Welcome back…

• Bell Ringer: Compare • Agenda and Objective:

thesis statements: Who Through notes and
was more discussion, students
“democratic” at the will identify the
beginning causes of World War I
of the 20c —Britain
OR France?
WORLD WAR
ONE
“The War to End All Wars”
• Before the outbreak of World War I in
1914, the general outlook for the future
by most Europeans were highly
optimistic with material progress
expected to create an “earthly paradise.”
• The First World War
would not only kill
millions of human
beings, it would also
destroy one of the
basic intellectual
precepts upon which
Western Civilization
had been founded --
the belief in progress.
 For Tomorrow: Textbook
pages 887-890…Battles
• What were some of the major
battles fought during the war?
• What were the common
characteristics of these battles?
The Road to
World War I
 Long-term causes of World
War I #1 Alliances
• Rival alliances: Triple • 1879, Dual Alliance:
Alliance vs. Triple • Dual Alliance based on
Entente German support for
• 1870: Balance of power of Austrian in its struggle
Europe upset by decisive with Russia over
Prussian victory in expansion in the Balkans
Franco-Prussian War. • Triple Alliance, 1881:
• Bismarck feared French Italy joined Germany and
revenge and negotiated Austria
treaties to isolate France • Italy sought support for its
imperialistic ambitions in
the Mediterranean and
Africa.
 The Alliance System

• The division of Europe’s great powers into two loose

alliances (Germany, Austria and Italy vs. France,
Russia and Great Britain) added to the tensions.
 #2 Militarism
• Massive military
build up increased
tension and
guaranteed that if war
came it would be
incredibly
destructive.
World War I was when the old world became the new.
Here, a German cavalryman wears a gas mask and
carries a long spear or pole, from two different ages of
war.
 Wilhelm II
• German Kaiser (1888-1918)
• wanting Germany to have her “place in the sun”
• Bitter rival of Bismarck, who wanted Germany to be
a continental power (let England be)
• 1890- Bismarck is dismissed by Wilhelm II. Germany
moved from a proponent of peace to a military power
 The Anglo-German arms
race
• Militarism led to a belief in the inevitability of a
general European war.
• British policy was to have its fleet larger than the
combined fleets of any two rival nations
• 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II began expansion of
German navy to protect a growing international
trade and colonialism
• By World War I, both Britain and Germany
possessed Dreadnoughts—new super battleships
with awesome firing range and power
• Universal
conscription had
become the norm in
Europe by 1914.
• Great Britain was
the exception.
• European
standing armies
had doubled in
size between
1890 and 1914.
 Comparative figures on army
increase, 1870-1914:
1870 1914 
Russia 700,000 1,300,000
France 380,000 846,000
Germany 403,000 812,000
Austria-Hungary 247,000 424,000
Britain 302,000 381,000
Italy 334,000 305,000
Japan 70,000 250,000
U.S.A. 37,000 98,000
• Most European armies were made up of
rural peasants, since most urban working-
class males could not pass the physical.
• Many German generals did not trust the
loyalty of the urban youth.
 Mobilization and Planning
• Modern European
armies followed the
Prussian model of
complex mobilization
and strategic planning
involving timetables
and railroad
deployment of troops
and supplies.
 To move one German army corps -
(or just 2.5% of the German Army)
it took this many railway cars :

Officers 170 cars

Infantry 965 cars
Cavalry 2960 cars
Artillery 1915 cars
... in 140 trains

Average train length 42 cars.

• These plans lacked flexibility and forced
diplomats
Andand political
it took leaders
the same numberto ofmake
cars decisions
based on the fixed- programs
about 6000 -of the military.
to transport all of their supplies.
“War is too important a
matter to be left to the
military.”
–Georges Clemenceau.
#3 Imperialism led to increased tensions between the
Great Powers over Africa

• Berlin Conference, 1885: Germany's late entry

into imperialism led Bismarck to establish rules
for carving up Africa
• Kruger Telegram (1902): triggered British anger
at Germany when the Kaiser congratulated the
Boers on their victories over British troops in
South Africa.
• 1906: Algeciras Conference settled the First
Moroccan Crisis
• Second Moroccan Crisis (1911)
• 1906: Algeciras Conference
settled the First Moroccan
Crisis (GB, Russia supported
France as a protectorate)

• 1911: Second Moroccan

Crisis (under pressure
France allowed Germany
parts of the Congo in return
for French protectorate in
Morocco)
 #4 Nationalism created
a "powder keg" in the Balkans
• First Balkan War (1912)-
• The Ottoman Empire Russian supports Balkan
(“the sick man of league, Ottomans loose
Europe”) receded territory
• Second Balkan War (1913)
from the Balkans Serbia v. Bulgaria over
leaving a power Macedonia. (Serbia and
vacuum Greece get)
• "Third Balkan War"
• Pan-Slavism between Austria and Serbia
• First Balkan Crisis became World War I in the
summer of 1914
(Bosnian Crisis)
 Nationalism
• The rise of
nationalism did not
give rise to the
liberal-envisioned
international
fraternity of the 19th
century.
 Something to Think
about…
• Some historians have argued
that conservatives, fearing
socialist revolution, sought to
use war to “smother internal
troubles.”
 Welcome Back!
• Bell Ringer…Read the • Agenda and Objective:
interview of Kaiser through note and
Wilhelm II and answer video review, students
the questions. will identify causes of
World War I and it’s
impact on society.
 Review…
• What were the long standing
causes of World War I
• Give examples…
The Outbreak
of War
 The Summer of 1914
• The Balkan Crises
between 1908 and
1913 had increased
tensions in the region.
• The desire of the Serbs
to create a “Greater
Serbia” was opposed
by Austria but
encouraged by Russia.
The Assassination

• On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austrian

throne, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his
wife Sophia, were assassinated in Sarajevo by
Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian
nationalist group the Black Hand.
The Funeral of Franz Ferdinand
• The Austrian government was not
certain that the Serbian
government was directly involved
but it wanted revenge and a war to
destroy the Serbian kingdom.
 “The Blank Check”
• Fear of Russian
intervention led
the Austrians to
seek the
support of the
German Kaiser.
• William II responded
with the infamous
“blank check” –
Germany would fight
Russia to aid Austria
in its war.
 The Ultimatum
• Austria then gave
demands to Serbia
that were so extreme
that Serbia had to
reject them.
• Austria then declared
war on Serbia on July Serbian Army during its
23. retreat towards Albania
Russian Reaction
• On July 28,
Russia ordered
partial
mobilization of
its troops against
Austria.
 More Ultimatums
• Germany then gave an
ultimatum to Russia to
halt their mobilization
or face war.
• Russia ignored the
demands and Germany
declared war on Russia
on August 1st.
 Bell Ringer: The Great War
• As you watch the clip…
• What are your impressions
of the war?
• What “new” technology
and military strategy was
used?
• How did the War impact
society? In what ways?
• Agenda and Objective:
Through discussion of
primary sources and a
video clip, students
will identify what
made WWI a “modern
war” as well as the
reaction of those
fighting it.
Illusions of the Times
• Economists had written
before the war that economic
conditions made a great war
unlikely and if it occurred it
would be brief.
• Many political pundits
believed that “rational”
diplomats would prevail and
control the situation making
war unlikely or at least short-
lived.
• Government propaganda had stirred up
national feelings and now played on
those feelings to stir up a war fever.
• Even many socialists and
labor leaders rose to join
the cause in the country’s
campaign for justice and
revenge.
 “Over by Christmas”
• Most believed the war
would only last a few
weeks.
• Hadn’t all the other wars
since the age of Napoleon
been over quickly?
 Reading Activity…
• Briefly share your responses
with your neighbor.
• What was the attitude of these
soldiers at the start of the war?
 Welcome Back!
• Bell Ringer: Pair up • Agenda and Objective:
and discuss your Through poem
poems. analysis, students will
identify the changing
• Tomorrow: Study mood of those who
fought in WWI
Guide due, also focus
on how War impacted
the homefront.
• Dulce et decorum est • How sweet and seemly
pro patria mori: it is to die for one's
mors et fugacem country:
persequitur virum Death pursues the man
nec parcit inbellis who flees,
iuventae spares not the
poplitibus timidove hamstrings or
tergo. cowardly backs
Of battle-shy youths.
 Wars of Nationalism
• The Europeans failed
to recognize that the
real prototype for the
modern war of
nationalism was the
American Civil War –
four years, 364,000
dead.
• Many also believed that the sheer cost
of the modern mechanized war would
not allow for a sustained effort.
 The Glorious Adventure
• Many young
people saw the
war as a great
adventure – a
chance to escape
their boring
bourgeois lives.
 The Great Redemption
• Others saw the
war as a chance to
bring their nations
together through
self-sacrifice,
heroism and
nobility.
• “The lamps are going out all over
Europe, we shall not see them lit again
in our lifetimes.”
- Sir Edward Grey
The Schlieffen Plan in Action
• The German plan for
success relied on
speed and mobility.
• Hundreds of
thousands of troops
crossed the Belgian
border and in four
weeks reached the
Marne River outside
of Paris.
 British Expeditionary Force

