Unit 2 (WW1)

Question 1

“A tragic and unnecessary conflict”:

Answer 1

-Unnecessary because WWI could have been avoided.
-Tragic because it resulted in millions losing their lives.

Question 2

Cause and effect:

Answer 2

•History is often a story of cause and effect – events trigger other events and then things happen!
•WWI is a perfect example: July 1914, very few saw this war coming.
•Lurking in the background, powerful forces were bringing Europe towards the greatest bloodbath the world had ever seen.

Question 3

M.A.I.N. Causes of WW1:

Answer 3

•By the early 1900’s the great powers of Europe were on a collision course.
•Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia were in a race to become more powerful.
•the 4 main causes of WW1 were: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism.

Question 4

Imperialism:

Answer 4

•One way European powers tried to become stronger was by building Empires.
•This meant they had control over colonies outside Europe around the world.
•Colonies supplied cheap raw materials like minerals and lumber for factories in the homeland.
•Also provided a place to sell finished goods.

Question 5

Imperialism part 2:

Answer 5

•This ideology says that it’s natural for one country to dominate another using military force and make them part of a larger empire.
•Britain and France already had large Empires in Africa and Asia.
•Germany was the newcomer to the game and felt she was being denied her proper place and should get more.
•Besides being a center for imperialistic ambition, the Balkans was a region that had many overlapping claims to territories, spheres of influence, and growing nationalistic interest in sovereignty – this is why this region was called the POWDER KEG OF EUROPE.

Question 6

Imperialism and conflict:

Answer 6

•Countries like France and Britain made lots of money from their empires so they were not willing to ‘make room’ for Germany.
•Protecting imperial interests led to building larger armies and navies and created a lot of tension in Europe.

Question 7

Alliances:

Answer 7

•European powers feared above all else being attacked by their rivals in Europe.
•To protect themselves they formed military alliances – agreements to cooperate.
•Britain, France and Russia were allies in the Triple Entente.
•Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance.
•Members of both alliances agreed that an attack on one ally would be treated as an attack on them all!

Question 8

What countries did the triple entente include?

Answer 8

France, Britain, Russia.

Question 9

What countries did the triple alliance consist of?

Answer 9

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.

Question 10

Militarism:

Answer 10

•Militarism is when the military is seen as a very important part of a country’s strength.
•It is also a belief that using your military is a positive & effective way to pursue national interest.
•Because the European powers feared attack from their neighbors they began furiously strengthening their militaries.

Question 11

Militarism part 2:

Answer 11

•Believing strong militaries was important led to an arms race in Europe.
•After Britain built the HMS Dreadnaught, the Germans began building their own massive battleships – the Bismarck.
•All European countries had forced military service creating huge standing armies ready to fight – Called CONSCRIPTION.
•High taxes for civilians.
•By 1914, Europe was armed to the teeth with the largest military force the world had ever seen.

Question 12

Nationalism:

Answer 12

•Belief that your country is superior to all others and that you must be 100% loyal at all times.
•Fighting to defend your nation was a noble thing.
•This gave people a sense of national pride.

Question 13

Nationalism on a smaller scale:

Answer 13

•Smaller countries like Serbia also felt a strong sense of nationalism.
•Serbia wanted to exercise its sovereignty, and wanted to be left alone by Austria-Hungary.
•This geographic region, called the Balkans had seen years of conflict before 1914 (WWI).
•Russia wanted to protect Serbia from Austria-Hungary in the same way a big brother wants to protect his little brother.

Question 14

The start of WW1:

Answer 14

•June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were shot and killed while visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
•Bosnia-Herzegovina was part of Austria-Hungary but neighboring Serbia wanted to take it over.

Question 15

What comes next…

Answer 15

•After the assassination, Austria-Hungary threatened war on Serbia.
•Strengthened by German support, Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum (final proposition/demand) to Serbia on July 23, 1914.
•They set out some very harsh demands that Serbia must meet.
•Meant to humiliate Serbia.
•This is the final offer of diplomacy that threatens severe penalties if it is not accepted.
•Russia sided with the Serbians

Question 16

Serbian pride- nationalism:

Answer 16

•Many Serbian nationalists – people who felt strongly about their homeland – believed they shared strong religious, cultural and ethnic ties with the people of Russia.
•The assassin who killed Franz Ferdinand and his wife belonged to the Serbian nationalist group, The Black Hand.
•Austria-Hungary used the assassination as an excuse to invade Serbia.

Question 17

Dominoes falling:

Answer 17

•One month after the Archduke’s assassination – on July 28, 1914 – Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, with the backing of Germany.
•Germany then declared war on Russia on August 1, and on France August 3.
•On August 4, 1914, German troops marched on France by taking a route through Belgium.
•Since Britain had agreed to maintain the neutrality of Belgium, they immediately declared war on Germany.

Question 18

Schlieffen Plan:

Answer 18

•Germans did not expect strong Belgium resistance.
•Belgium army was 1/10 of Germany’s.
•Brought Great Britain into the war.
•Previous treaty promised Britain would protect Belgium’s neutrality.
•Though they lost many battles, they slowed the German advance, forcing them to “dig in” in France.

Question 19

Falling recap:

Answer 19

•1. When Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia.
•2. Russia honored an agreement with Serbia and came to their defense.
•3. Germany then backed its ally, Austria-Hungary.
•4. While Britain and France backed their ally, Russia.
•5. Just over a month after the assassination all of Europe was at war.

