Chapter 28 Descent into the Abyss: World War I and the Crisis of the

Chapter 28 World War I and the Crisis of the European Global Order

Ms. Sheets AP World History

M.A.I.N. Causes of WWI (1914-1918) Militarism: New industrial technologies; after Germany began building a navy, all nations began creating more weapons.  Alliances  Triple Alliance (aka Central Powers): Germany + Austria-Hungary + Italy [initially] + Ottoman Empire + Bulgaria.  Triple Entente (aka Allied Powers): Russia + France + Britain + Italy [in 1915] +Japan +US [later].  Imperialism: Tensions are high between alliance systems who are in the midst of imperialist rivalries over the few lands still not yet colonized 

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Colonists acted as resource-providers and combatants; hoped to achieve independence after the war and were often promised this

Nationalism (new Germany; Balkan independence)

World War I in Europe and Middle East

Outbreak of War  Ethnic divisions and rivalries in the Balkans added 

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tension to Europe. July 1914: Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife in Sarajevo, Bosnia. July Crisis of 1914: Austria-Hungary demands political and territorial concessions from Serbia; Serbia refuses; Austria-Hungary invades Serbia Russia supported Serbia via Pan-Slavic Movement  Movement in 19th c., supported by Russia, aimed at unification of Slavic peoples who had long been ruled by others Germany supported Austria-Hungary Alliances fall into place and there exists no more possibility of regional war.

War in Europe: Western Front  Germany’s concern: fight war on both fronts. 

Auxiliary Service Law of 1916: German law required all males between 17 and 60 to only work at jobs critical to the war effort

 Schlieffen Plan: plans to attack France first via Belgium

before turning east to the backward and slow Russia Britain protected its ally, Belgium.  Japan supports Britain (naval allies) 

 Europeans thought war would be quick.

Yet, Germany did not have a quick victory in France  Western Front: Germans halted by the French on the Marne River.  Trench warfare ensued along Western Front for three years  War where new types of technology had been used: airplanes; tanks; poison gas; radio technology 

War Outside Europe Only South America does not participate.  Troops were recruited from colonies; mostly fighting for the Triple Entente.  Primarily occurs when Europeans realize war will not be decisive or quick.  Germany’s main support was the Ottoman Empire, who entered WWI in 1915.  Gallipoli Campaign, 1915-1916 

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British and French try to capture Istanbul; attempt fails with casualties on both sides; seen as huge success for Ottomans

Effective British naval blockades ensured Germany could not receive raw materials from its colonies, as German ships were destroyed.  The British Dominions (Canada, Australia and New Zealand) contributed resources to Great Britain.  China declared war on Germany in 1917. 

Quick Review Question 1) What is the Schlieffen Plan? What problem does it try to solve? 2) How were non-Western regions involved in the war effort? 3) What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk accomplish?

War in the East and in Italy

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Russia focused on Austria-Hungary and eastern Germany, but easily defeated by Germany troops.  

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1915: Austria-Hungary crushed Serbia, but struggled against Russia. 

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Aristocratic generals commanded millions of illiterate and poorly trained peasants 1917: Russia (Lenin) withdraws from WWI early; signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (ceded Russian territory to Germans).

Inept generals; multiethnic armies with soldiers whose loyalties to Austrian emperor was inconstant British and French troops were deployed to stop Austrian advance east.

1915: Italy switched from the Triple Alliance to the Triple Entente.   

Britain promised territory gains in war at Austria-Hungary’s expense if Italy switched. Most Entente-Italian assaults against Austria-Hungary ended in disaster. Italy frustrated it did not receive additional territory at end of war.

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American Involvement in 1917 Americans sold food, weapons, and gave loans to the

Entente.  1915: German submarine sank British luxury liner, Lusitania; 100+ Americans died.   

Germans claim Lusitania carrying secret shipments; Britain denies it; later proven true In 1916, Germany attacks U.S. merchant ships en route to Britain. Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare

1917 Zimmermann Telegram: Great Britain intercepts telegram where Germany promised Mexico territory it had lost in Mexican-American War in exchange for joining Germany.  1917: The United States entered WWI; policy previously was isolationism. 

