1914-1918:
The World
at War
Goal #39
Millions of people were
involved in a global conflict.
I.
Causes
of the
War
Four “MAIN” Causes:
MAIN CAUSES OF WWI
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
A. Militarism
 1. Countries began to prepare for war
B. Imperialism
 1. Countries competed to build large colonial
empires around the globe
Imperialism
 Every major country was trying to
grab land and would get mad if
another country beat them to it
 2. Land meant colonies – colonies
meant more $$$ + more military bases
= more POWER
Colonial
Rivalries:
Africa
in
1914
The British Empire in 1914
C.
Nationalism
 1. A love for and
extreme loyalty to
one’s country.
 People supported their
countries & KINGS –
“my country – right or
wrong”
 Everyone thought their
country was the BEST.
Nationalism –
European countries
ruled by kings often related to one another
Aggressive Nationalism
D.
Alliances
 1. To be more secure, European countries
formed pacts (partnerships or formal
agreements) to defend one another.
2. The Alliance System –
divided
Europe into 2 hostile camps
Triple Entente:
Triple Alliance:
Great Britain
Germany
France
Austria-Hungary
Russia
Italy
Europe in 1914
3.The Major Players: 1914-17
Allied Powers:
Central Powers:
Nicholas II
[Rus]
Wilhelm II [Ger]
George V [Br]
Victor Emmanuel
II [It]
Enver Pasha
[Turkey]
Pres. Poincare [Fr]
Franz Josef [A-H]
II. The
“Prize”
A.
Ottoman Empire
 1. One huge country –
run by the Turks
 By early 1900’s, starting
to crumble – too much
land & too many people
to control
 2. Other countries in
Europe wanted to grab
pieces as colonies
“Sick man of Europe”
Many different Ethnic Groups
The
“Spark”
III.
The Balkans “Powder keg of Europe”
A. Russia + Serbia
 1. Russia signed a pact with Serbia
promising to defend her because she
wanted to bring Serbia under her
power
 2. Serbia was mad at Austria-Hungary
for taking Bosnia-Herzegovina from
her
+
Archduke Franz Ferdinand & His
Family
 Heir to the AustriaHungry throne.
 He was going to be
the next King of
Austria until…
B. June 28, 1914- The
Assassination: Sarajevo
The Assassin:
Gavrilo
Princip
Bosnian
Serb
1.“Black Hand”
member
Who’s To Blame? 2. Serbia
refuses to apologize
C. Two Armed Camps!
Allied Powers:
Central Powers:
Germany
Great Britain
WWI
France
Austria-Hungary
Russia
Ottoman Empire
Italy
Steps to War:
June 28- Archduke Ferdinand Assassinated
July 28- Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
July 30- Russia mobilizes its army to defend Serbia
Aug 1- Germany declares war on Russia
Aug 3- Germany declares war on France
Aug 4- Britain declares war on Germany
Aug 6- Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia
Aug 12- France and Britain declare war on Austria-Hungary
Soldiers Mobilized
14
12
Millions
10
8
6
4
2
0
France
Germany
Russia
Britain
Recruits of the
Central Powers
A German Soldier
Says Farewell to
His Mother
AustroHungarians
D.
U.S. Position - Neutrality
 President Woodrow
Wilson announced policy
right after war broke
out
 Warned U.S. citizens to not
take sides
 U.S. role to mediate for peace
 1. Loaned $$ and exported
more goods to Allies
Soldier Life in Trenches
 Death was a daily companion
 Rats
 Lice
 Stench
 Shell Shock
 Trench Fever
 Trench Foot
Trench Foot
Sacrifices in War
V. The
Eastern
Front
A. The Gallipoli Disaster, 1915
Attempt to capture Turkish
capital – failed miserably
276,000 Allied losses
Turkish Cavalry in Palestine
New
Technology
Changes The
War:
VI.
Weapons
A. Flame Thrower
B. Machine Guns
 Used to plow down the advance of
enemy troops.
 Shoots over 600 rounds ammo per
minute
C. Tanks
 First used by
British
 1. Used to plow
through barbed
wire and clear
paths for advancing
armies
French Renault Tank
British Tank at Ypres
D. The Airplane
“Squadron Over the Brenta”
Max Edler von Poosch, 1917
The Flying Aces of World War I
Eddie
Rickenbacher, US
Francesco
Barraco, It.
Eddie “Mick”
Mannoch, Br.
Willy Coppens de
Holthust, Belg.
Rene Pauk
Fonck, Fr.
Manfred von
Richtoffen, Ger.
[The “Red Baron”]
The Zeppelin
“Big Bertha” Gun – reduced a
city’s defenses to rubble
Trench Mortars
 High powered artillery used to blow
away the trenches
E. Poison Gas
 First used by the French
 Chlorine & mustard