Question 20

Let the battles begin:

Answer 20

•British and German forces first fought at the Battle of Mons in Belgium.
•This was the first of many battles between Britain and Germany on the Western Front, and is when World War One started for Britain.

Question 21

The Ottoman Empire:

Answer 21

•Late in 1914, the Ottoman Empire was brought into the mix as well.
•Began with a surprise attack on Russia’s Black Sea Coast.
•As a result, much of 1915 was dominated by Allied actions against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean.
•Britain and France launched a number of failed attacks & invasions in Turkey.
•Although the British had some successes, the campaign and the attacks resulted in primarily in British defeats.

Question 22

Enter USA:

Answer 22

•Despite the stalemate on both fronts in Europe, two important developments in the war occurred in 1917.
•In early April, the United States, angered by attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic, declared war on Germany.

Question 23

USA entrance continued…

Answer 23

•May 7,1915 - U-boat torpedoed (sank) and sank the RMS Lusitania.
•Played big role in turning the US public opinion against Germany.
•Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships.
•April 2 – USA declares war.

Question 24

Russias exit:

Answer 24

•The war had become hugely unpopular in Russia.
•Popular confidence in Tsar Nicholas II was also at an all-time low.
•March 1917 - the tsar’s entire regime unexpectedly collapsed.
•Nicholas II gives up the throne.
•The situation in Russia remained highly unstable, especially in the military.
•Enter Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party.

Question 25

Russias exit continued…

Answer 25

•The radical Bolsheviks wanted the country to exit the war immediately, no matter the cost.
•Nov. 6, 1917 - Bolsheviks seized total control of the country with the help of the military.
•Lenin ordered the Russian military to cease all hostilities.
•After several days of negotiations, a cease-fire was declared.
•Russia lost an enormous amount of territory.
•Finland, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus.

Question 26

Coming to an end:

Answer 26

•Although both sides launched renewed offensives in 1918 in an all-or nothing effort to win the war, both efforts failed.
•The fighting between exhausted, demoralized troops continued to plod along until the Germans lost a number of individual battles and very gradually began to fall back.
•A deadly outbreak of influenza, meanwhile, took heavy tolls on soldiers of both sides.
•Eventually, the governments of both Germany and Austria-Hungary began to lose control as both countries experienced multiple mutinies from within their military.

Question 27

The war ends:

Answer 27

•The war ended in the late fall of 1918, after the member countries of the Central Powers signed armistice agreements one by one.
•Germany was the last, signing its armistice on November 11, 1918. As a result of these agreements, Austria-Hungary was broken up into several smaller countries.

Question 28

1918- treaty of Versailles:

Answer 28

•Peace document signed at the end of World War I by the Allied powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, France, on June 28, 1919; it took force on January 10, 1920.
•When the German government asked U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson to arrange a general armistice in October 1918, it declared that it accepted the Fourteen Points he had formulated as the basis for a just peace.

Question 29

14 points:

Answer 29

•Wilson created his FOURTEEN POINTS to make the world safe “for every peace-loving nation”.
•Included items such as:
•Negotiation of treaties and alliances done openly rather than in secret.
•Navigation of the seas freely without fear of attack.
•Engagement in equal trade with as few barriers as possible.
•Require only as many war weapons as countries needed to protect their security.
•When boarders between countries were drawn, people’s sense of nation was to be considered.

Question 30

League of Nations:

Answer 30

•Wilson’s FOURTEEN POINTS did not require Germany to pay reparations (making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged).
•One of Wilson’s key proposals called for the creation of the LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
•This was an international organization that would ensure “political independence and territorial integrity to great and small sates alike.”
•The League would ensure countries cooperated for collective security.

Question 31

Treaty of Versailles part 2:

Answer 31

•Main items discussed :
•The Rhineland: The Rhineland to be demilitarized, all fortifications in the Rhineland to be demolished and new construction forbidden.
•Germany Military: reduce and put limits on the Germany military (# of troops allowed, # of battleships, etc.)
•Alsace-Lorraine: former French province seized by Germany in 1871. This was a particular sensitive subject for the French Prime Minister.
•War Guilt Cause: Who is going to accept responsibility for the war? All eyes are on Germany.
•War Reparations: how much are those responsible for starting the war going compensate the victors?
•League of Nations: formation of international peace-keeping organization with all nation’s security interests at heart.

Question 32

Treaty of Versailles part 3:

Answer 32

•Punishment of Germany
•1. Germany required to admit total blame for starting WWI.
•2. Germany required to pay total costs of WWI (including homes and factories destroyed, ammunition, uniforms, pensions for Allied soldiers) – estimated $300 billion.
•3. German army limited in size; naval fleet turned over to the Allies.
•4. German colonies divided among Allies. (Italy – southern Tyrol; Britain & France – Middle East; Japan – Asia and Pacific).
•5. France got Alsace-Lorraine back, occupation rights over Rhineland for 15 years.

Question 33

Treaty of Versailles part 4:

Answer 33

•Other Territorial Changes:
•1. Austria-Hungary divided into 4 independent nations: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
•2. 5 other nations created along the German border with the Soviet Union to prevent the spread of communism: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
•International Organization Established: League of Nations and World Court.
•Issues Not Covered:
•1. Negotiated behind closed doors – contrary to 14 points.
•2. No mention of rights of freedoms of the seas.
•3. No mention of free trade.
•4. Only Germany required to reduce size of army and armaments.