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By 1918, millions of American men in training; makes Germany believe they need to end war quickly Will be the turn of the tide: US troops are freshly ready and newly armed with supplies

The Home Fronts  1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic  Governments developed propaganda to

promote patriotism and citizen support for the war. Soldiers felt unsupported, and that citizens lacked commitment for or understanding of war.  British/Americans bombarded with stories of German atrocities. 

 Many aspects of industrialization were taken

over by the governments. 

People either benefit from industrialization or are excluded; sparks labor protests.

 Women participated greatly on the home front.

The End of War  After Russia withdrew, a confident Germany

transferred more soldiers to the Western Front; victory seemed near.  Newly-arrived American soldiers stalled German advance in northern France. 

Germany (mounting casualties, sheer fatigue) vs America (new; enthusiastic)

 Austro-Hungarian empire abdicated.  German commanders agreed to an armistice on

November 11, 1918.  WWI claimed 15 million and wounded 20 million. Young generation of European men nearly wiped out.  Bombs and troops had destroyed cities, towns, and farms. 

Quick Review Question 1) What events pushed America to enter WWI? 2) What did governments try to keep the focus on in the Home

Front?

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points (1918) Statement declaring that WWI was a just moral affair; proposal for European peace  List of fourteen post-war goals: 

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Free trade Diplomatic end to the war International disarmament to lowest point “consistent with domestic safety” Withdrawal of Central Powers from occupied territories Creation of Poland Territorial restructuring along ethnic lines League of Nations Return Alsace-Lorraine to France Self-determination: right of people in region to determine whether to be independent or not

Became the basis for terms of German surrender  Wilson awarded 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in WWI 

Paris Peace Conference of 1919  Meeting of Entente leaders to determine peace

terms for Europe and how to deal with defeated empires after the armistice (end of war).

Outcome is Treaty of Versailles The Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.  Ottoman Empire reduced to present-day Turkey; Great Britain control Iraq and Pakistan; France control Syria and Lebanon.  Russia lost territory to Poland and Romania.  Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania receive independence from Russia.  

 Wartime promises of independence to colonial

leaders in return for their war support for Entente were forgotten.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)  Germany was given no part in drafting the Treaty

of Versailles.

 Goal: cripple Germany economically so it could

never again rise to power and threaten to invade other European states.  Major players disagreed about how to deal with Germany.  Outcome for Germany: 

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Article 231: Clause included that placed total blame for war upon Germany Limit their army to 100,000 soldiers. Alsace and Lorraine (won in Franco-Prussian War) returned to France Pay $33 billion in reparations to Entente members. Lost all colonies (Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon, Samoa)

 League of Nations established (idea of US President

Woodrow Wilson)

League of Nations  The League of Nations, proposed by

Woodrow Wilson, was established after WWI to preserve peace and humanitarian goals.  Many nations refused to join it  England and France hesitant  Germany and Russia not allowed  U.S. declines  League of Nations was a pre-cursor to the United Nations.  Effective at functions such as providing famine relief and dealing with refugee issues, but was otherwise weak.

Cultural Ramifications  Pointlessness of war and cynicism abound.

Traditional ideas of war’s nobility and heroism collapsed.  Optimism of La Belle Époque had ended.  Art, cinema, poems, literature respond. 

 Writers’ War: soldiers wrote letters to loved ones; wrote

poems in trenches Spread of liberal reforms (education) meant most soldiers (and public) were literate.  Soldiers’ experiences preserved 

 Lost Generation

Term popularized by Ernest Hemingway  Refers to F. Scott Fitzgerald; Gertrude Stein  Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises captures the variety of losses in war (masculinity) 

 Artists transfer from Romanticism to Modernism.

Lost Generation 

“A generation of innocent young men, their heads full of high abstractions like Honour, Glory and England, went off to war to make the world safe for democracy. They were slaughtered in stupid battles planned by stupid generals. Those who survived were shocked, disillusioned and embittered by their war experiences, and saw that their real enemies were not the Germans, but the old men at home who had lied to them. They rejected the values of the society that had sent them to war, and in doing so separated their own generation from the past and from their cultural inheritance” - Samuel Hynes, historian

Quick Review Question 1) Describe the relationship between these three terms: Paris Peace

Conference; Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points; Treaty of Versailles 2) Is the League of Nations effective? Why or why not? 3) What does the term “Lost Generation” indicate about a postWWI West?

