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The Great War. WWI:A New Type of War. M .A.I.N. Causes. Militarism By the early 1900s, powerful nations in Europe had adopted policies of aggressively building up armed forces and giving the military more authority over government and foreign policy. . M. A .I.N. Causes. Alliances
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The Great War WWI:A New Type of War
M.A.I.N. Causes Militarism • By the early 1900s, powerful nations in Europe had adopted policies of aggressively building up armed forces and giving the military more authority over government and foreign policy.
M.A.I.N. Causes 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.
M.A.I.N. Causes Imperialism Competition for colonial lands in Africa and elsewhere led to conflict among the major European powers.
M.A.I.N. Causes Nationalism One type of nationalism inspired the great powers of Europe to act in their own interests. Another emerged as ethnic minorities within larger nations sought self-government.
Spark that Ignites WWI • The immediate cause of the Great War was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914. • At the time of his assassination, Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had been visiting Bosnia, a new Austro-Hungarian province. He was shot by GavriloPrincip, a 19-year-old Bosnian nationalist who believed that Austria-Hungary had no right to rule Bosnia.
American Response • Because many Americans were European immigrants or the children of European immigrants, many felt personally involved in the escalating war. • Most Americans supported the Allies. • Did not approve of one ruler with unlimited power (Germany) • Anti-German propaganda, or information intended to sway public opinion, turned many Americans against the Central Powers. • To protect American investments overseas , President Wilson officially proclaimed the United States a neutral country on August 4, 1914.
Stalemate • By September 1914, the war had reached a stalemate, a situation in which neither side is able to gain an advantage. • When a French and British force stopped a German advance near Paris, 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.
Events that Draw the US into WWI • Submarine warfare angered the U.S. German U-Boats torpedoed American ships trading with the Allies. • The Lusitania, a British passenger ship, was sunk by the Germans. 1200 people were killed, including 128 Americans.
Events that Draw the US into WWI • Zimmerman Note • Britain intercepted the telegram. Germany tried to convince Mexico to declare war on the U.S. Mexico would receive part of the U.S. if they won the war. • Russian Revolution • Czar Nicholas II was removed from power in Russia. The new government promised democratic reforms which made it easier for the U.S. to come into the war on Russia’s side.
WWI Weapons • Machine Guns • Machine guns needed 4-6 men to work them and had to be on a flat surface. They had the fire-power of 100 guns. • Large field guns had a long range and could deliver devastating blows to the enemy but needed up to 12 men to work them. They fired shells which exploded on impact. • Poison Gas • Chlorine gas causes a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains. Death is painful - you suffocate! • Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used. It was fired into the trenches in shells. It is colorless and takes 12 hours to take effect. Effects include: blistering skin, vomiting, sore eyes, internal and external bleeding. Death can take up to 5 weeks.
WWI Weapons • Airplanes • Planes were also used for the first time. At first they were used to deliver bombs and for spying work but became fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, bombs and some times cannons. Fights between two planes in the sky became known as 'dogfights'
WWI Weapons • Tanks • Tanks were used for the first time at the Battle of the Somme. They were developed to cope with the conditions on the Western Front. • The first tank was called 'Little Willie' and needed a crew of 3. Its maximum speed was 3mph and it could not cross trenches. • The more modern tank was not developed until just before the end of the war. It could carry 10 men, had a revolving turret and could reach 4mph.
WWI Weapons • Trench Warfare • Trenches began as simple ditches that were deep enough for men to take cover from gunfire, but soon they became very complicated. • Between the two sides, there was a desolate area called "No-man's Land", because it belonged to no one. wide. It was an area of devastation: with fragments of buildings, shattered and burnt down trees and craters and deep holes in the ground left from intense shelling, which were often filled with water.
Effects of Trench Warfare • Many people lost their lives trying to cross barbed wire. Also trench walls were sometimes unstable, but trench walls usually only collapsed under heavy shelling, the force of which would kill a soldier, before he had time to worry about being buried alive under a collapsed wall. • Diseases killed many soldiers in trench warfare and thousands of soldiers died unnecessarily of their wounds. • Standing in cold water for hours on end ruined soldier’s feet and lack of proper toilets, opportunities to wash and sewage removal, allowed typhus and skin diseases to thrive. • Lice and rats spread fatal diseases, but lice and rats themselves were not killers. • Trench warfare cost so many lives in WWI • due to the plan of a war of attrition and • because of poor living conditions.
African Americans and Women of WWI • African Americans fought in WWI but served in segregated troop. • Many did not see combat. • Women contributed to the war but nursing was almost the only area where females experienced the war or front line. • Women were called on, by necessity, to do work and to take on roles that were outside their traditional gender expectations.
Working Towards Peace • President Wilson developed a program for peace around the world known as the Fourteen Points, named for the number of provisions it contained. • Some of Wilson’s Fourteen Points called for: • an end to entangling alliances • reduction of military forces • the right of Austria-Hungary’s ethnic groups to self-determination, 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.
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.
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.
Versailles Treaty • 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.
Aftermath of WWI Congress and the Treaty of Versailles • Despite Wilson’s intensive campaign in favor of the Versailles Treaty, Congress voted against ratifying it in November 1919. • The United States declared the war officially over on May 20, 1920. It ratified separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary. However, the United States did not join the newly formed League of Nations. Difficult Postwar Adjustments • The war had given a large boost to the American economy, making the United States the world’s largest creditor nation. • Soldiers returned home to a hero’s welcome but found that jobs were scarce. • African American soldiers, despite their service to their country, returned to find continued discrimination. • Women began fighting for the right to vote. • Many American artists entered the postwar years with a sense of gloom and disillusionment.
