Grace Chen

Period 1
WWI Unit Packet

​ oad to WWI
R
Treaty of San Stefano and Berlin Conference (1878)
● Large Bulgarian state from Danube to Aegean Sea is created
● Viewed as increase of Russia’s power
 ● Congress of Berlin dominated by Bismark
● Demolished treaty of san stefano
● State reduced, rest given back to Ottoman
● Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania independent
● Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austria, cannot annex them
William II’s policies and their impact on France, Britain, and Russia (1890-1900)
● William II dismissed Bismark
● Dropped Reinsurance Treaty with Russia
● France and Russia military alliance in 1894
● 1907 Triple Entente (Great Britain, France, Russia) against Triple Alliance (Germany,
Austria, Italy)
● Two alliances battle over control of remnants of Ottoman Empire in Balkans
Bosnian Crisis (1908)
● 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina under protection of Austria
● 1908 Austria annexed two Slavic territories
● Serbia outrage for unable to create large Slavic kingdom
● Austria wants to prevent threat towards Autro-Hungarian Empire
● Russian support Serb to increase authority in Balkans
● William demand Russian accept annexation or war with Germany
● Defeat in Russo-Japanese War Russia backed down
Balkan Crisis (1912)
● Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Greece organize Balkan League and defeat Ottoman
in First Balkan War
● Unable to divide up land of Macedonia and Albania
2nd Balkan Crisis (1913)
● Greece, Serbia, Romania, and Ottoman Empire defeated Bulgaria
● Bulgaria receive small part of Macedonia, rest divided between Serbia and Greece
● At London Conference arranged by Austria, German supported Austria decision in not
allowing Serbia creating independent Albania
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (June, 1914)
● Assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis ferdinand and wife Sophia on June 28,1914
● By Bosnian activist who work for Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist organization
German and Austrian response (June-July, 1914)
● William II (Germany) promised to help Austria if it meant war
● July 14 decided to send ultimatum to Serbia to threaten war
● Issued on July 23 end of French state visit to Russia
● So severe that Serbia had to reject some
● Austria declared war on July 28 hoping to limit it to Serbia and Austria
Russian response (July, 1914)
● Determined to support Serbia from Bosnian crisis
● Tsar Nicholas II ordered partial mobilization of Russian army against Austria
● Russain General Staff informed tsar war against Germany and Austria
● Full mobilization of Russian army on July 29
 The End of the War
Description of 2nd Battle of the Marne (July 1918)
● Withdrawal of Russia caused Germany last battle
● German forces advanced 40 miles to Marne River in the west
● French General Ferdinand Foch with 140000 American troops defeated Germans (July
18)
● With 1 million more American troops, Allied forces advanced toward Germany
Ludendorff's effort to protect military
● He informs leader that the war was lost (Sept 29, 1918)
● Lundendorff asks government to sue for peace
Impact on German government
● German government reforms to liberal government so Allies accept peace
● Council of workers and soldiers formed soviets taking over military and civilian
● William II left the country (Nov 9)
● Friedrich Elbert and socialist formed a republic
● Armistice (truce) signed ended war on Nov 11, 1918
Cost of the Great War (include description of Armenian Genocide)
● 8-9 million soldiers died on battlefield, 22 million wounded
● Birthrate in European countries declined with lost of young men
● “Lost generation” of veterans accustomed to violence and supported Hitler and Mussolini
● Civilians died from war, civil warm and starvation
● Turkish government killed Armenian men and expelled children and women with the
excuse of their rebellion and collaboration with Russia
● 7 months, 600000 Armenians killed, 500000 deported (400000 died)
● By Sept 1915, 1 million Armenians were dead from genocide

The Peace Treaties

Woodrow Wilson’s Goals (the U.S.)
● Submitted “Fourteen Points”
○ Open treaties (no secret treaties)
○ Reduction of weapons to only protect country
○ All wishes should be fulfilled to satisfaction- self determination
○ Create democracy gov. for equal political influence between states
○ Self determination encouraged anticolonial nationalist movements
Other States’ Goals (incl. Britain led by prime minister David Lloyd George)
● Secret treaties and agreements
● National interests also discussed
● Britain made Germans pay for war (Dec 1918)
Georges Clemenceau’s Goals (France)
● consideration for national security
● Revenge and security against German
● German no military, pay for war, give part of Rhineland to France
Why were Russia and Germany not involved?
● Russia is fighting a civil war, they did not want to negotiate with Communists in Russia
 ● Germany was not invited to attend
Treaty of Versailles (Jun 28, 1919) and its Impact on Germany
● Peace settlement with defeated nations: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman
● Germany unhappy with War Guilt Clause (Article 231) declaring Germany and Austria
has to pay reparations for all result of war
● Germany reduce army to 100000 men and cut navy and no air force
● Lost Alsace and Lorraine to France, parts of Prussia to new Polish state
● Land in west demilitarized or barriers
New Nations after the War
● New nation states: Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria,
and Hungary
The Problem w/ Eastern Europe
● Mixed culture made it impossible to draw ethnic lines
● Compromises made caused problems in every state: Germans in Poland; Hungarians,
Poles, Germans in Czechoslovakia; Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Albanians
in Yugoslavia.
The Fate of the Ottoman Empire
● Ottoman split apart by peace treaty
● Arab was promised independence in Middle eastern Ottoman (not met)
● France took Lebanon and Syria, Britain took Iraq and Palestine
What were mandates, and who had them?
● Nation officially take territory for League of Nations
● The Allies (France and Britain) had the right
Why were these treaties unsuccessful in the long run?
● People believed peacemakers are short sighted
● Also, there were lack of enforcement of treaties
● U.S didn’t join league of nations, and alliance with France and Britain rejected
● Britain also left, so France had to deal with Germany on its own