World War I

“The Great War”

“The War to End All Wars”

1914-1918

APWH – Unit 6

Militarism

• “The glorification of war and increase in military spending”.
• Germany competed against England’s naval superiority.
• European nations were competing for colonies.
• Creating imperial tensions

Nationalism

• “Great pride in one’s country or aspiring to become one’s country”.
• Germany and Italy had recently become independent countries.
• Many countries had fighting between different nationalist groups.
• Combination of militarism and imperial competition, created tension in Europe.

The System of Alliances

• Triple Alliance:
• Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

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• Triple Entente:
• France, Russia, and Great Britain

Nationalism in the Balkans�Path to War

• People with diverse religions, ethnic backgrounds, languages.
• As Ottoman Empire receded, new nations were born.
• Russian and Austrian competed for control of new nations.
• Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia in 1908 and Serbia resents this.

Reasons for War

Long Term

1. Alliance System
2. Imperial Competition
3. Stockpiling of Weapons

Short Term

• Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian radical group.
• This was the spark that started World War I.

The Alliance System Leads to War

• After the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
• Russia supported Serbia and Germany supported Austria-Hungary.
• Within one week, almost all of Europe was at war:
• Germany declares war on Russia and France
• Britain declares war on Germany

Alliances of the War

• Triple Entente (Allies)
• Britain, France, Russia, Belgium
• United States joined in 1917, Russia drops out.

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• Central Powers
• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire

Fronts of the War

• Western Front
• Northeastern France
• Major Battles
• Verdun and Somme
• Eastern Front
• Russian border
• Balkan Front
• Allies gave up after major defeat at Gallipoli
• Italian Front
• Italy joined the Triple Entente in 1915.

Western Front had over 400 miles of trenches across Belgium and France

Most offenses resulted in heavy casualties but gained little territory.

Weapons of the Industrial Age

• Machine Gun
• Replaced the single-fire, short-range rifle
• Flame Throwers
• Tanks
• Airplanes
• Poison-Gas Bombs

Artillery

• Greater power and carried much further.
• 24 million shells used in the Battle of Verdun alone.

Casualties of Modern Weaponry

• Tactics of sending masses of men toward enemy didn’t work against modern weapons.
• Britain suffered 57,470 casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
• Total losses for World War I exceeded 10 million.

Military Casualties in World War I

• Germany 1,935,000
• Russia 1,700,000
• France 1,368,000
• Austria-Hungary 1,200,000
• British Empire 942,135
• Ottoman Empire 725,000
• Italy 680,000
• Romania 300,000

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• United States 116,516
• Bulgaria 87,495
• Belgium 45,550
• Serbia 45,000
• Greece 23,098
• Portugal 8,145
• Montenegro 3,000
• Japan 1,344

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“War is Great...oh wait…�IT SUCKS”

• Many Europeans looked forward to the start of war.
• Attitude Change.
• Soldiers changed Europeans’ optimistic outlook through letters about the horrors of the war.

Trench Warfare

• 475 mile of trenches were dug across northern France.
• British troops used over ten million shovels during the war.
• Charging over the top, crossing no man’s land to reach enemy trenches.
• Boring, terrifying, and caused shell shock.
• Horrible living conditions.

Trench Warfare was a 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

Officers walking through a flooded communication trench.

Soldiers digging trenches while protected against gas attacks

A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot.

Trench Rats

• Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell.
• The corpses, along with food scraps, attracted rats.
• Quotes from soldiers fighting in the trenches:
• "The rats were huge. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn't defend himself."
• "I saw some rats running from under the dead men's greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat."

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Women’s Changing Role

• Worked in jobs traditionally held only by men, who were at war.
• Women worked in paramilitary organizations to support soldiers at war.
• Women discovered the benefits of financial freedom.
• Some refused to return to domestic service.
• Women won the right to vote throughout Europe.

The War Ends

• Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were first Central Powers to be defeated.
• Revolts inside Austria-Hungary and Germany helped end the war.

The New Europe

• Treaties similar to the Treaty of Versailles were signed with the other Central Powers.
• Many countries experienced a change in their borders.
• Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia lost territory.
• Many new countries were created.

Treaty of Versailles

• Italy and Britain wanted territory.
• France wanted to punish Germany.
• Italy and United States left, leaving peace settlement to France and Britain .
• France and Britain created a severe treaty that punished Germany.
• Germany had to:
• Return land to France.
• Keep area near France, called Rhineland, demilitarized (no military).
• Pay 32 billion dollars.
• Agree to they were guilty for the war.