• The Germans had

not counted on the
speed at which the
British were able
to mobilize and
bring troops across
the Channel.
 The First Battle of the Marne
• The British and French
troops, under French
General Joseph Joffre,
stopped the German
advance at the Marne
on September 6-10.
• The Germans were
forced to retreat but
the allies were
unable to pursue.
• The war
immediately broke
into a stalemate as
both sides dug
trenches.
 Trench Warfare
• The trenches would soon
stretch from Switzerland to
the English Channel – the
front line would hardly move
for four years.
 The Eastern Front
• The Russians began the war with a
major offensive into German
territory in the north.
• Their advance was halted at the
Battles of Tannenberg (August 30)
and Lake Masurian (September
15).
• The Russians were effectively
knocked out of the war.
 The Austrian War
• The Austrians were initially
defeated by the Russians in
Galicia and by the Serbians.
• Germany eventually came to
their aid in defeating the Serbs
and pushing the Russians back
300 miles.
• The Russians
lost 2.5
million men
-- either dead,
wounded or
captured.
 The Italians
• The Italians in the
mean time had
switched sides and
launched an attack
against their old
enemy the
Austrians.
• The Italian front
also became a
stalemate of trench
warfare.
The Great
Slaughter
1916 –1917
 The Trenches
• The Western Front
became an elaborate
system of breastworks
and interconnected
trenches, protected by
barbed wire,
machinegun nests and
artillery batteries.
"Trenches full of liquid mud. Smelt horribly. Full of dead
Frenchmen too bad to touch. Men quite nauseated."
 No Man’s Land
• The opposing forces
were separated by open
fields of bombed out
craters and destroyed
villages, across which
the troops would launch
suicidal bayonet
charges.
No Man’s Land
 “Over the Top”

• Pressure was constantly put on the

generals to break through and bring
about a victory.
• The breakthrough was believed
possible if enough fire power could be
brought to bear to “soften up” the lines
and then mass enough troops to charge
the enemies lines.
• The machine guns doomed
the charges to failure -
millions of men lost their
lives trying to gain a few
miles of territory.
 The Battle of Verdun

• The Germans launched an attack at the

French town of Verdun in February of
1916.
• The initial
advances were
soon halted by
the French
General Henri-
Philippe Petain.
• Unprecedented bombardment, aerial
dogfights and the use of poison gas
took the lives of over 700,000 men in
ten months of fighting.
War in the Air

"Those
magnificent
men in their
flying
machines"
"[It] climbed like a monkey and
maneuvered like the devil."
Manfred von Richthofen
THE
RED
BARON
The Price of
Glory

The Blue Max

 The Battle of the Somme
• In order to take
pressure of the
French at Verdun,
the British
launched an attack
to the west at the
Somme River.
• The Germans were forced to move
troops to counter this attack.
The British suffered
420,000 casualties.
The French lost
nearly 200,000 and
it is estimated that
German casualties
were in the region
of 500,000.
• The outcomes of these battles were
indecisive, with neither side gaining
nor losing territory.
 Life in the Trenches
• For men in the
trenches it was a life
of long days of
boredom followed
by days of pure
terror and living hell.
• During combat the men in the trenches
lived with constant bombardment, the
threat or reality of mustard gas, the corpses
of the fallen and the rats that fed on them.
Gassed
• The only relief from the
mud and the terror of the
trench was the suicide
that came with the order
to “fix bayonets.”
• As soldiers on both sides
realized that no one could gain
an advantage in trench warfare
daily life for the soldier became
increasingly squalid,
regimented, and miserable in
the filthy, rat-infested, and lice-
ridden trenches.
 “live and let live”
• Men on both sides developed a
“live and let live” policy that let
men go about their daily lives in
some safety.
• Men produced humorous
magazines and sang soldiers
songs.
• The Germans sang “The Watch
on the Rhine.”
• The Americans would sing
“Over There.”
 Johnnie, get your gun, get
your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run, on the run,
on the run,
Hear them calling you and
me, ev'ry son of liberty
Hurry right away, no delay,
go today
Make your Daddy glad to
have had such a lad,
Tell your sweetheart not to
pine, to be proud her boy's in
line
 The Widening of the War
• The British, in an attempt to attack the
Ottoman Empire, attempted a landing
at Gallipoli on the Dardanelles.
• The Bulgarians joined the war on the
side of the Central Powers and brought
the Gallipoli campaign to an end.
The Landing at Gallipoli
“Your news is indeed serious.
But there is nothing for it but
to dig yourselves right in and
stick it out. You have got
through the difficult business,
now you have only to dig, dig,
dig, until you are safe."
 Lawrence of Arabia
• A British officer
named T.E. Lawrence
incited the Arabs
tribes to rally behind
Prince Faisel and
attack the Ottoman
Turks.
Prince Faisel
 "All men dream: but not
T.E.Lawrence equally. Those who dream
by night in the dusty
recesses of their minds
wake in the day to find that
it was vanity: but the
dreamers of the day are
dangerous men, for they
may act their dream with
open eyes, to make it
possible."
- The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
 "A skittish motor-bike with a
touch of blood in it is better than
all the riding animals on Earth."
--T.E. Lawrence
• The British were able to
move from Cairo in
Egypt to take Jerusalem
and Damascus in the
Middle East.
 The War at Sea

