Lecture 16 World War I Violence comes home to Europe I Key Themes What were the long term and short term causes of the First World War What was the German strategy for victory Why did it fail How did Wilson s plan for peace create unrealistic expectations for the future II The end of the belle poque III Origins of war Entente Cordiale Document signed between Germany and Britain Leaves germany feeling surrounded by enemies only way to survive is to expand war Schlieffen Plan Chief of staff in Germany entire german army needed to invade France and defeat them right away in order to go face the Russians afterwards Leaves very little flexibility Russo Japanese War When Russia is defeated after this war they develop a plan of modernization Scares Germany b c it will allow Russians to mobilize more quickly easily IV The Powder keg Balkans become major point of crisis two big empires who have no involvement in Africa view this as a place where they can expand Austria and Russia 1908 Austrians annex Bosnia meant to secure Austria s claim but stirred up trouble Angered Serbia who was allied with Russia Ottoman Empire ends in Europe series of wars that defeated Turks lead resentment among Balkans V The spark Archduke Franz Ferdinand Many nationalists making trouble in Bosnia The Black Hand believes Bosnia belongs to Serbia Heir to Austria shot and killed by a Serbian nationalist Austria declares war on Serbia Nobody in Russia wants to fight a war so they scare Austria by ordering partial mobilization of their army alerts Germany realizes that it has to strike Germans order full mobilization and invades Belgium Invade Belgium to try and circle around the French troops Britain tries to uphold international law in Europe b c Germany invaded neutral nation of Belgium british declare war on Germany Russians had mobilized faster than anticipated In a major battle outside of Paris Germans run out of troops VI The torrent of war July Crisis Miracle of the Marne French army turns back the Germans by lining up taxi cabs forcing germany to retreat Results in stalemate on western front VII Stalemate Verdun Verdun City in France similar to the Alamo on America French will do anything to defend Germans don t want to capture city but slaughter their troops it works French filters many many troops into Verdun and continues to lose men German U Boats used to prevent shipments entering Britain Britain relies heavily on Submarine warfare free trade and economy suffers VIII World War Gallipoli campaign Ottomans join Germany Churchill comes up with idea to land troops on coastal city of Gallipoli where there are cliffs that put british at disadvantage Churchill fired World war because troops from many nations fighting Gurcas from Nepal feared around the world b c they have crazy machetes type knives Arabs join allies so they can fight for independence from Ottomans Indian soldiers fight in middle east for Britain IX The horror of war Somme Offensive day British put together entire offensive in 1916 but 60 000 british soldiers killed in first Every class was hurt by this not just working class Elite class led many of these troops and many of the officers were shot and killed Armenian Genocide Armenians bordered Russian empire threatened by Ottomans Ottomans slaughtered them Over a million died X A war to end all war Germany realized it was weakening and could no longer uphold strategy British supplied by American ships although US said it was neutral 1916 declared unlimited submarine warfare Lusitania sunk by German U Boats Vladimir Lenin Communist organizes agitation Revolutionary situation there opens US eyes Anarchy in Russia Bolsheviks led by Lenin stage a coup and take over Russian becomes Soviet Union Knocks Russians out of war Woodrow Wilson Intercepts Zimmerman Note Over 200 americans were on the Lusitania April 6th asks congress to declare war on Germany Put forward a vision as to what the Americans were fighting for democracy Wanted to weaken the morale of opposing forces February Revolution Fourteen Points Eliminating secret alliances Free trade around the world National self determination Germans knew this would sack morale of their army Germans wanted to make one final push to break allies get within a few miles of paris but influx of American troops force germans back to their own borders Social revolution breaking out in Germany bankrupt starving weakened military Armistice signed on Nov 11 at 9am war ends XI Consequences Peace treaty at Versailles 20 million military deaths 20 million wounded Civilian deaths roughly 6 million France lost 4 29 of population germany 3 of population Serbia 16 of population XII Conclusion The forces of economic competition rising nationalism and Social Darwinist theories of racial competition all drove the nations of Europe towards conflict Military strategies the alliance system and competition for influence in the Balkans caused the conflict to break out in the summer of 1914 After the failure of their initial campaign the Germans sought to hold off the Russians while the waged a war of attrition against the French and a war of starvation against Britain But this strategy sapped German strength put too much strain on the German economy and eventually provoked the United States into entering the war The horrors of the First World War and its unimaginable cost severely damaged if not destroyed the idea of progress The old bourgeois dominated political systems of the pre war era were to be replaced President Wilson seemed to hold out the hope of true democracy but the new Soviet Union offered a vision of socialism However many of the men who fought and bled for their people and their race had alternate visions for the future