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The Causes
WWI was caused because of 4 MAIN things:
Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism -
The Alliances
There were 2 main alliances:
The Triple Alliance aka Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente aka Allied Powers (France, Russia, and Great Britain). -
The Spark
Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, is assassinated in Bosnia by Gavrilo Princip -
Alliances Create a "Great War"
Russia allies with Serbia and mobilizes their troops, Germany allies with Austria-Hungary, declaring war on Russia, and France allies with Russia, with Germany declaring war on France soon after. Some countries, like Britain, remained neutral. -
The Fighting Begins
Germany had fighting on both the fronts, with Russia in the east, and France in the west. Germany developed the Schlieffen plan, which was to go through Belgium to attack France before Russia was mobilized, then they would fight Russia. Russia was mobilized faster than expected and Germany's plan did not succeed. -
Great Britain Joins the War
When Germany acted on the Schlieffen plan,they destroyed Belgium. Great Britain joined the war to protect Belgium soon after. -
Stalemate on the Western Front
After the failed Schlieffen plan came the beginning of trench warfare on the western front. Troops were able to fight from strongly defended ditches, where the conditions were miserable.Sanitation was a big problem, and because of the mud troops began to develop trench foot. It stayed this way for a while, because neither side wanted to be the first out in the open -
The Eastern Front
Casualties were higher on this front, because the ground would not accommodate for trenches. Russia had a lack of modern weapons and were not doing so well. Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, and Italy left the Central Powers for the Allies. -
Fighting Around The World
Most fighting occurred in Europe, but it did happen in other regions too. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October of 1914, then cut off Russian supply lines, which the Allies were unable to regain control of. -
Colonies
European colonies became involved in the war. The Allies took German colonies in Africa and China. The British turned to their colonies for help. Some of the colonists did not want the war, but others thought fighting represented citizenship and independence. -
The Lusitania
The Germans began to participate in unrestricted submarine warfare. The Lusitania, a British ship, was sunk by a German sub in May 1915. 1200 people were killed, and due to the fact that 128 of them were Americans, the US president threatened Germany, which stopped the subs. -
Government Propaganda
It motivated the military greatly, and the public was urged to give money to the war effort to help the military. It also exaggerated the atrocities of the war greatly, urging people to help end the war. -
Women's Rights
Women were able to do more now that the men were off fighting. They worked in war industries, grew food for the nation, and worked as nurses close to the front lines of the fighting. This helped women in their fight for more rights. -
Total War
The War needed more resources, which pushed the governments to take a stronger role. Military conscription began, and men started to be drafted. Money for the war was from taxes, and rationing occurred as well. -
Morale
The military and the civilians had low morale by 1917. Their were many casualties, lots of failed battles, and very bad food shortages. People began to turn against the military, wanting peace. Troops began to revolt and deserted the military. Russia was struggling because of the war. The started a revolution against their government in March 1917. Vladimir Lenin took control of Russia, which led to them pulling out of the war in 1918 -
The US Enters The War
The US was originally neutral, but became angry with Germany after the Lusitania was sunk. In 1917, the Germans resumed their sub warfare, making the US very mad. Also in 1917, the Zimmerman Letter was intercepted by Britain, which was a note from Germany to Mexico that stated Germany would help get Mexican land back if they helped fight the US. The US finally declared war on Germany in April of 1917, though they didn't fight until 1918. -
The US In WWI
The joining of the US to the war was a huge morale boost and financial aid for the Allies. Wilson came up with his 14 Points, which was a plan for peace. Some of these points included: freedom of seas, freedom of trade, reduction of arms, and no secret treaties. -
Victory!
The US and the Allies pushed the Germans out of France in July of 1918. When Germany realized the war couldn't be won, their leader, (Kaiser William II), fled. Austria-Hungary was also on the verge of collapse. Germany asked for an armistice to end the fighting, which was signed at 11 AM on November 11, 1918. -
Paris Peace Conference
Representatives from more than 32 nations gathered in Paris, including Woodrow Wilson (US), David Lloyd George (Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy). These leaders set peace terms following the armistice. -
Treaty of Versailles
Germany was blamed for the war, had to pay the war debt and for reparations, and had to decrease the size of their military. Demilitarized zones were established on German borders to protect surrounding countries. It also created the League of Nations, which became an advisory board because they didn't have very much control over anything. -
New European Nations
The Treaty of Versailles did many things. Along with giving Germany the blame for the war, it also created many new nations in Europe, such as: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Yugoslavia. -
Peace Settlements
Many nations had problems with the Treaty of Versailles. There were other treaties created that many were unhappy with. Treaties created more territories that were administered by Western powers, which expanded European colonies. The US never joined the League of Nations because the Senate wouldn't ratify the treaty. -
The Costs of War
Millions were killed, injured, or missing. In 1918, there was a deadly spread of the flu as well. Nations were destroyed and had large war debt and lots of construction costs. Angry citizens looked for someone to blame, and many governments collapsed due to political issues and unrest in colonies
