World War I

World Civilizations
 The Great War: In a
Nutshell
• The first war to include multiple countries
• The first war to include countries from Europe,
the Middle East, and Asia--drawn together by
complex alliance system
• The first “modern” war
• Use of modern technology: first airplanes, first
tanks, first gas attack
• Most dead in a single battle
• The first “European” war the U.S. fought in
• Largest mobilization effort, to date
 M.A.I.N. Causes of the
War

Causes of the Great War

Or why did the nations of Europe turn on each other?

Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

Video
 Militarism
• During the Industrial Revolution,
many European nations greatly
increased their ability to produce
“stuff.”
• Countries such as Germany and
France began applying their
industrial production power to an
arms race.
• Militarism made countries feel
patriotic, but also increased distrust
among nations of Europe.
• Guns- Use ‘em or Lose ‘em
• Alfred Thayer Mahan- The Influence
of Sea Power Upon History
 Building Dreadnoughts, 1906-1914

0
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914
Germany 0 0 4 3 1 3 2 3 1
Great Britain 1 3 2 2 3 5 3 7 3
 Alliances
• Countries seek to protect themselves
through alliances
• Bismark- Goal was to isolate France
• Drikaiserbund- Three Emperor’s
League- Germany, A-H, Russia
• Triple Alliance- G, A-H, It
• 1890- Bismark forced to retire,
Drikaiserbund breaks up
• Russia and France team up
• Germany now faces a 2 front war
• 1907- Triple Entente- France, Russia,
GB, not binding, but at least stay out
• GB pledges to protect Belgium’s
neutrality
 Alliances and the First World
War:

Triple Alliance, 1882

Then Bismarck allied with Italy and Austria-Hungary (the

TRIPLE ALLIANCE, 1882).
Together with his friendship with Russia, this kept Germany safe.
 Alliances and the First World War:

Germany encircled

But when Kaiser Wilhelm became Emperor, he dumped the Russian

alliance. He kept the Triple Alliance, but this did NOT solve the
problem of Germany’s encirclement.
 Alliances and the First World War:

Franco-Russian Alliance, 1892

Instead, in 1892, Russia made an alliance with FRANCE.

Although it was only a DEFENSIVE alliance, it was Germany’s
worst nightmare!
 Alliances and the First World
War:

Triple Entente, 1907

In 1907 Russia joined Britain and France to make the Triple

Entente.
So by 1914 Europe had divided into two massive superpower
blocs.
People thought this BALANCE OF POWER would keep the peace.
 A World War
• THE ALLIES
• Australia Belgium
• CENTRAL •
•
Brazil
Canada
Britain
China
POWERS •
•
Costa Rica Cuba
France Greece
• Germany • Guatemala Haiti
• Honduras India
• Austria-Hungary • Italy Japan
• Liberia Montenegro
• Bulgaria • New Zealand Nicaragua
• Panama Portugal
• Ottomon Empire • Romania Russia
• San Marino Serbia
• 23 million troops • Siam South Africa
• United States
• 42 million troops
 Imperialism
• After the Industrial Revolution, the European powers-
including Great Britain, Germany and France-needed
new markets for their goods and new producers of raw
materials.
• They looked to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, lands
which they considered their for the taking, and
established colonial control. Including completely
dominating the other nation.
• Countries saw that Imperialism made them powerful.
More colonies = stronger, better.
• The countries of Europe competed for what little
“unconquered” lands remained. These rivalries caused
tension and mistrust among the nations of Europe.
• Resulted in competition over territorial acquisition
• Resulted in long-term aggression over border disputes,
natural resources, and new markets
– Examples:
• France v. Germany over Alsace-Lorraine
• Austria-Hungary v. Russia over Balkans
• Video
 Nationalism
• Nationalism is patriotism gone wild. It is
loving your country by hating on others.
• 2 kinds
– Rivalry between powers
– Smaller groups want freedom
• The belief that each country was
culturally superior to any other countries
• European governments fueled prejudice
and mistrust against neighboring rival
nations.
• This mistrust of others and crazy
patriotism lead to the countries teaming
up, because “my enemy’s enemy is my
friend.”
• Long term cultural hatred (the Russians
hated the Germans, the Bosnians hated
the Serbs, the Ottomans hated the
Greeks, etc)
• Resulted in a global effort to prove
superiority
– Evident in growth of military, the growth of
industry, the acquisition of territories
– Resulted in large scale international tension
 Problems in the Balkans
• Ottoman Empire • 1908- AH annexes
starts to collapse Bosnia
• Both Russia and AH • Serbia and Russia
want to take over protest
their Balkan lands • Germany backs AH
• AH wants more • Serbia backs down,
power but tensions still
• Russia wants a there
warm water port • Slavic Nationalism
 The Snowball Effect…
• In the spirit of nationalism and self-
determination, the small country of
Serbia seeks independence from Bosnia,
the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-
Hungary.
• The region, the Balkans, is THE highway
for all trade and communication between
Europe and Asia.
• The Balkans is a region ALL
COUNTRIES want to control.
• The Balkans is convulsed by civil war.
 Assassination in Sarajevo
• Franz Ferdinand and his
pregnant wife, Sophia,
were murdered in
Sarajevo, the capital of
Bosnia.
• His assassin was a 19-
year old Serbian
nationalist and member
of the terrorist group
“The Black Hand.”
• He kills Ferdinand
because of Slavic
Nationalism
 Degenerating to War: The Fall
•
of 1914
June 28, 1914: Austria-Hungarian Archduke assassinated
– Austria blames Serbia
– Germany gives AH a “blank check”
• July 23: AH gives Serbia an ultimatum, do all these ore else,
decide in 48 hrs.
• July 25: Serbia accepts all but one. Austria-Hungary mobilizes
army and declares war on Serbia
• July 30: Russia mobilizes army against Austria-Hungary and
Germany
• July 31: AH mobilizes against Russia, Germany tells Russia to
demoblize or else, Germany asks France are you neutral or
with Russia, France says its with Russia
• August 1: Germany declares war on Russia
• August 3: Germany declares war on France, Germany goes
into Belgium, GB protests
• August 4: Angered, Great Britain declares war on Germany
• August 6: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia
Germany.

