CHAPTER 10 SECTION 1

CHAPTER 10SECTION 1

FROM NEUTRALITY TO WAR

• 1914 – NATIONALISM, MILITARISM, IMPERIALISM AND ENTANGLING ALLIANCES COMBINED WITH OTHER FACTORS LED TO THE NATIONS OF EUROPE INTO A BRUTAL WAR

• THE UNITED STATES REMAINED NEUTRAL AT FIRST BUT ENDED UP ABANDONING ITS LONG TRADITION OF STAYING OUT OF EUROPEAN CONFLICTS

CAUSES OF WWI

• NATIONALISM

– DEVOTION TO ONE’S NATION STARTED INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC TENSION

• EUROPEANS BEGAN TO REJECT THE EARLIER IDEA OF A NATION AS A COLLECTION OF DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS – THEY BELIEVED A NATION SHOULD EXPRESS THE NATIONALISM OF A SINGLE ETHNIC GROUP

• NATIONALISM ALSO DESTABILIZED OLD MULTINATIONAL EMPIRES SUCH AS AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE – PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE BALKAN REGION OF SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

• WHEN SERBIA EMERGED AS AN INDEPENDENT NATION IT CHALLENGED THE AUSTRIA-HUNGARY EMPIRE TWO WAYS:1. BY TRYING TO GAIN TERRITORY CONTROLLED BY THE EMPIRE2. BY THE EXAMPLE IT OFFERED TO AUSTRIA-HUNGARY’S DIVERSE PEOPLE

•NATIONALIST SENTIMENTS SPILLED OVER INTO THE ECONOMIC GOALS OF EACH NATION

•LEADING INDUSTRIAL NATIONS COMPETED FOR LANDS RICH IN RAW MATERIALS AS WELL AS FOR PLACES TO BUILD MILITARY BASES TO PROTECT THEIR EMPIRES

•INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS CARVED COLONIES OUT OF AFRICA, THE PACIFIC AND CHINA

ARMS RACE

EUROPEAN LEADERS KNEW A WAR WAS GOING TO HAPPEN – THEY BEGAN TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF THEIR ARMIES AND WEAPONS

1914 – GERMANY HAD A LARGE STANDING ARMY AND THE LARGEST AND DEADLIEST GUNS IN THE WORLD – ALSO BUILT UP A NAVY

• MILITARISM – THE GLORIFICATION OF THE MILITARY GREW IN THE COMPETING COUNTRIES AND HELPED FUEL THE ARMS RACE

• THIS WAR WOULD INVOLVE MORE TROPPS AND MORE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED WEAPONS THAN BEFORE – MACHINE GUNS, MOBILE ARTILLERY, TANKS, SUBMARINES AND AIRPLANES WOULD CHANGE THE NATURE OF WARFARE

ALLIANCES

•TWO MAJOR ALLIANCES FORMED BEFORE THE WAR:

1. GERMANY AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND ITALY JOINED THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE

2. FRANCE, RUSSIA AND GREAT BRITAIN FORMED THE TRIPLE ENTENTE

• THE ALLIANCES KNEW IF WAR WAS DECLARED ON THEM THEIR ALLIES WOULD HELP

• EUROPEAN LEADERS THOUGHT LESS OF THE ADVANTAGES OF PEACE AND MORE OF THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF WAR – HOPED FOREIGN WAR WOULD HELP SMOOTH DOMESTIC PROBLEMS

• JUNE 28, 1914, ARCHDUKE FRANCIS FERDINAND – HEIR TO THE THRONE OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND HIS WIFE WENT TO SARAJEVO THE CAPITAL OF BOSNIA THAT WAS UNDER AUSTRIA-HUNGARY CONTROL

FRANCIS FERDINAND

•FERDINAND AND HIS WIFE WERE ASSASSINATED BY GAVRILO PRINCIP

– THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF WWI

• KAISER WILLIAM II – LEADER OF GERMANY – GIVES HIS SUPPORT TO AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

• AUSTRIA-HUNGARY SENDS AN ULTIMATUM TO SERBIS DEMANDING SERBIA’S TOTAL COOPERATION IN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ASSASSINATION – SERBIA DOES NOT AGREE SO AUSTRIA- HUNGARY DECLARES WAR ON SERBIA

RUSSIA – THE LARGEST SLAVIC COUNTRY – MOBILIZES TO HELP SERBIA – FELT IT WAS THEIR DUTY TO

PROTECT SERBIA – THIS CAUSES GERMANY TO

DECLARE WAR ON RUSSIA

FRANCE – RUSSIA’S ALLY – DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY

GERMANY THEN DECLARES WAR ON NEUTRAL BELGIUM – HAS TO GO THROUGHT BELGIUM TO GET TO FRANCE

GREAT BRITAIN DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY BECAUSE OF BELGIUM

CENTRAL POWERS OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND GERMANY WERE AT WAR WITH THE ALLIES OF FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA

TECHNOLOGY LEADS TO STALEMATE

CENTRAL POWERS AND ALLIES BOTH HAD A VAST SYSTEM OF TRENCHED STRETCHING FROM BELGIUM TO SWITZERLAND

WESTERN FRONT – CRITICAL BATTLE FRONT EVEN THOUGHT FIGHTING OCCURRED IN EASTERN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST – WHOEVER WON THE WESTERN FRONT WOULD WIN THE WAR

