Transcript File

Causes of WWI Vocab 7-4.1
 1.
Militarism
 2. Alliance
 3. Imperialism
 4. Nationalism
 5. Front
 6. Trench Warfare
 7. Stalemate
 8. Bolshevik
 9. Isolationism
 10. Neutral
The Causes of World War I
Notes
Standard 7-4.1
Setting the Stage…
A.
B.
Europe had no major wars for almost
100 years!
In 1914 Europe exploded!
1. MAIN Causes of World War I
Militarism – Countries were building huge
armies and weapons.
B. Alliances – Agreements among competing
nations to help each other if war broke out.
C. Imperialism – Race for empires and
opening up new markets.
D. Nationalism – Intense national loyalty.
People wanted independence from empires
and creation of their own states.
A.
2. The Alliances
A.
B.
Triple Entente or Allied Powers:
France, Great Britain, and Russia.
Triple Alliance or Central Powers:
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman
Empire
Objective: To examine the horrors of trench warfare.
Sides of WWI
Central Powers
Neutral Forces
Allied Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
Spain
Switzerland
Netherlands
Albania
France
Russia
Britain
Italy & US (later)
3. The Balkan Crisis
A.
B.
C.
The first “spark” in the war took place in
the “powder keg” of the Balkans.
Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his
wife were shot and killed in Sarajevo,
Bosnia June 1914.
The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a
Serbian nationalist, and a member of
the terrorist organization “The Black
Hand.”
A Family Feud…..
 Tzar
Nicholas I of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm
II of Germany, and King George V of
England were all cousins – descendants of
Queen Victoria. They were on opposing
sides in the war.
4. The Battle Zone
There were 3 main fronts: The Western, the
Eastern, and the Italian.
B. The Western Front was a battle zone
between France and Germany. This is
where much of the fighting took place. The
French and English fought the Germans.
A.
4. The Battle Zone Continued.
 C.
The fighting on the Eastern Front
was between the Germans and
Russians.
 D. The fighting on the Italian Front was
Italy and France against Germany and
Austria-Hungary.
 E. Russia withdrew from the War in
1917. This made it easier for the
Central Powers to attack the Allies.
5.. Trench Warfare
Both sides engaged in Trench Warfare.
B. Soldiers fought from 2 lines of trenches or
ditches. The trenches reached from the
English Channel to Switzerland.
C. Eventually, the 2 sides reached a
stalemate which lasted until 1917.
A.
Trench Warfare
Trench Warfare – type of fighting during World War I in
which both sides dug trenches protected by mines and barbed
wire
Cross-section of a front-line trench
British trench, France, July 1916
(during the Battle of the Somme)
French soldiers firing over their own dead
All Quiet on the Western Front – trench warfare (9:27)
An aerial
photograph of the
opposing trenches
and no-man's land
in Artois, France,
July 22, 1917.
German trenches
are at the right and
bottom, British
trenches are at the
top left. The
vertical line to the
left of centre
indicates the
course of a pre-war
road.
Officers walking through a flooded communication trench.
A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot.
6.New Weapons
New types of weapons were used in WWI.
These made the war more deadly:
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Machine guns
Poison gases
Gas masks
Submarines
Airplanes
Flame throwers
Long-range artillery
Tanks
B. The human cost of war reached into
the millions.
C. Battlefield deaths and civilians deaths soared to record
numbers.
Tools of War

The cannons had to be
pulled by horses to the
battle site.
 Camouflage was used
to disguise the location.
 Other new weapons
included barbed wire,
trenches, airplanes,
grenades, submarines,
tanks, and poison gas
War Becomes More Modern

World War I was the first time
the airplane was used in
combat

Air combat and heroics by
pilots created a new class of
hero – the Ace

Here a British plane drops a
torpedo on a German boat

Zeppelins, similar to blimps,
were also used for
observation and bombing
Soldiers digging trenches while protected against gas attacks
'Gassed'. Painting by John Singer Sargent, 1918/1919.
British Vickers machine gun crew, western front, World War I.
7. The Bolshevik Revolution





A. Prior to WWI, the Russians were unhappy about
their lives. Their complaints were high taxes, poor
working conditions, and few political rights.
B. When Russia joined WWI, things got even worse
for the Russian people.
C. In 1917, Czar Nicholas II was overthrown and his
family was executed.
D. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, withdrew
from the War, broke their alliance with Britain and
France, and signed a peace treaty with Germany.
E. This left the British and French in dire need of
more help along the Western Front.
8. Where is the United States?
A.
B.
C.
At first the United States tried to stay
neutral but it was difficult.
We felt a loyalty to Britain and we
wanted to trade with Germany
The United States’ entrance into the
war would have a major impact on the
eventual victory of the Allied Powers.
9. The Lusitania
The Lusitania was a
British passenger ship
that was sunk by
German U-boats.
B. 128 Americans were
killed.
C. The U.S. still didn’t
enter the war.
D. Wilson’s
campaign slogan
in 1916 was “He
Kept Us Out Of
War!”
A.
10. The Zimmerman Telegram
A.
B.
In 1917, a German
official sent a telegram
to Mexico asking them
to join with Germany.
Finally, in 1917, the
U.S. declared war on
Germany and sent
troops to Europe.
11. The United States Joins
the War
A.
B.
C.
The American Expeditionary Force
went to the Western Front to help
Britain and France.
Finally, Germany was defeated.
An armistice was signed on November
11, 1918 officially ending the war.
Propaganda