Making the Connection From
Imperialism to World War I.
Q: What were the factors that produced
World War I?
* Militarism (large standing armies/navies);
A:
* Alliances that divided Europe
into competing camps;
* Imperialism/Competition over colonies;
* Nationalism (pride in your country).
HINT!
Remember the mnemonic device MAIN!
SOL WHII.10 Essential Knowledge Question
World War I – The Great War
Sayings from the Kaisers
In English
Sayings from the
Kaisers in German
Dear Fatherland
May you be peaceful,
Leib’ Vaterland
magst ruhig sein,
Stand fast and true to
watch on the Rhine.
Fest steht u: treu die
Wacht am Rhein.
WHO are these guys?
Who’s on which side?
Allied Powers
Central Powers
France
Germany
Great Britain
Austria-Hungary
Russia
Ottoman Empire
Serbia
Bulgaria
USA / Japan
Neutral Countries
USA
Italy
(at start of war)
The Balkan Powder Keg
By 1914, Serbia (supported by Russia) is
determined to create a large
independent Slavic state in the Balkans
While Austria which had its own Slavic
minorities to contend with, was equally
set on preventing that possibility.
The Balkan Peninsula/Balkans:
A geographical and cultural region
of Southeast Europe. The region has
its name from the Balkan
Mountains that stretch from the east
of Bulgaria to the very east of Serbia.
The spark that sets off the war?
•
The assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand
(Austria) & his wife Sophia in Sarajevo (Bosnia) on June
28, 1914.
•
Carried out by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian activist and
member of the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist
organization dedicated to the creation of a Pan-Slavic
kingdom.
•
Austria sends an ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, 1914,
but Serbia rejects the Austrian demands.
•
Austria declares war on Serbia on July 28.
•
A partial mobilization of the Russian army against Austria
was ordered by Tsar Nicholas II
•
Germany views this as an act of war toward them and
issues an ultimatum to Russia (which they ignore)
•
August 1 – Germany declares war on Russia
Who was to blame for World War I?
What is the overall
message of this
political cartoon?
What is the huge
pointing hand trying
to say?
Another view regarding the war’s start
Ultimatums
Some short- and long-term
causes of the war
1. Nationalism
2. Militarism
3. Arms Race
4. Imperialism
5. The Alliance System
6. Poor Statesmanship
Remember – MAIN! Militarism, Alliance System, Imperialism, Nationalism!
The different fronts of the war in
Europe: 1914-1918
Western Front
(along border of
France/Germany)
Eastern Front
(along border of
Germany/Russia)
Italian Front
(along northern border
of Italy)
Gallipoli
(along the Gallipoli
Peninsula in southern
Turkey)
The War at Sea
(Atlantic Ocean near
France, England, &
Germany)
The Western Front
Mostly in Northern France
and Western Belgium
An area where Trench
Warfare took place
The Eastern Front
Took place in vast areas
It stretched from the Baltic
Sea in the north to the Black
Sea in the south, included
most of Eastern Europe and
stretched deep into Central
Europe as well.
More mobile kind of warfare
Trench Warfare
New Weapons in World War One
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tanks
Flamethrowers
Poison Gas
Tracer Bullets
Interrupter Gear
Air Traffic Control
Depth Charges
Hydrophones
Aircraft Carriers
Pilotless Drones
Mobile X-Ray machines
When stalemate ensued on the Western and other fronts, each side sought
new technologies that could give them an advantage. Some of these new
weapons were very deadly.
1. Tanks
2. Airplanes
3. Submarines (or
U-boats)
4. Long-range
cannon
5. Chemical warfare
Fritz Haber – Patriotic Scientist or War Criminal?
German Chemist who
received the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in
1918 for his
development for
synthesizing ammonia,
important for fertilizers
and explosives.
“The father of chemical
warfare”
for his work developing
chlorine and other poisonous
gases during WWI.
Countries also tried to gain an advantage
by mobilizing their entire society, including
women on the home front
Government
propaganda made
great play of patriotic
women who enlisted in
the armed forces.
Many helped to
replace vacant jobs at
munitions factories
when men went off to
war.
The use of spies (like Mata Hari) and
propaganda became important too
Dutch exotic dancer &
courtesan who was
convicted of being a
spy and executed by
firing squad in France
under charges of
espionage for Germany
during WWI.
World War I Propaganda
What message is this trying to convey?
• It is a WWI propaganda poster for
enlistment in the U.S. Army.
• A dribbling, ape-like German
wielding a club bearing the word
“kultur” and wearing a pickelhaube
helmet with the word “militarism” is
walking onto the shore of America
while holding a half-naked woman
in his grasp (possibly meant to
depict Liberty).
• This is a US version of an earlier
British poster with the same image.
World War I Propaganda
The U.S. “cover of neutrality”
didn’t convince the Germans who
sunk the British ocean liner the
RMS Lusitania in 1915.
Torpedoed by a German U-boat.
Killed 1,198 passengers and crew
By firing on a non-military ship
without warning, the Germans
had breached international laws.
Helped influence the US to declare
war in 1917.
German poster: Think of your children!
Pro- or Anti-German?
Pro- or Anti-German? Caption: A novel way to defend
one’s country in light of Germany’s pledge not to attack religious and
cultural sites
Germans accused
the allies of hiding
behind cultural
places like
Cathedrals and
Castles.
What is being referred to in this
political cartoon?
The Zimmerman Telegram
A German offer to Mexico to
return territories that the U.S.
took during the MexicanAmerican War. (TX, NM, AZ)
Mexico said NO!
Another effort to rally support for the
Allies
• A Liberty Bond was
a war bond that was sold
in the U.S.A. to support
the allied cause in WWI.
• Subscribing to the bonds
became a symbol of
patriotic duty in the
United States and
introduced the idea of
financial securities to
many citizens for the first
time.
Meaning of the political cartoon?
Italy backs out of
THE _________
__________
Triple
Alliance
And joins the __________.
Allies
Another German propaganda message
That's the way to peace -the enemy wants it that way!
Therefore subscribe to the
War Loan.
Why did the U.S. get involved in World War I? There
were many reasons. Three of the most important
concerned a dislike for German authoritarianism
(fanned by reports of German war atrocities), the
Zimmermann telegram and the sinking of the
Lusitania
The Zimmermann telegram (original)
The Zimmermann Telegram (decoded)
The Sinking of the Lusitania
After the U.S. got directly involved in the war, it
helped “turn the tide” but not before further
destruction and loss of life followed
Some Effects of World War I
• 1. Millions of people were killed
• 2. Empires were dismantled (Austria-Hungary and the
Ottoman Empire broke up into many smaller countries,
such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Lebanon, etc.)
• 3. Other countries lost territory
• 4. Many countries – even some of the victors – were
confronted by enormous war debts
• 5. Russia became communist
• 6. England and France were granted the right to rule
areas such as Palestine or Syria as mandates
• 7. The League of Nations was created
• 8. The U.S. became more influential in world affairs