In Munich, crowds
greet the news
that war has been
declared with
excitement. Adolf
Hitler, is there.
Plan XVII (17th itemization
of plan for war against
Germany)
• Based on two postulates
– Germans wouldn’t use reserves - not strong
enough to advance through Belgium
– French soldier was irresistible in the attack,
so they should advance through German
center
• Pledged not to violate Belgium’s
Neutrality
• Staff negotiations committed England to
provide land forces to secure left wing
 Schlieffen Plan
• Germans want to finish off French before Russia is ready
to fight

• Germans believe French will immediately try to retake

Alsace-Lorraine

• Original plan called for economy of force on the left while

heavily weighting the right flank
• Von Moltke revised and distributed forces more evenly across
the front

• Plan failed when Germans were held up by Belgians, then

stopped by French and British at the Battle of the Marne
• Russians also mobilized more quickly than expected
Schlieffen
Plan
 Problems with the Schlieffen
Plan
• Moltke modified Schlieffen’s original plan
– Weakened the right wing and strengthened
the left
• Moved four and a half corps from the west to the
east to protect East Prussia
• Modified sweep of right wing so that Germans
would not violate the Netherlands’ neutrality
• Added a counterattack mission to the left wing
– Violated Schlieffen’s dying words to “Keep
the right wing strong”
 Problems with the
Schlieffen Plan
• Became inflexible “war by timetable”
– Required enormous logistical effort to
move men and equipment from Aachen
to around Paris in a little more than five
weeks
– Committed Germany to a two front war
• Necessitated attacking before Russia or
France could seize the initiative (even if
Germany wasn’t ready)
 Result

Schlieffen Plan works initially but stalls due to logistical demands;

static warfare begins
STALEMATE
• Allies halt Central Powers;
both sides dig in
• No flanks for either side to
attack
• Barbed wire entanglements up
to 150’ deep
• Neither side gains more than
10 miles in over 2 years
• Countries will try new
technology to break the
stalemate
• Mass is supreme principle
• Massed assaults
• Massed fires
 Trench Warfare
• Machine gun and
artillery make it
difficult to attack a
trench
• Huge artillery preps
make “No Man’s
Land” virtually
impassable
• Huge casualties for
attackers
 Stalemate
• The Tactics of Trench Warfare
– Generals were unprepared for the development of
trench warfare: their training was in army mobility
– Main strategy:
• To use a combination of heavy artillery and MORE MEN
to break the trench line
• First, to use artillery to “soften up” the enemy and destroy
barbed wire
• Second, to fix bayonets and lead a charge across No
Man’s Land
• Third, to kill the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.
– Exceptions, by mutual consent:
• No bombing the latrines.
• No bombing before breakfast.
• No bombing on major holidays.
Trench Diagram #1
Trench diagram #2
Life in the hole
• The Equipment:
– 1 rifle, 1 bayonet, 170
rounds of ammo, 1 gas
mask, 1 shovel, wire
cutters, a full water
bottle, food rations, extra
clothing, medical
supplies, portable
cooking stove and fuel,
personal belongings
• Total Weight: 60 lbs.
This is a typical
BRITISH soldier.
Soldiers were
expected to
carry their
equipment with
them at all
times.
They were
supposed to
keep it clean and
in good
condition.
 No smiling and
relaxed faces…
No fun with mates…
No clean uniforms…

