The Great War WWI 04 08 2014 Long Term Causes All make war dangerous but not definite Competitive state system o Europe was not a united state Significant cultural differences between countries Each tried to be better o Most powerful belief system by the end of the 19th century Country above anything else anyone who criticizes is it is an Nationalism enemy Imperialism Trade Rivalry Germany Popular Journalism o 1904 British and France agreed on their imperialism look up Indents Friendly understanding o Two greatest rivals also partners were Great Britain and o Rise of mandatory public education all over Europe Most prominent in Great Britain France and Germany 1914 practically everyone in those three countries could read write and do arithmetic o Rotary Press the way in which magazines and newspapers were published o Specialized in sensationalism Traditional Diplomacy o Long time to deal with any issues but long enough time in between letters tempers can cool Militarism o You want peace you prepare for war Create General Staff group of officers who spend entire time planning for what might happen Advances in weaponry Machine gun made field of battle more dangerous than it had ever been before More accurate artillery Invention of the modern day battleship Mobilization People who are trained that are not in the army that are put back into army Alliance Diplomacy o France is bitter about Germany becoming dominant power Enemies Becomes Bismarck s goal to be allies with Russia and Austria Hungary because Germany was in the middle of these three o Dual Alliance signed in 1879 and renewed through the Great War Between Germany and Austria Hungary If either is attacked by Russia the other will come to their aid No protection for Austria Hungary if they themselves attack Russia o Triple Alliance 1882 Bismarck expands the alliance to include Italy One less country for France to make alliance with o France sends navy to Russia to meet up with Czar Alexander III in Russia Made an alliance January 1894 Franco Russian Alliance Terms were purely defensive Britain and France are also now friends o Potentially a war on two fronts Short Term Crises 1905 1914 1905 1st Moroccan Crisis o French and German both wanted British made it clear that they would back France Germany backs off 1908 1st Balkan Crisis o Moment when war became inevitable Bismarck made sure Austro Hungarians knew that the Balkans were not worth anything Russia v A H Germans says to the Russians shut up or you ll face us too Enormous shift in policy or Germany First time that Germany gave a green light to A H s ambitions in the Balkans 1911 2nd Moroccan Crisis defensive alliance 1912 1913 2nd Balkan Crisis o Germans sent large ship off cost of Morocco French and Britain begin serious talks to turn friendly agreement into o Germans make it clear that they will support A H s ambitions in the Balkans 1914 3rd Balkan Crisis o June Franz Ferdinand is assassinated along with his wife A H asks Germany if they would support them and Germany gives Sophie by Serbian Trained Blank Check them the green light Collision between A H and Russia Begins in August of 1914 until November 1918 Without great war no Lenin No Russian revolution no second world war no Hitler no Mussolini No idea of fascism Entrance of United States on world stage would have been 25 50 years later and we would have been more prepared for it 11 million dead o Great Britain 1 million o France 1 4 million o Germany 1 6 million The last war in which there were more soldiers than civilians that died The last soldiers war 1906 One of the most important war plans in modern history Head of German General Staff Count A Von Schlieffen Rather than fighting a war on two fronts let us fight two wars on a single front Put all of army on borer of France Invade France at very beginning of war 6 weeks to defeat France time it would take for Russian aid And then go to Russia to fight them Every day that Russia mobilizes is one day less that Germany has to defeat France August 1st Germany declares war on Russia August 2nd Germany declares war on France August 4th Britain and France declare war on Germany All of August Germans were looking unstoppable They had 15 million more people than France so a larger army J Joffre French general launches counter attack on Marne River Hold your place die if you must but no retreat Battle of Marne lasted from September 5th to the 12th In a week s time the French stopped the Germans cold Gave time for Russians to mobilize and Germans would have to fight two wars on two fronts going against their original plan Trench warfare War of Attrition Average lifespan of a junior officer giving commands was two weeks Death for death but in the end the bigger side will win Fortress city of Verdun First day of the fighting of the Somme Britain had over 60 000 casualties Germans invented the aerial bombardment of civilians March 1917 Russian army began to revolt Most constantly defeated by Germans no more supplies Bread riots broke out in St Petersburg and Moscow Czar Nicholas left the throne Woodrow Wilson brought America into the war in response to Germans sinking American ships To make the world safe for democracy First serious amount of US soldiers did not arrive until January 1918 G Clemenceau the Tiger 76 years old in November 1917 when he was named prime minister Violent unpredictable spent a lot of times fighting duels Supreme Allied Commander o Institutes single commander for all of the allies America France Britain o F Foch turn the war around end Germany was winning until Foch was able to push them out in 1918 and W Wilson gave 14 Points speech to Congress outlining how the war could In Eastern Europe the three empires were gone Russia underwent a communist revolution in 1917 Determined to overthrow all countries in Europe Russia is gone A H is gone and all ethnic groups want their own countries Paris Peace Conference opened in January 1919 Ends in June with a series of Germany started the war and lost it treaties Most famous Treaty of Versailles o Woodrow Wilson America Thought there ought to be a world without war League of Nations All nations could come together to solve their difference Point 14 in his 14 Points o G Clemenceau France Determined to find a way to keep Germany under control Also wanted Germany to pay for damages Reparations no fighting was in Germany o D Lloyd George Britain Wanted Germany s colonies And wanted the utter destruction of the