against them,
but the fact that the Russians had dropped out of the war in 1917 (to deal with
the Russian Revolution), led Germany to believe that it could rapidly defeat its
remaining enemies before any US troops could reach Europe. That’s what they
get for thinking.
The Sinking
of the Lusitania
3. The Zimmerman Note
• During this time, Britain revealed an
intercepted telegram to the government of
Mexico from Germany’s foreign minister,
Arthur Zimmermann.
• In this telegram, known as the Zimmermann
note, Germany offered to return American
lands to Mexico if Mexico declared war on the
United States.
• Neither Mexico nor President Wilson took the
Zimmermann note seriously, but it brought
America closer to entering the war.
C. Early 1917 –The pivotal time.
• The all out sub blockade works for the
Krauts!! The Allies are in danger of
loosing the war!!!
• April 1917— To keep the world “safe for
democracy,” Wilson asks for and
Congress issues a declaration of war
against Germany ETC.
• The U.S. makes a difference- enters the
war when it looks as if the Allies will
lose—Convoy System of escorting
merchant ships across the Atlantic brings
supplies to Br. and Fr.
Allied
Ships
Sunk by
U-Boats
Sept. 1916-April 1917
May 1917-Jan 1918
In the final analysis, why did the
U.S. go to war vs Germany?
• Sub blockade by Germans.
• Anti German propaganda—only one source
of news—sent by the British.
• U.S. sales and loans to Allies –$$$ Billionswe enter the war at Allies darkest hour to
save our investment.
• Wilson favored and admired the British.
Americans on the
European Front
Section 3
A. Us had to build an army from nothing
Building an Army
Training for War
• The United States lacked a large
• Ideally, the military
and available military force.
planned to give new
Congress therefore passed a
soldiers several months of
Selective Service Act in May 1917,
training. However, the
drafting many young men into the
military.
need to send forces to
• Draftees, volunteers, and National
Europe quickly sometimes
Guardsmen made up what was
cut training time short.
called the American Expeditionary
Force (AEF), led by General John
J. Pershing.
• Halem Hellfighters was an all
African American unit that served
so admirably it was was given
France’s highest medal of honor.
Chapter 19, Section 3
B. April 1917--Nov. 1917: With U.S.
supplies the Fr. and Br. make gains
•Convoy system allows supplies to get to Br.
and Fr.thru German sub blockade—Germans get
no supplies thru Br. Blockade.
•US troops not yet in Europe but the allies push
back Germans in mid to late 1917.
•In the spring of 1917, Germany provided safe
passage for Vladimir Lenin, leader of the
Russian Bolsheviks, from Switzerland to Russia.
•November 1917 Communist Revolution in
Russia overthrows govt and made peace with
Germany.
C. Spring 1918--Germans make one last
all out attack
•Without Russia in the war it meant that the German
military could concentrate exclusively on the
Western front.
•( March – June 1918) Before the arrival of American
troops, Germany launched a furious attack that was
able to gain ground in France, coming within 50
miles of Paris.
•AEF begins to arrive in large numbers.
•General Pershing’s troops (AEF) pushed back the
Germans in a series of attacks.
•Finally, the German army was driven to full retreat
in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive begun on September
26, 1918.
D. American Soldiers in Europe
• By 1918, European nations had begun to
run out of men to recruit. Energetic
American soldiers, nicknamed doughboys,
helped replace the tired fighters of
Europe.
• Amer. soldiers were plugged into the
front lines where needed -most often as
part of Br. or Fr. units. Pershing and his
AEF were finally given a section of the
front to control at St. Mihiel.
E. Ending the War- late 1918
Chapter 19, Section 3
• In the face of Allied attacks and domestic revolutions, the
Central Powers collapsed one by one. Austria-Hungary
splintered into smaller nations of ethnic groups, and
German soldiers mutinied, feeling that defeat was
inevitable.
• When the Kaiser of Germany fled to Holland, a civilian
representative of the new German republic signed an
armistice, or cease-fire, in a French railroad car at 5am on
November 11, 1918.
Americans on the Home Front
Section 4
A. Financing the War--how we paid for it
• The government raised money for the war in part
by selling Liberty Bonds, special war bonds to
support the Allied cause.
• Like all bonds, these could be redeemed later for
their original value plus interest.
• Many patriotic Americans bought liberty bonds,
raising more than $20 billion for the war effort.
Chapter 19, Section 4
B. Managing the Economy
Chapter 19, Section 4
•United States entry into the war caused many industries to switch
from commercial to military production.