Their equipment is
scattered
everywhere…
Boredom is obvious…
Real life in the
trenches was
MISERABLE
The Trench System
British trench, Thiepval Woods, France
RUTHLESS TACTICS

• Chemical warfare
made trench
warfare more
horrible

• Mustard/Blister
agents deployed

• First used on
French in 1915
 The Battle for 1916:

• The Battle of Verdun: February-December, 1916

– The longest battle of the WWI, lasting over 10 months.
– Over 1 million dead on the battlefield
– The battle became symbolic for WWI: French stubbornness
to defend vs. German stubbornness to “bleed the French dry.”
 Battle of the
Somme:
1916
• The Battle of the
Somme: July-
November, 1916
– British offensive to
relieve French
allies at Verdun
– British casualties
on the first day:
20,000
– Most dead on both
sides: 1 million
 Somme (June 1916)
• “Bleed them white”
– Almost 3 million men - Allies thought
mass was answer
– 1500 Guns (1 per 20 yds)
– Artillery prep - 7 days, 1.7 million rounds
• In 4.5 months, Allies gained 8 miles
– British lost 60,000 men first day; attacked
in waves, soldiers carried 66 lbs.
– Video
 Losses
• Allies - 620,000
• Germans - 500,000
The Results
Battlefield Verdun, 1917
Battlefield
Ypres,
1917
Battlefield Chateau Wood, 1917
Mass Grave, Eastern Front
 New Technologies
Cyanide/Mustard Gas:
launched by artillery,
gas would stay close to
the ground; Results in
drowning/suffocation

U-Boats: unrestricted, underwater,

undetectable could fire self-propelled
missiles

Armored Tank: combat vehicle on

tracks; used to cross barbed wire
in No-Man’s Land
Machine Guns: rapid fire, automatic
weapons
 Tanks
• Brits introduce in
Sept 1916

• Means to cross No
Man’s Land with
protection from
machine guns

• Initially employed
piecemeal and in
too small numbers
to be decisive

• Unreliable and slow

• Battle of Somme, Sept 1916
Tanks
• 36 of 60 tanks make it into
battle
• Scattered across 3 mile front

• Cambria, Nov 1917

• Used in mass (300 tanks)
• Opened 12x6 mile front

• Amiens, August 1918

• 500 tanks, 13 infantry divisions,
2 cavalry divisions, 2000
artillery pieces, 800 aircraft
First modern “combined-arms”
battle
 • New aspect of “Total
Submarines War”
• Targeting “neutral
merchant” ships
• Germans announce
submarine blockade
• Part physical, part
psychological weapon
• Draws Allied resources
away from offensive
operations
• Civilian control of
production
• Sinking of ships with
US passengers is
major factor in US’s
eventual entry into the
war
Aviation
• Used initially for
reconnaissance/spotting
• Wireless communication critical
development in spotting
• Arial combat originally a counter-
reconnaissance function
• Troops on the ground don’t like
the planes overhead….
• By the end of the war, planes
were being used to drop bombs
on railways, intersections,
factories, etc…
Jaeger
Dogs at War
Weird Weapons
Camouflage
Dummy Gun Made Of Paper
The Paris Gun
Could shoot a
210 lb. shell 80
miles!!!!
Before and After
 The Home Front & Propaganda
• Total War: The countries of
Europe committed everything
to fighting the war.
• Now it was country vs.
country, not just army vs.
army
• Every citizen is expected to
contribute in some way
• Propaganda
• War Bonds
 Lord Kitchener’s
recruitment poster
was famous.
 The Germans had recruitment
posters as well. Note the
historical and religious themes.
Why did the USA enter WWI?
• 1915: Lusitania sunk by Germans; 126
Americans killed.
• 1917: Germans resume unrestricted
submarine warfare around British Isles.
• 1917: Zimmerman Telegram to Mexico.
• World, Allied, and British-U.S.
commerce and trade threatened.
• And, of course, for freedom and
democracy.
 Preparing for
war
• Selective Service Act: institutes
nationwide conscription/draft.
• U.S. armed forces: from 200,000 to nearly
5 million!
The U.S. Food
Administration
• Headed by
Herbert Hoover;
advised
Americans to
save certain
foods for export
to supply the
Allied war effort.
 "Food will win the war, don't
waste it."
•  
 Women Working in
Factories

