World War I (1914-1918)

World War I (The Great War) ● World War I (The Great War) was started because of the assassination of one person: Archduke Franz Ferdinand - killed in Bosnia ○ Germany thought that they should go to war with Serbia (the country of the people that killed him) for it ○ Ferdinand was from Austria and was shot and killed by a Serban. ● The four MAIN causes of WWI ○ M: militarism : Everyone’s military wants to be better than the others ○ A: Alliance Systems: the alliances created put tension on the other alliances because they were not together ○ I: Imperialism: People wanted more land for their country and more resources ○ N: Nationalism: People think their country is better than everyone else's, causing fights between the countries ● The Alliances were: ○ Triple Alliance: ■ Germany, Austria - Hungary, Italy ○ Triple Entente ■ France, Russia, Great Britain ● Some countries in both alliances wanted to annex Bosnia, which caused even more tensions when it exploded, and war broke out when Ferdinand was killed ● Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, which Russia declared war on A-H, and eventually, every country in both alliances had declared war on each other, for the death of one person ● The two sides eventually emerged: ○ The Allies: ■ Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Japan, Italy ○ The Central powers ■ Germany, Austria - Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey) World War I (The Great War) (continued) ● Total costs of the war ○ 8.5 million dead - 21 million wounded ○ 338 billion in reparations ○ Countries in ruins ○ Generations were wiped out ● Germany’s plan ○ Schlieffen plan. ■ Germany was fighting a two-front war, which meant that they were fighting on two sides of their own country. On the west, they fought Britain and France, and on the East, Russia ■ The plan called for flanking France, and defeating them within 6 weeks, and rushing to the east to fight the Russians ■ They fought France first because Russia was less industrialized than France ■ The plan called for speed ○ The plan ultimately failed because the Germans underestimated the forces of Britain and France ● The war was a Stalemate, where no side could do anything ○ Trench warfare helped both sides form oncoming fire. ■ Trenches were 500 mile long holes ■ The soldiers were with rats, which ate their food ■ Sleep was impossible, and food was scarce ■ No Man's Land: territory between the trenches, where soldiers were not sheltered from enemy fire World War I (The Great War) (continued) ● New weapons in the war ○ Machine gun: ■ Automatic guns that increased the firepower of both sides ○ Poison gas ■ Caused blindness, and choked and burned a person until death ○ Tank: ■ Large machinery used as a cover for incoming soldiers ○ Planes: ■ First time used in combat: fighting from the skies ○ Zeppelins: ■ Gas-filled balloon: German-made ○ Submarines ■ Used to take down boats carrying resources for enemy lines ● The U.S joins the war ○ U.S joins the war because of the unrestricted use of submarines by the Germans, shooting down almost any boat they see ○ Shot down Lusitania: killed 128 Americans ■ Sussex Pledge: treaty to stop ○ Resumed, and sunk 4 ships ○ US joined with the Allies - common language and democratic ○ Zimmerman telegram: intercepted and given to the Americans. ■ Message from Germans to Mexico to join the war and attack the Americans from under them, to reclaim the land they once lost. Mexico would enter the war if they had received the telegram ○ Allies win after about a year of fighting with the US ■ Kaiser Wilhelm II steps down, the German surrender ■ Armistice with the Allies ■ WWI came to an end on Nov 11th, 1918 ■ Treaty of Versailles - end of the war ● Propaganda - used to persuade people to think or act a certain way