The Great War: World War I

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The Great War World War Ithe war to end all
wars

• 1914-1918
• US History-2, Mr. Sanchez, Rm. D-311

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Four Major Causes of WWI

1. NATIONALISM belief that national interest
   unity come before international cooperation.
2. IMPERIALISM European powers competed for
   foreign countries and markets.
3. MILITARISM Build-up of armed forces and weapons
   for the use of diplomacy.
4. ALLIANCE SYSTEM European nations had military
   treaties that dragged them into war.

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NATIONALISM

• Each European nation competed with each other for
  European leadership.
• France competed with Germany for control over
  Alsace-Lorraine.
• Russia regarded itself protector of Slavic people
  (Serbia/Bulgaria) and competed with
  Austria-Hungary.
• And ethnic groups such as Poles, Serbs, Czechs
  wished for independence.

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IMPERIALISM

• As European nations industrialized it competed
  with each other for foreign colonies and markets.
• European nations also competed with each other
  for raw materials and resources.
• Russia fought the Japanese for control over Korea
  and China.
• Germany almost went to war with Britain over
  foreign markets.
• France Britain almost fought over competing
  interests in Africa.

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MILITARISM

• Rising competition led European nations to spend
  more on their armies and navies.
• European nations, especially Germany, build up
  their armies, armaments in case of war.
• Britain build up its navy to protect its shores
  and shipping routes.
• By the start of the war, most European nations
  participated in total war, all of the countries
  money and resources would be used for war.

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Alliance System

• All the competition and hostilities forced most
  European nations to sign treaties of assistance
  that forced them to fight.
• By 1914 there were two major military alliances
• Triple Entente France, Britain Russia.
• Triple Alliance Germany, Austria-
  Hungary, Ottoman Empire.
• Triple Entente later became the Allies, the
  Triple Alliance became the Central Powers

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European alliances before the Great War.
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Fighting Starts, 1914
ALLIES CENTRAL POWERS
Australia, Belgium, British Colonies, Canada, Newfoundland, France, French N. Africa, French Colonies, Great Britain, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, USA (1917). Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Ottoman Empire (Turkey).
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German Offensive Shlieffen Plan

• Shlieffen Plan calls for a hold on fighting
  against Russia.
• Take Germanys major armies through the Belgium
  lowlands and invade Paris.
• After Paris is conquered, remaining armies would
  invade Russia.

Count Alfred von Shlieffen, Chief of German
General Staff created the Shlieffen Plan in 1905.
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Trench Warfare

• After the Germans invaded France through Belgium,
  French British forces retreated to the Marne
  River in France.
• By 1915, two lines of rat infested trenches
  extended through France (started in Northern
  Switzerland out to the North Sea.
• Due to mechanized warfare, each side hid behind
  their trenches.
• The area between their trenches was known as No
  Mans Land.

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World War I Vocabulary parapet the front of
the trench, usually about ten feet high, covered
at the top with two to three feet of
sandbags. parados backside of the trench was
lower than the parapet also sealed at the top by
sandbags. fire step two or three foot ledge
where soldiers would stand to fire duck boards
placed at the bottom of the trench to avoid
'trench foot' from thr common flooding. No Mans
Land the few hundred yards in between the
opposing trenches, usually covered with barbed
wire entanglements Trench warfare armies fight
and died for mere yards, and continued fighting
for four years.
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Mechanized Warfare

• Poison Gas First large scale use of poison gas
  (mustard chlorine) mass distribution of gas
  masks to soldiers.
• Machine Guns Firepower increased from a couple
  rounds to 600 rounds per minunte.
• Tanks Although first produced by the British,
  widely used by the Germans during WWI WWII.
• Airplanes Although mainly used for
  reconnaissance, used for air combat as well.

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America Claims Neutrality

• When war started in Europe in 1914, America
  claimed neutrality.
• Americans claimed the war did not threaten
  American lives or property.
• I didnt raise my boy to be a soldier,
• I brought him up to be my pride and joy.
• Who dares to place musket on his shoulder,
• To shoot some other mothers darling boy
• --popular song in the US in 1915.

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America Joins the War in 1917

• In response to the British naval blockade of
  Germany that caused a famine and the death of
  750,000 Germans, Germany responded with
  submarines.
• The German word for submarine was unterseeboot.
• Any ship carrying cargo to Britain was considered
  enemy ships, and sunk.
• On May 7, 1915 the German u-boats sunk the
  Lusitania, killing 128 Americans on board.

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In response to Germanys unrestricted submarine
warfare German u-boats sink any merchant ship
or ships suspected of helping the allies, the
United States is prompted to join the war.
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Zimmerman Note, 1917

• German telegram sent by the German foreign
  minister to the German ambassador in Mexico.
• The telegram was intercepted by the British.
• An alliance was suggested between Mexico and
  Germany in case of war.
• Germany promised Mexico to help them recover the
  territories lost to the US, like Texas, Arizona,
  California and New Mexico.
• On April 2, President Woodrow Wilson recommends
  America help create a world safe for democracy.
• Congress declares war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

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The War at HomeMilitary Mobilization

• Congress passes the Selective Service Act in May
  1917, which required men 18 and older to register
  in case of war and draft.
• By the end of 1918, 24 million men had registered
  in the Selective Service.
• Women were not drafted or allowed to enlist, but
  were accepted as nurses.
• Over 13,000 American women registered as nurses
  during WWI.

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James Montgomery Flaggs portrayal of Uncle Sam
in I Want You become the most famous recruiting
poster in American history.
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The Home Front

• US spends 33 billion on the war effort by
  raising taxes, but also selling war bonds.
• The government advertised public borrowing
  through war bonds (loans from private citizens to
  the government).
• In June 1917, Congress passed the Espionage and
  Sedition Acts, a person could be fined up to
  10,000 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for
  interefering with the draft, obstruct sale of
  bonds, and saying anything disloyal about the war
  effort.

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