Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WWI Study Guide
WWI Study Guide
Causes of WWI
M.A.N.I.A.C.S started WWI
M. Militarism glorification of war and the military
* Competition for military power and strength
o Arms race competition to build up armed forces and weapons
o Standing armies soldiers trained and ready to fight
o Conscription mandatory participation of civilians in the military
o Increase in military spending
o Increasing influence of military in the government
* Example: Germany expanded its navy, Britain soon followed with a bigger and
better navy
A. Alliances Partnership agreement to go to war in the event one country in the
partnership is attacked. Aim was to discourage other countries from attacking
members of the alliance
* Triple Alliance
o Germany
o Austria-Hungary
o Italy
* Triple Entente
o Russia
o France
o Great Britain
N. Nationalism
* Extreme love and devotion for ones country
o determination of European nations to show power and strength
* Freedom from foreign rule
o France wants Germany to return Alsace and Lorraine lost in Franco-Prussian
war
* People of the same nationality wanted to form their own nation-state
o Pan-Slavism Slavs had a long-term goal to develop their culture and unite
into an empire
* Serbian nationals wanting to unite Bosnia with Serbia
* Russia protector of the Slavs
I. Imperialism One countrys domination of the economic, political and social
life of another country
* Competition for colonies countries had some and wanted more, others had
none and wanted some
o Economic growth countries wanted to new markets to sell products
o Power and prestige of expanding global empires
A. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Spark immediate cause that creates a chain of diplomatic failures setting WWI
in motion
* Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria assassinated
* Bulgaria
Allied Powers
* Great Britain
* Russia
* France
* Belgium
* Later Japan, Montenegro
* Italy initially remained neutral (felt A.H. and Germany had acted
aggressively, rather than defensively), but later entered on the side of the allies
* US joins (April 2, 1917)
Key Leaders during WWI
William II - Germany
o Emperor of Germany in World War I.
o 1890, he broke off the old ties with Russia, causing Germany to have to fight a
two-front war. This blunder led Germany to defeat.
Czar Nicholas II Russia
o last czar of Russia, Absolute Monarch
George Clemenceau France
o Prime Minister of France during WWI
o Nicknamed Tiger for his ruthless and bold leadership
Woodrow Wilson US
* Fought in Russia
* More mobile than Western Front (ground too hard to dig trenches)
* Front much longer, covered more territory
* Battle lines moved often
New Weapons
* Machine guns allowed one man to kill hundreds of men in seconds
* Poisonous gas German army was first ever to used
o Chlorine gas caused blindness, choking, vomiting, torn lungs, and death
o Mustard gas most deadly, caused skin blisters, sore eyes, vomiting, internal
and external bleeding, a long slow death
* Tanks allowed for movement across rugged terrain, eventually designed to
cross trenches
* Airplanes first used for reconnaissance work (spying), later in war to deliver
bombs and fight enemy aircraft in they air
* Submarines German u-boats destroyed warships, supply ships, and
commercial and passenger ships
Battle of Verdun
* German surprise attack on French (under command of Henri-Phillippe Petain)
at Verdun
* No clear winner
* One of the bloodiest battles of the War
* Both sides suffer casualties of more than 500K
Battle of the Somme
o Women join the workforce and special branches of the military; aided in
getting women the right to vote in 1920
First US troops arrive in Europe in April 1918 under General John Pershing
* Fought primarily in France
* First American army ever sent to Europe
Propaganda ideas or rumors used to harm an opposing cause
Common objectives of Wartime Propaganda
1. Recruitment of Soldiers
2. Financing the war effort
3. Unify the country behind the war
4. Conserve resources needed for war (steel, oil, food)
5. Encourage participation in organizations that support the war
Common Propaganda Tools
1. Demonization portraying the enemy as evil, murderous, aggressive
2. Emotional Appeal play on peoples fear about war
3. Name Calling using labels to encourage hatred of the enemy (Huns,
Commies)
4. Patriotic Appeals using patriotic symbols to appeal to national pride (Statue
of Liberty, flags)
5. Half-truths and lies deception and twisting the truth
6. Catchy Slogans - memorable phrases to create support (Remember the Maine)
7. Evocative Visual Symbols visual images that appeal to peoples emotions (i.e.
Women, children, etc)
8. Humor using the enemy as the butt of jokes
Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution:
Poor leadership caused the Bolshevik R.E.V.O.L.T. in 1917
R. Rasputins influence over the Czar
E. Every landless peasant demanded land
V. Violence broke out over bread shortages and military
defeats
O. Overthrow of provisional government was led by the
Bolsheviks
L. Lenin promises Peace, Land, Bread
T. Tzars Incompetence
Fall of the Tzar
* Rasputin Mystic leader of the Romanovs increasing influence
* Food and Fuel Shortages
* Mounting defeats in WWI
* Strikes and riots broke out across the country
* March Revolution spontaneous uprising of working people and soldiers
* March 15, 1917 Czar Nicholas Abdicates (steps down)
Provisional Government
1. Temporary Central Government
2. Mostly made up of Middle Class Duma reps.
3. Alexander Kerensky Prime Minister
4. Big Mistake: Didnt withdraw from the war
5. Challenged by Petrograd Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies
(Mensheviks & small number of Bolsheviks)
Lenin
1. Leader of the Bolsheviks
2. Bolsheviks beliefs: small number of professional revolutionaries would lead a
VIOLENT revolution against Aristocrats (Noblemen & Lords), and Middle Class
3. Promised: Peace, Land, and Bread
Bolshevik Revolution Nov. 1917
Leader Vladimir Lenin
Slogan Peace (end war), Land (give more land to the peasants), Bread (food)
Coup dtat sudden overthrow of the government by people from with the
country
Socialist state No private property, economic equality for all citizens
(distribution of land to peasants, worker control of factories)
*Based on the ideas of Karl Marx and Communism
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
**Lenin wanted to concentrate on stabilizing their government and economy
* Peace treaty between Germany and Russia, ending Russian participation in the
WWI
* Russians lose much of western territory and 1/3 of population
* Germans get land from Russia
* Allows Germany to concentrate on western front
Civil War
Red Army (communists) vs. White Army (liberal democrats, moderate socialists,
and royalists)
Leon Trotsky communist leader of the Red Army
White Army defeated
Lenin establishes communist control throughout Russia
End of war
* 2nd Battle of the Marne (July 1918)
o Ferdinand Foch puts 200K new U.S. soldiers intermixed with experienced
soldiers
o Pushes German army out of France to German border
o German Generals tell Kaiser Wilhelm II war cant be won
* Austria-Hungary quits (Oct 1918)
* German soldiers revolt (Nov 1918) No more fighting Kaiser Wilhelm II
abdicates
* Nov. 11 Armistice day Germans agree to end fighting
Effects of WWI