• THE WAR LASTED A LONG TIME – REASON FOR THE LENGTH OF THE WAR WAS THAT THE DEFENSIVE WEAPONS OF THE TIME WERE BETTER AND MORE DEVASTATING THAN THE OFFENSIVE ONES

• IN ABOUT EVERY BATTLE OF THE WAR ON THE WESTERN FRONT THE ATTACKING FORCE SUFFERED TERRIBLY – INEFFECTIVE OFFENSIVES AND EFFECTIVE DEFENSIVES PRODUCED A STALEMATE

•DEADLY TECHNOLOGY OF WWI

1. MACHINE GUNS – COULD FIRE 600 BULLETS A MINUTE2. ARTILLERY FIELD GUNS – LONG RANGE CANNONS CAUSED MORE CASUALTIES THAN ANY OTHER TYPE OF WEAPON3. POISON GAS – CHLORINE AND MUSTARD GAS COULD KILL, BLIND OR BURN VICTIMS – DANGEROUS TO USE BECAUSE OF THE WIND

4. SUBMARINES – GERMAN U-BOATS USED TORPEDOES AS WELL AS ON DECK GUNS TO SINK SHIPS 5. TANKS AND ARMORED CARS – BOTH SIDES TRIED TO DEVELOP VEHICLES THAT COULD GO OVER THE ROUGH GROUND AND BARBED-WIRE BARRICADES OF NO MAN’S LAND, WITH LIMITED SUCCESS 6. AIRPLANES – PLANES WERE USED FOR RECONNAISSANCE, BOMBING AND FIGHTING BUT DID NOT PROVE DECISIVE

8. 8. 8. 8.

TRENCH WARFARE

STALEMATE LED TO TERRIBLE CONDITIONS FOR THE SOLDIERS IN THE TRENCHES ON THE WESTERN FRONT

THEY DEVELOPED “TRENCH FOOT” FROM STANDING FOR HOURS IN MUDDY AND WET CONDITIONS AND CONTRACTED LICE FROM THE RATS

Trench Foot Body Lice

• LIVED IN CONSTANT FEAR – AFRAID TO LOOK OUT OF THE TRENCHES • AREA IN BETWEEN THE TWO OPPOSING TRENCHES CALLED NO MAN’S LAND – ANYTHING THAT EXISTED THERE BEFORE WAS DESTROYED BY THE FIGHTING

STALEMATE DRAGGED ON WHILE THE CASUALTIES – SOLDIERS WOUNDED, KILLED AND MISSING – BEGAN TO BECOME HIGH

WILSON URGES NEUTRALITY• WILSON DID NOT SEE THAT THE WAR SET AMERICANS AGAINST EACH OTHER – MELTING POT – MANY NATIONALITIES LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES

• MANY AMERICANS VIEWED THE CONFLICT AS A EUROPEAN QUARREL FOR LAND AND INFLUENCE – WANTED TO MAINTAIN AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM FROM EUROPEAN DISPUTES

GOOD MANY BUSINESSES BENEFITED FROM THE INCREASED DEMAND BY WARRING NATIONS FOR AMERICAN

AMERICANS HAD DIVIDED LOYALTIES:1. GERMAN AMERICANS AND IRISH AMERICANS FELT THE CENTRAL

POWERS WERE JUSTIFIED IN THEIR ACTIONS

2. JEWISH AMERICANS FLED RUSSIA TO ESCAPE CZARIST REGIMES POGROMS AGAINST JEWS HOPED FOR RUSSIA’S DEFEAT

3. MOST AMERICANS SIDED WITH BRITAIN AND FRANCE – HAD HISTORIC TIES WITH THEM

THREE GROUPS HAD DIFFERENT OPINIONS:

ISOLATIONISTS – BELIEVED THAT THE WAR WAS NONE OF AMERICA’S BUSINESS

INTERVENTIONISTS – FELT THE WAR DID AFFECT AMERICAN INTERESTS AND THAT THE U.S. SHOULD INTERVENE ON THE SIDE OF THE ALLIES

INTERNATIONALISTS – BELIEVED THE U.S. SHOULD PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN WORLD AFFAIRS AND WORK TOWARD ACHIEVING A JUST PEACE BUT NOT ENTER THE WAR

REASONS THE U.S. ENTERS THE WAR

1. UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE – GERMANY BEGINS SINKING ALLIED SHIPS WITH THEIR U-BOATS – SINKS THE LUSITANIA OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND – KILLED AMERICANS – JUSTIFIED THE ATTACK BY

SAYING THE SHIP WAS CARRYING ALLIED AMMUNITION

• GERMANY PROMISED NOT TO SINK ANYMORE ANY MORE PASSENGER SHIPS – DID NOT KEEP THEIR WORD – SANK THE SUSSEX – AGAIN PROMISED NOT TO SINK ANY MORE SHIPS SUSSEX PLEDGE - WOULD WARN SHIPS AHEAD OF TIME BEFORE BOMBING THEM

2. ZIMMERMAN NOTE – GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER SENT TELEGRAM TO MEXICO – PROPOSED AN ALLIANCE WITH MEXICO STATING THAT IF THE U.S. DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY, MEXICO SHOULD DECLARE WAR ON THE U.S. – AFTER GERMAN VICTORY, MEXICO WOULD GET BACK THE STATES OF TEXAS, NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA – TELEGRAM WAS INTERCEPTED BY THE BRITISH

• CONGRESS DECLARED WAR AGAINST GERMANY ON APRIL 6, 1917