 
A million women entered the American workforce during
World War I. In this factory, women of all ages are
packing hand grenade parts to be shipped overseas.
 What about the USA?
• Officially we were neutral, but really we favored
GB and the Allies
• We were trading with both sides and getting
rich
• With America being made up of so many
immigrants, different parts of the country
supported different sides
– Video
• Pro Allied- English Heritage (Language,
Culture, etc), Ancestry, France helped us in
American Rev. and gave us Statue of Liberty,
Rape of Belgium
• Pro-Central Powers- Ancestry and link to old
country, 8 million from AH, Countless
Germans, 5 million Irish
• By 1915, President Wilson knows we will
eventually get involved and starts making plans
to get ready
 Anger
• Towards Allies • Toward Germany
– Blockading and – USW
mining North Sea (Unrestricted
– Blacklisting Submarine
American Warfare)
companies – Used to try to
– Americans losing break GB’s
money blockade, but also
attacked our
ships
 usw
• Underseeboots (U-boats) could go
anywhere, were hard to detect, and
could use surprise
• Americans felt that GB’s blockade
was reasonable, but that USW was
cheating
• Britain- “underhanded, unfair, and
damn un-English”
• Video
 So What
• Lusitania sunk off of the coast
of Ireland, 1200 dead, inc 128
Americans
• Weapons on board?
• Germans warned Americans
that ships were liable to
destruction
• Inflamed Americans
• Germany didn’t want to bring
US into WWI, so they
promised to stop USW
• Eventually they go back to it
because they have to
 The U.S. Joins the
• January 1917: U.S.
intercepts the War: 1917
Zimmerman Telegram
– Sent by Germany to
Mexico
– Asked Mexico for
support on a North
American invasion of
the U.S. in exchange for
North American territory
– Violated the Monroe
Doctrine--No
intervention in Western
Hemisphere
– Equaled a declaration
of war for the U.S.
– Video
American Intelligence
 The U.S. Declares War!
• February 1917: Germany restarts
unrestricted submarine warfare on ALL
allies: Great Britain, France, Russia, and the
U.S.
• April 1917: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
asks Congress for Declaration of War
• April 6, 1917: Congress declares war on
Germany--the U.S. officially joins the war
• July 1917: The American Expeditionary
Force (A.E.F.) is mobilized and sent to the
Western Front.
 Russia Drops Out
• November 1917: The
Communist Revolution
– Desperate for food and
angry at Czar Nicholas and
the Romanov Dynasty for
stupidity, a group of radicals
declare a revolution
– Led by Vladimir Lenin and
Leon Trotsky
– The Bolsheveik Revolution
declared:
• A return of property to
the poor
• A return of power to the
people
• A complete and total
withdrawal from the war
• The killing of all royals
The Results: 1917

• Russia withdraws from the

war
• The Western Front is
reinforced
• The Eastern Front is lost to
Austria-Hungary
• Now that Russia is gone it
is Democracy vs.
Autocracy
I WANT
YOU!!!!

Video
America Prepares
• Council of National Defense,
War Industries Board, National
War Labor Board
– Oversaw mobilization,
shipbuilding, and armament
production
– Expanded size of American
government
• Food Administration Board
– Supported rationing,
abstinence programs, and
home gardens (liberty
gardens)