• The British and the German navies

fought only one major naval
engagement during the war – the
Battle of Jutland.
• While the Germans out-
maneuvered the British and lost
less ships, the British ended up
blockading the North Sea.
The German U-Boat
• The Germans retaliated by
imposing a counter-blockade
of England using unrestricted
submarine warfare.
Freedom of the Seas
• While the US tried to remain
neutral in the war, the use of
submarines to sink unarmed
passenger ships outraged the
Americans and violated President
Wilson’s call for “Freedom of the
Seas.”
 The Sinking of the
Lusitania
• On May 7, 1915, a German U-
Boat torpedoed and sank the
British passenger ship the
Lusitania.
• 100 Americans were killed.
RMS Lusitania
• The protests over this
incident and the sinking
of other passenger liners
led the Germans to pledge
not to use unrestricted
submarine warfare.
 Breaking the Pledge
• Eager to break the deadlock
of the Western Front, the
Germans resumed the use of
submarines in January of
1917.
• The Germans were
willing to gamble that the
British would be starved
out of the war before the
US would respond.
The Zimmerman Note
• An intercepted note from the
German Foreign Minister to
the Mexican government
called on the Mexicans to
join the war and regain their
lost territories from the US.
 The US Joins the War
• The note caused
outrage in
America and led
to Wilson seeking
a declaration of
war.
• The US declared
war on Germany
April 6, 1917.
General John “Blackjack” Pershing
 The War in 1917
• The US would not arrive
in great numbers until
1918, in 1917 the war was
not going well for the
allies.
Ypres -Winter 1917
• The Italians were smashed
in October and in
November the Bolshevik
Revolution took Russia out
of the war.
The Home Front
 The Home front
• "Total war": involved mass
civilian populations in the war
effort
 Total War
• European
governments
gradually took full
control of all aspects
of their economies.
• Millions of people
were mobilized to
fight or work.
• This led to increased
centralization of the
government and the
widespread use of
propaganda to
manipulate public
opinion.

• Massive conscription drafted
most able-bodied men in
their youth
• In some cases, civilian
populations became targets
• News was censored;
propaganda lionized men at
the front and dehumanized
the enemy
• In 1914, the S.P.D. (then the
largest party in the
Reichstag) agreed to support
the war as part of the “civil
peace” with the Kaiser—the
burgfrieden.
• The same may have also
been true in Britain as the
issue of Irish independence
dominated the headlines.
• British propaganda
effectively demonized
Germany as the “Hun”
• Economic production was
focused on the war effort
• Free-market capitalism
was abandoned in favor • Increase in centralized
of strong central control by warring
planning of the economy. regimes
• Women replaced male • Germany became the
factory workers who were world's first totalitarian
now fighting the war. regime in order to
• Labor unions supported control the war effort
the war effort. • War promoted greater
social equality, thus
blurring class distinctions
and lessening the gap
between rich and poor
• As public morale
and support for the
war ebbed police
powers were
widely expanded to
include the arrest
of all dissenters as
traitors to the state.
• Internal opposition to the war
came largely from liberals
and socialists appalled by the
scale of human slaughter and
the terrible costs of rampant
nationalism and militarism.
 Women in the War
• Many women
went to work in
the factories to
replace the men
sent to the
trenches.
• Expectations for
women during the
war were that
they would return
to their "normal"
lives when the
war ended.
                   

           

• These women
workers played an
important role in
winning women
the right to vote
immediately
following the war.
Death - the Great Leveler
• Death rates at the front in
World War One were high for
all soldiers regardless of their
prior social status, but mortality
was especially great among
junior officers drawn largely
from the nobility and the
unskilled laborers and peasants
comprising the mass of infantry
troops.
• The fortunate ones
were the skilled and
highly skilled
workers that were
exempted from going
to battle.
• The new British Prime
Minister David Lloyd
George was misguided in
his optimism that the war
was ending class
conflicts through the
common hardship and
loss of war.
• By the end of the war it
was very apparent that
not all classes had
suffered equally during
the war -- large
industrialists, especially
owners of factories
making weapons and
munitions did very well. Krups Factory in Germany
WAR CASUALTIES
 In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Have You News of my Boy Jack? -
Rudyard Kipling
• 'Have you news of my boy Jack?'
Not this tide.
'When d'you think that he'll come back?'
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.
'Has anyone else had word of him?'
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing and this tide.
'Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?'
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind-
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.
Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!
 Ethnic Minorities
• Ethnic Slavs in the
Balkans, Poles in
Russia and the Irish in
Great Britain all
dreamed of having
their own national
states.