•Using the slogan, “Food will win the war,” Herbert Hoover, head of
the Food Administration. Voluntary meatless-wheatless-heatless
days of the week. “Victory gardens” planted. Save Grain-WWI
added strength to the prohibition movement --18th Amendment.
•Although he had the power to impose price controls, a system of
pricing determined by the government, and rationing, or
distributing goods to customers in a fixed amount, Hoover
preferred to rely on voluntary restraint and increased efficiency.
•Daylight savings time was created to save on fuel use and increase
the number of daylight hours available for work. This involved
turning clocks back one hour for the summer, creating one more
hour of daylight.
C. Enforcing Loyalty
Chapter 19, Section 4
Enforcing American Loyalty During World War I
Espionage Act
Fear of espionage, or spying, was widespread; restrictions on
immigration were called for and achieved.
“Hate the Hun”
The war spurred a general hostility toward Germans, often referred
to as Huns in reference to European invaders of the fourth and fifth
centuries. German music, literature, language, and cuisine became
banned or unpopular.
The Sedition
Act
Despite Wilson’s claim that the United States fought for liberty and
democracy, freedom of speech was reduced during the war.
Sedition, or any speech or action that encourages rebellion,
became a crime. Illegal to interfere with the draft, obstruct the sale
of Liberty Bonds, or make statements considered disloyal to the
government or the US military. Socialists like Eugene Debs
imprisoned.
D. Changing People’s Lives
Chapter 19, Section 4
New Roles for Women
African Americans and
Other Minorities
• With much of the work
force in the military,
factory owners and
managers who had once
discriminated against
minorities began actively
recruiting them.
• The flood of African
Americans leaving the
South to work in northern
factories became known
as the Great Migration.
• The diminished male
work force also created
new opportunities for
women.
• Many women joined the
work force for the first
time during the war.
Posters:
Wartime
Propaganda
Global
Peacemaker
Section 5
A. President Wilson’s Proposals
Chapter 19, Section 5
• As the war neared an end, President Wilson
developed a program for peace around the world
known as the Fourteen Points, named for the
number of provisions it contained.
• One of Wilson’s Fourteen Points called for an end
to entangling alliances; another involved a
reduction of military forces. Another dealt with the
right of Austria-Hungary’s ethnic groups to selfdetermination, or the power to make decisions
about their own future.
• Although both Wilson and the German government
assumed that the Fourteen Points would form the
basis of peace negotiations, the Allies disagreed.
During peace negotiations, Wilson’s Fourteen
Points were discarded one by one.
B. The Paris Peace Conference
Chapter 19, Section 5
Wilson Forced to
Compromise
• Although Wilson claimed
that he was not
interested in the spoils,
or rewards, of war, his
Allied colleagues were
interested in making the
Central Powers pay for
war damages.
• Wilson was forced to
compromise on his views,
especially concerning
self-determination for
former German
colonies.
The League of Nations
• One of Wilson’s ideas, the
formation of a League of
Nations, was agreed upon at the
Paris Peace Conference. The
League of Nations was designed
to bring the nations of the world
together to ensure peace and
security.
• Republicans in Congress,
however, were concerned about
Article 10 of the League’s
charter, which contained a
provision that they claimed
might draw the United States
into unpopular foreign wars.
Chapter 19, Section 5
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•
•
C.
The Versailles Treaty
The treaty which was negotiated at the Paris Peace
Conference redrew the map of Europe to the Allies’
advantage.
Nine new nations were created from territory taken from
Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany. Although most
borders were drawn with the division of ethnic minorities
in mind, the redivisions created new ethnic minorities in
several countries.
France insisted that Germany be humiliated and
financially crippled. The peace treaty required Germany
to pay billions of dollars in reparations, or payment for
economic injury suffered during the war. Wilson,
however, opposed this plan, claiming that these demands
would lead to future wars.
On June 28, 1919, the peace treaty, which came to be
known as the Versailles Treaty, was signed at Versailles,
outside of Paris.
Foreshadowing WWII
• The fact that Germans were required
to pay reparations (b/c of the Treaty
of Versailles) lead to an economic
depression, and bitterness among
Germans.
• The resentment felt by the German
people ultimately made it possible
for a young, charismatic leader to
rise to power and plunge Europe
back into war. Hello Hitler.
• Maybe they should’ve listened to
Wilson: America, duh.
The Somme American
Cemetery, France
116,516 Americans Died
World War I Casualties
10,000,000
9,000,000
8,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
Russia
Germany
Austria-Hungary
France
Great Britain
Italy
Turkey
US