Nationalism Imperialism Alliances Militarism International Anarchy.

Nationalism

Imperialism

Alliances

Militarism

International Anarchy

The Great Powers

Great Britain

Germany

Austria

Russia

Italy

France

The Three Emperors’ League (1872)

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78

The Dual Alliance

The Triple Alliance

The Reinsurance Treaty (1887)

The Franco-Russian Alliance (1894)

Deterioration of Anglo-German Relations

The Anglo-French Entente (1904)

The Anglo-Russian Entente (1907)

The Triple Entente

Sarajevo, Bosnia – June 28, 1914

COUNTRIES TAKE A SIDE

• Shocked Francis Joseph blames Serbia, feels serb gov’t knew of the plot

• Believed that Serbia wanted south Slav empire

• Wanted to deal harshly with the Serbs

• Needed German backing first• Kaiser Wilhelm II told Austria

that Germany would support any action they saw fit

• Essentially giving Austria a blank check to do anything.

AUSTRIA ANSWERS SERBIA

• Austria sends Serbia a severe ultimatum or final set of demands 7/23/14

• Serbia must end all anti-Austrian agitation and punish and Serbian official involved in the murder.

• Dismiss all officials hostile to Austria-Hungary• Allow Austrian officials into Serbia to investigate the

Archduke’s murder themselves• Serbia agrees to all of the terms except the last, rejecting it

as an infringement on Serbian sovereignty.• 7/28/14 Austria balk at Serbia and declare war on the Serbs

July 28, 1914 – Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia

July 30, 1914 – Russia prepared to defend Serbia

August 1, 1914 – Germany declares war on Russia

August 3, 1914 – Germany declared war on France

August 3, 1914 – Germany invaded neutral Belgium

August 4, 1914 – British declared war on Germany

Ready Since 1905

Response to possibility of a Two front war

France on the West

Russia on the East

Paris in Six Weeks

March Against Russia

FRENCH STRONGHOLD AT VERDUN.

- IDEA WAS TO BLEED FRANCE TO DEATH AND BREAK THERE SPIRIT

German first assault, February 21, artillery bombardment,

-five months of fighting causes

-430,000 German dead

-540,000 French dead

-Germans bleed French white but, not to death and hurt there military in the end

THEY

SHALL NOT PASS

FRENCH HOLD THE LINE.

-FORCE GERMAN STALEMATE

-CREATE PROBLEMS FOR GERMAN HIGH COMMAND

Tennenberg

German army quickly isolates and destroys the Russian forces, at the end of August.

Galicia Austria, ends the war for Russia

OTTOMAN EMPIRE SIDES WITH GERMNY. CLOSE DARDANELLES TO ALLIED SHIPPING

BRITAIN GOES TO OPEN AREA AND WINDS UP STAYING FOR A YEAR AND LOSING 65,000 MEN

American Neutrality• Wilson—neither threatened vital

American interest• American against the war Pacifists,

Isolationists, Socialist• Edward M. House and Robert

Lansing– Wilson’s pro-British advisors

• William Jennings Bryan– Against pro-British tilt

• Germany had no advocates in government

• British blockade of Germany– Violates American neutrality, Wilson

protests

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

British navy blocks German coast and starves people

Germany counters with U-boats

British Big naval advantage countered by hidden boats

Submarine Warfare• Unterseeboot (U-boat)• Lusitania (May 1915)

– 1198 killed, 128 Americans

– Germans had warned the passenger was a target

• Bryan resigns when Wilson refuses to criticize both British blockade and U-boats

• Sussex pledge (1916)• 1916 preparedness measures

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

German Escalation

• Russia’s imminent collapse• Germany concentrates on Britain and

France– Renew U-boat war

• "Zimmerman telegram“• American declaration of war: “make the

world safe for democracy”

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved

American Intervention

• Russian revolution (1917)– Vladimir Lenin and Bolshevik Party

• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918)– Publication of secret Allied treaties

• German 1918 offensive• American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

– John J. Pershing

• Allied 1918 offensive• Armistice 11-11-1918

(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved