History ( WW I, Russian Revolution and the rise of fascism in Germany)
JKJKJJK
TheWorldWarIEraPartOne.pptxI. Causes of “The Great War”
“The Long Fuse”
Nationalism: Inclusion/Exclusion
Imperialist Rivalries in Africa, Asia, Europe
Industrialization
Militarism: German vs. British naval race; European Powers double spending, 1890-1914
Causes Continued…
Internal Dissent
France (1906-09): massive strikes held; massive electoral gains for Left in 1914
Germany: 1912 Socialists largest group in Reichstag
Russia: 1912-1914 massive wave of violent strikes
**war to calm social tensions and build unity; need our own “splendid little war”
And Yet More Causes….
Rigid Alliance system
Security in alliances—makes cost of aggression high as attacking one means attacking their allies
But only works if aggressor true fears, and makes a small war into a big war
Technology and Mobilization
Complicated schedules of troop movements
Once started, hard to stop
Fear your foe is doing so too
II. War Begins: The Long Fuse Explodes
June 28, 1914
Franz Ferdinand
Austria mobilizes against Serbia
Russia mobilizes against Austria
1914: Central Powers vs. the Entente Powers
III. The Course of the War
Both sides believed it would be a short war
Schlieffen Plan: overrun Belgium and France and return back to Germany to defeat Russia
Counterattack at Battle of Marne and speedy Russian defenses thwart ambitions
1914-1917: war would devolve into brutal, costly and futile trench warfare
(1916)Battle of Verdun each side lost over 300,000 soldiers without a conclusive victory
Battle of Somme: 500,000 die an British gain a few square miles
A Modern War
Use of machine guns, airplanes, tanks, submarines, zeppelins
Bigger, more accurate cannons
Barbed-wire, phosphorous shells, mustard gas
Targeting of civilian populations
10 million soldiers die; 7 million civilians
20 million wounded
58% casualty rate
Massive influenza epidemic kills 50 million more worldwide (3% of global population)
1917: Turning Points
United States Enters War: Ethnic Identities, Propaganda, Economics, Submarine Warfare
Woodrow Wilson: “Make the world safe for democracy”
Russia withdraws; signs Brest-Litovsk treaty
German sailors mutiny; German economy collapses and Kaiser flees
November 11, 1918: Germany signs armistice agreement
