World War I Notes



World War I Notes

Major Causes

1. Nationalism--Pride in one's country.

2. Imperialism--Desire to establish empires through conquest

3. Militarism--Building up of a strong military

4. Entangling Alliances--The formation of alliances ensured that a large number of participants would be engaged in the war.

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Events that triggered the war--

*The assassination of Austria-Hungary's Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo (in the province of Bosnia) by a Serbian nationalist. Serbia and Austria-Hungary had disputed who should control the area of Bosnia.

*Upon the assassination of Ferdinand, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia.

*Russia, Serbia's ally began to mobilize troops to defend Serbia

*Germany, Austria-Hungary's ally began to mobilize her troops when Russia refused to stop her mobilization of forces.

*France, Russia's ally, saw the German threat the Russia and mobilized her forces.

*Germany, feeling trapped between France and Russia attacked France. Germany chose to attack France rather than the Russia because Russia took longer to mobilize.

* In order to invade France, Germany invaded Belgium.

*Great Britain (England) , Belgium's ally, then declared war on Germany.

ALLIES CENTRAL POWERS

*England *Germany

*France *Austria-Hungary

*Russia (later in the war the Ottoman Empire joined)

(later in the war U.S.)

Key People in the War

Kaiser Wilhelm—Leader of Germany during World War I

Woodrow Wilson—President of the United States during World War I

Czar Nicolas II—Leader of Russia at the beginning of World War I

Archduke Francis Ferdinand—Austrian heir to the throne who was assassinated.

Vladimir Lenin—Communist who came to power in Russia during the war.

Arthur Zimmerman—German foreign minister who offered Mexico part of U.S. territory if Mexico would help the United States

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)-Name given to American Forces

Doughboy—Name given to U.S. soldiers during the war.

Major Events of the War

*Germany invaded France and came to within 30 miles of Paris, the French Capital.

*At this point, on the "Western Front" Trench Warfare ensued. Neither side gained significant ground--The war became one of attrition.

*Part of the reason for this was the use of new, modern weapons. These included:

*Tanks

*Machine Guns

*Artillery "Big" Guns

*U-Boats (submarines) Mechanization of Warfare

*Dirigibles (Blimps)

*Poison Gas

*Airplanes

Trench warfare was terrible. Conditions were deplorable. Constant gunfire, unsanitary conditions, and death led some soldiers to experience "Shell Shock"

Trench warfare was utterly futile--

i.e. Battle of the Somme--6 months, 1,000,000 lives lost, 5 miles gained.

THE U.S. AND THE WAR

When the war broke out in 1914 the U.S. was officially neutral.

However, the majority of U.S. citizens felt drawn to the allied side.

Why was this?

England--We shared a common language, common culture, and customs with the British. In addition, many people in the U.S. had come from N.W. Europe.

France--1. France had helped the U.S. in the Revolutionary War

2. France was seen as a victim of German aggression

While the U.S. was officially neutral, the U.S. did provide arms to the allied cause. This angered the Germans.

Events/Factors that led the U.S. into the War

1. Our support (military) of the allies.--Though we were neutral, our support of the allies by supplying arms tilted us towards joining the war on the side of the allies.

2. The sinking of the Lusitania and other ships--The use of U-boats by the Germans was seen as a violation of the "rules of war".

3. The Zimmerman Telegram--Germany's Foreign Secretary offered Mexico U.S. land if Mexico would help the Germans. Telegram was intercepted by the British and relayed to the United States.

4. Propaganda--U.S. citizens were given only the allied side of the conflict in the newsreels and other media outlets.

After Lenin led a Communist revolution in Russia, Russia withdrew from the war.

The U.S. soon after entered on the side of the allies.

The U.S. contribution to the war was the defense of Paris. The U.S. forces, combined with the forces from England and France turned the tide of the war and led to the defeat of the Central Powers.

ON THE HOMEFRONT

Liberty Bonds were used to help finance the allied war effort

Many people volunteered to help the war effort

Food consumption was regulated

Espionage Act (1917)-made it illegal to interfere with the draft

Sedition Act(1918)--made it illegal to obstruct the sale of liberty bonds or speak out against the government.

The government also imposed censorship on the press.

Women and African Americans joined the workforce while soldiers fought overseas.

ENDING THE WAR

President Wilson traveled to Europe to help work out conditions for peace. He brought with him his Fourteen Points--He wanted to...

*end secret alliances,

*restore freedom of the seas, and reduce arms.

*One provision also called for the colonies of the European powers to be treated with respect.

*Another provision said that self-determination should be given to Austria-Hungary's colonies.

*Another provision called for an association of nations to work together for world peace.

However, the European powers disagreed with Wilson's plan. Instead, the Treaty of Versailles was no "Peace" treaty. Instead of fair terms of conditions for surrender, the treaty severely punished Germany. The allies insisted that Germany owed $33 billion in reparations. Germany could not afford this. The Treaty of Versailles led to conditions in Germany, which would allow the rise of Hitler and the Nazi's.

When American troops returned home, things were difficult. The number of jobs available dropped. African American troops in particular, had a difficult time finding jobs. The fact that they had risked their lives, did not bring about an end to segregation and racist practices against African-Americans. In addition, soldiers were not given re-training or extra help in assimilating into life back in the United States.

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