Weak European Imperialism  To win support of Western-educated elites and new allies in different

regions, French and British made many promises regarding postwar colonial relationships.  Primarily promised independence; Created a great deal of postwar strain when this did not come to pass  War cast doubt on white racial supremacy  War gave support to anti-colonial movements in European colonies which are characterized by three themes. 1) Led by charismatic, Western-educated elites who support nationalism. 2) Leaders will rally peasant and urban masses. 3) Leaders will often rely on nonviolent forms of protest.

India’s National Congress Party  The National Congress Party led India to independence and governed India

through its postcolonial era.  Formed by Indians in 1885 as an educated political club, and was supported by

many British officials.  The NCP gave Indians a sense of identity.  NCP became concerned over British Raj racism and budget, where most

money went to the British army and administrators.

Indian Nationalism  India contributed significantly to World War I as a colony of

Great Britain.  Wartime inflation affected all segments of Indian population.  British leaders promised Indians self-government once WWI was over; some steps were taken towards this: Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909: provided Indians opportunities to vote for and serve on all-Indian legislative councils.  Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919: gave Indian legislators increased control. 

 Yet, the Rowlatt Act of 1919 restricted Indian civil rights

(freedom of the press, root out conspirators), which fueled local protest and caused Indians to doubt British intentions. 

1919: Protests led to Amritsar Massacre

Emergence of Gandhi (1919)  Mahatma (born Mohandas) Gandhi emerged as

an Indian leader around 1919.  He preached non-violent but aggressive protest against British colonization. 

Peaceful protests; boycotts; strikes; noncooperation; demonstrations

 Built up a strong following with the middle-

class and Indian peasants.  Combined Western-educated ideas about law with Hindu values and asceticism.  With Gandhi as leader, nationalist protest surged in 1920s and 1930s.

Quick Review Question 1) What are the three themes seen in anti-colonial movements? 2) Describe the Indian National Congress Party (NCP). 3) Who is Gandhi and what was his political goal?

Egyptian Demands for Independence  The British had occupied Egypt in 1882 since

Orabi’s revolt  Egyptian dissent began in the early 1900s; first nationalist parties formed, frustrated by British monopolies and corruption.  1906: Dinshaway Incident  Revealed British arrogance and superiority in an already tense relationship.  Led to inflamed Egyptian nationalism.  By 1913, British gave in and granted Egypt representation in British Parliament. 

1914: WWI begins; British distracted.

Egyptian Revolution of 1919 During WWI, the British defended the Suez Canal and used critical resources (cotton) from Egypt in the war.  1919: Demand Egyptian representatives at Paris Peace Conference; denied.  Egyptian Revolution of 1919: revolt against British occupation of Egypt and Sudan 

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1922: Britain recognized Egyptian independence and British withdrawal began. Led by Wafd Party (nationalist liberal political party) 1923: New constitution that changes Egypt from dynastic rule of khedives to a parliamentary monarchy that is nationally-elected. British presence continues until British withdrawal of the Suez Canal zone in 1936.

Even though Egypt now had independence, later Egyptian politicians were more concerned with power and wealth than with poverty aide, education, health, or labor.

Nationalism in the Middle East  After WWI, the Ottoman Empire collapsed (1923)

and an independent Turkish Republic was established.  In League of Nations, Britain and France divided Arab portions of Ottoman Empire, despite European promises of Arab independence after WWI. France: Syria; Lebanon  Britain: Iraq; Palestine and Lebanon  Nationalism grows in these locations 

 Palestine and a Jewish Holy Land?

1894: Dreyfus Affair spurred Jewish Zionists (movement for a Jewish Middle Eastern holy land).  1917: Balfour Declaration aggravated relationships between Palestinian Arabs and Englishmen. 

Quick Review Question 1) What did the Dinshaway Incident reveal about British-Egyptian

relations? 2) Describe the Dreyfus Affair; what did it promote?