Chapter 23, Section 1

Chapter 24, Section 1: War in Europe Main Idea: When World War I erupted in 1914, the United States remained neutral.

A. Tensions in Europe 

Nationalism-pride in one’s country-pitted nation against nation and created rivalries (mistrust & hatred)

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Imperialism- empire building -European nations competed for colonies in Africa, Asia, etc. (new markets & raw materials)

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Militarism-building up armed forces to prepare for war-created competition & tension

Aggressive Nationalism

Imperialism: European conquest of Africa

Causes of World War I - Militarism Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Britain, Russia) in millions of £s (British pounds) 1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1914

94

130

154

268

289

398

France Britain Russia Germany

1910-1914 Increase in Defense Expenditures 10% 13% 39% 73%

B. Rival Alliances 

Countries in Europe formed alliances to support one another in case of attack. This meant that a minor incident could spark a major war

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Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy & Austria-Hungary

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Triple Entente: France, Britain & Russia

The Alliance System Triple Entente:

Triple Alliance:

C. The Balkans in Crisis 

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Austria -Hungary) and his wife are assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip This causes a chain reaction of war declarations because of alliances (a minor incident caused a major war) This is the “spark” that ignites the “powder keg”

Causes of World War I - Assassination

The Assassin: Gavrilo Princip

Causes of World War I - MANIA Militarism – building up strong military forces to prepare for war Alliances - agreements between nations to aid and protect one another Nationalism – pride in or devotion to one’s country Imperialism – when one country takes over another economically & politically Assassination – murder of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand The Point of No Return: The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Austria blamed Serbia for Ferdinand’s death and declared war on Serbia. Germany pledged their support for Austria -Hungary. (Pan-German nationalism)

Russia pledged their support for Serbia. (Pan-Slavic nationalism) Germany declares war on Russia. France pledges their support for Russia. Germany declares war on France. Germany invades Belgium on the way to France.

Great Britain supports Belgium and declares war on Germany.

D. The “Great War” Begins 

Central PowersGermany, Austria-Hungary,& Ottoman Empire (Turkey) – Bulgaria joins later

Allied Powers

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Allied Powers-France, Britain, & Russia (Italy & 20 others join later) Triple Alliance becomes Central Powers, Triple Entente becomes Allied Powers Germany’s plan was to defeat France quickly, then concentrate on Russia

Two Armed Camps! Allied Powers:

Rival Alliances in Europe

Central Powers: Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism

World War I Begins

Soldiers Mobilized 14 12

Millions

10 8 6 4 2 0 France

Germany

Russia

Britain

E. Trench Warfare 

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Both sides dug in,creating miles of trenches protected by mines & barbed wire (p.652) This caused a stalemate for 3 years No Man’s Land-area between trenches Over the Top-attacks on the enemy across no man’s land (rarely successful) Neither side gained much territory, but both sides lost many lives

Trench Warfare Trench Warfare – type of fighting during WWI in which both sides dug trenches protected by mines & barbed wire

Cross-section of a front-line trench

Trench Scenes

French soldiers firing over their own dead

An aerial photograph of the opposing trenches and no-man's land in Artois, France, 1917. German trenches are at the right and bottom, British trenches are at the top left. The vertical line to the left of centre indicates the course of a pre-war road.

All Quiet on the Western Front – trench warfare (9:27)

Trench Rats Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell. These corpses, as well as food scraps that littered trenches, attracted rats.

Quotes from soldiers fighting in the trenches:

"The rats were huge. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn't defend himself." "I saw some rats running from under the dead men's greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat."

'Gassed'. Painting by John Singer Sargent, 1918/1919.

Officers walking through a flooded communication trench.

A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot.

A Multi-Front War

F. American Neutrality 

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Officially, America was neutral, but public opinion was divided (most favored Allies) Most German, Austrian, Irish and Jewish Americans favored the Central Powers The war caused the American economy to boom (trade-mostly w/ Allies)

Propaganda-spreading ideas to convince someone to support your cause (posters,etc)

American Neutrality

· Officially, the U.S. was a neutral country. · However, we traded food, weapons, oil, steel, and other goods far more with the Allied Powers than with the Central Powers.

Propaganda

G. Freedom of the Seas 

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Germany used U-boats (subs) to attack Allied & neutral ships (trading w/ Allies) They had warned the U.S. to keep their ships out of restricted areas, but U.S. refused Germany sunk the Lusitania, a British passenger ship, killing 1200 people (128 American)

Freedom of the Seas · The U.S., as a neutral nation, claimed the right to trade with either side in the war. · However, Britain and Germany set up blockades around the British and German coasts.

· German submarines, called U-boats, torpedoed enemy ships and neutral ships trading with the enemy.

U-Boats

Lusitania