World War I

1
World War I

• The GREAT WAR Begins

2
Kaiser Wilhelm II

• Ruled Germany 1888-1918
• Arrogant, impatient self absorbed ruler
• Did not want to share power
• Loved the army said I and the army were born
  for each other
• Forced Otto Von Bismarck to resign in 1890
• Wanted to show Germany was GREAT!

3
Wilhelm IIs 2 Critical Mistakes

• He let Germanys alliance with Russia collapse
  1890
• Built a large Navy to compete with Great Britain
  1897

4
Alliances divide Europe
France forms treaty with Russia
Triple Entente 1907
Triple Alliance 1882
5
Crisis in the Balkans
Home to various ethnic groups
Formerly controlled by Ottoman Empire
Known as Europes Powder Keg
6
Serbia

• Nationalism was a powerful force
• Serbia wanted to absorb all Slavs in the Balkans
• Bosnia was Slavic but the Austro-Hungarian Empire
  controlled Bosnia

Slavic a family of languages including
Russian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, etc
7
Serbias desire for Bosnia created TENSION
Russia versus Austria-Hungary
Russia supported Serbian desire for Slav unity
8
Powder Keg Explodes
The

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand visits Bosnia
• June 12th, 1914
• He was assassinated by a Serbian
• Austria-Hungary uses this to punish Serbia

9
Reading The Tale of an Assassination
10
(No Transcript)
11
The Start of War
Assassination of Archduke June 1914