• Draft passed in 1917

•
The War at Home
The Committee of Public Information
– Headed by George Creel
– Publishes propaganda and radio addresses
– Called for immediate mobilization of 75,000 men
– Video
• Espionage and Sedition Acts
– Espionage Act made it illegal to interfere with the draft
– Sedition Act made it illegal to criticize the government, President,
Army, Navy, War, etc. ($10,000 fine or 20 yrs in jail)
– Kids encouraged to tell on parents
– Over 1,000 people convicted
• Restricted immigration
• Mail subject to censorship
• “No slavery in US since Emancipation Proclamation….unless
Germany wins.”
• Hatred towards Germans (9/11)
• 500,000 blacks moved North to work in factories.
• Budget grew from $742 million in 1916 to $14 billion in 1918
(18.86 x’s)
• Daylight Savings Time
• Liberty Bonds
• Video
 The War Unravels: 1918
• January 8: Wilson proposes 14 Point Peace
Plan
• May 3: German offensive at Paris is stopped
• July: Germans begin to desert the army
• September: Allies begin final offensive and
breaks the German “Hindenberg Line”
• October: The German Army collapses
• November 11: The Germans sign armistice
and surrender to the army
• Video
• “Numbers have dehumanized us. Over breakfast coffee
we read of 40,000 American dead in Vietnam. Instead of
vomiting, we reach for the toast. Our morning rush
through crowded streets is not to cry murder but to hit that
trough before somebody else gobbles our share.
• An equation: 40,000 dead young men = 3,000 tons of
bone and flesh, 124,000 pounds of brain matter, 50,000
gallons of blood, 1,840,000 years of life that will never be
lived, 100,000 children who will never be born.
• Let us use his same arithmetic for World War I; 9,000,000
dead young men equal 1,350,000,000 pounds of bone and
flesh, 27,900,000 pounds of brain matter, 11,250,000
gallons of blood, 414,000,000 years of life that will never
be lived, and 22,500,000 children who will never be born.
The dry if imposing figure "9,000,000 dead" seems a little
less statistical when we view it from this perspective.”
» Dalton Trumbo, “Johnny Got His Gun.”
 WWI: The Numbers
Allied Powers Mobilized KIA Wounded Prisoners/MNIA C asualties Casualties &
Russia 12,000,000 1,700,000 4,950,000 2,500,000 9,150,000 76.3
France 8,410,000 1,357,800 4,266,000 537,000 6,160,800 76.3
British Empire 8,904,467 908,371 2,090,212 191,652 3,190,235 35.8
Italy 5,615,000 650,000 947,000 600,000 2,197,000 39.1
United States 4,355,000 126,000 234,300 4,500 364,800 8.2
Japan 800,000 300 907 3 1,210 0.2
Romania 750,000 335,706 120,000 80,000 535,706 71.4
Serbia 707,343 45,000 133,148 152,958 331,106 46.8
Belgium 267,000 13,716 44,686 34,659 93,061 34.9
Greece 230,000 5,000 21,000 1,000 17,000 11.7
Portugal 100,000 7,222 13,751 12,318 33,291 33.3
Montenegro 50,000 3,000 10,000 7,000 20,000 40
Total 42,188,810 5,152,115 12,831,004 4,121,090 22,104,209 52.3

Central Powers
Germany 11,000,000 1,773,700 4,216,058 1,152,800 7,142,558 64.9
Austria-Hungary 7,800,000 1,200,000 3,620,000 2,200,000 7,020,000 90
Turkey 2,850,000 325,000 400,000 250,000 975,000 34.2
Bulgaria 1,200,000 87,500 152,390 27,029 266,919 22.2
Total 22,850,000 3,386,200 8,388,448 3,629,829 15,404,477 67.4

Grand Total 65,038,810 8,538,315 21,219,452 7,750,919 37,508,686 57.6

Treaty of Versailles – end of
WWI
• The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]  
• 1. Germany had to accept the
Blame for starting the war
• 2.  Germany paid Reparations for
the damage done during the war.
• 3.   Germany was forbidden to have
submarines or an air force.   She could
have a navy of only six battleships, and an
Army of just 100,000 men.
•   4.  Germany lost Territory (land) in
Europe (see map). Germany’s colonies
were given to Britain and France.
 The Big Four at the Paris
Peace Talks (1919)
• Woodrow Wilson
- President, Video
United States
• Georges
Clemenseau -
Premier of France
• David Lloyd
George - Prime
Minister of Britain
• Vittorio Orlando –
Foreign Minister
of Italy
 Woodrow Wilson
• Idealist - thought WWI would be “war to
end all wars”
• Wants a peace without victory
• Wants to get 14 pts. passed
• Fourteen Points (plan for lasting peace)
– self-determination
– peace without victory
– disarmament
– fair treatment of colonial peoples
– League of Nations
 Georges Clemenceau
• France had been destroyed in WWI
and Franco-Prussian War
– Wanted to make sure Germany never
did it again
– Feared Germany and wanted to make
her weak
 David Lloyd George
• Wants to make Germany pay for
the war
– Got reelected on that platform
– Reparations- money paid to countries
damaged in the war
 Vittorio Orlando
• Wanted land that he was promised
– Was given Tryrol and Trieste
– demanded more but when others
refused he walked out.
– The Big Four became the Big Three
 Results of the Treaty of
Versialles
• League of Nations created (US
never joins
• Germany loses all colonies and
much land.
• Military limited to 100,000, no Air
Force, U-boats, etc.
• War Reparations of $33 Billion
• Rhineland occupied for 15 years
• War Guilt Clause
 German reaction to Treaty of
Versailles
Unrepresented
Not allowed to join League of
Nations
Forced to accept terms -
Angry with armed forces
reductions
Injustice - War guilt, loss of land
etc
Reparations - set to high