THE GUNS OF AUGUST

1. THE GUNS OF AUGUST • Two pistol shots fired on the streets of Sarajevo (Bosnia) • June 28, 1914 • Assassin: Gavrilo Princip • Serbia • Agent for “Union of Death” • Victim: Archduke Francis Ferdinand • Heir to throne of Austrian Empire • Result: Outbreak of World War One – the “Guns of August”

2. REACTION • Union of Death made its headquarters in Serbia • Dedicated to creating a “Greater Serbia” • Main obstacle was Austrian Empire which controlled some territory that would be included in “Greater Serbia” • Austria reacts strongly to assassination • Issues Serbia an ultimatum which would result in war if Serbia failed to meet demands • Declared war on Serbia in July 1914

3. INTERNATIONAL SITUATION 1870-1914 • CAUSES • Germany’s desire to protect newly-won status • French desire for revenge • Intense economic competition between Great Britain and Germany • Competition between Russia and Austria Empire in the Balkans • Competition for colonies

4. ALLIANCES • TRIPLE ALLIANCE • GERMANY • AUSTRIAN EMPIRE • ITALY • TRIPLE ENTENTE • FRANCE • GREAT BRITAIN • RUSSIA • INTENDED TO BE DEFENSIVE ALLIANCES –BUT INSTEAD PROVED TO BE DEADLY TRAPS

5. CHAIN OF EVENTS • Austria declares war on Serbia • Russia mobilizes army and announces it will support Serbia • Germany mobilizes army and announces it will support Austria • France mobilizes army and announces it will support Russia • Great Britain does not mobilize immediately but enters conflict on side of French and Russians when Germany violates Belgian neutrality • Italy does not mobilize at all

6. THE LINEUP • CENTRAL POWERS • Germany • Austrian Empire • Ottoman Empire • Bulgaria • ALLIES • France • Great Britain • Russia (drops out in 1917) • United States (enters in 1917) • Italy (enters in 1916) • Japan

7. ALLIED LEADERS David Lloyd George Great Britain Woodrow Wilson United States Georges Clemenceau France Nicholas II Russia

8. CENTRAL POWERS LEADERS Francis Josef Austrian Empire William II Germany

9. THE START OF THE WAR • Schieffen Plan • Massive invasion of northern France through Belgium • Catch French by surprise and capture Paris • Stopped at the First Battle of the Marne • Germany had to pull out two divisions • British troops fought with the French

10. THE WESTERN FRONT

11. 1915 GALLIOPI • Attempt by British to capture Straits into the Black Sea from the Turks and thus open way to supply Russia • Planned by Winston Churchill • Fought entirely by colonial troops from Australia, New Zealand, and India • Bloody fiasco – Churchill loses job as Minister of the Navy and the straits remain closed for remainder of war

12. 1916 OFFENSIVES ON THE WESTERN FRONT VERDUN BATTLE OF THE SOMME

13. 1917 TYPICAL BEGINNING • Italy joins war on Allied side • Defeated at horrible Battle of Caporetto • 700,000 casualties • Russia launches Kerensky Offensive • Massive failure • Russian soldiers begin to desert, murder their officers, and turn on the civilian leaders who had sent them to be slaughtered

14. 1917 U.S. ENTERS/RUSSIA LEAVES • US ENTERS • German U-boat attacks on neutral shipping angers the United States • Congress declares war on Germany in April 1917 • Estimated that it would take at least a year for U.S. to mobilize and train an army and arrive in Europe • RUSSIA LEAVES • Revolution erupts in November 1917 • Bolsheviks seize power and pull Russia out of the war • Germany transfers men from Russia to Western Front, gaining numerical advantage there

15. 1918 THE END OF THE WAR • Germans launch three offensives on Western Front in Spring 1918 • Break through Allied lines and head for Paris • Stopped 80 miles outside of Paris by Allied forces, reinforced by U.S troops • Led by Marshal Ferdinand Foch • Allies push Germans back into Germany • Germans ask for armistice. Goes into effect November 11, 1918

16. Machine gun WAR OF POSITION Airplane Trench Trench warfare: four dehumanizing years of living and dying half-buried in mud; wet, cold, frightened, and bombarded by the most barbarically ingenious weapons the Western mind could invent War in which defensive capabilities outperformed offensive ones, so that neither side could achieve a significant breakthrough Tank Poison Gas

17. OLD STANDBYS Artillery Enfield Rifles

18. ASPECTS OF THE WAR I • NATIONAL COMMITMENT • Governments allocated raw materials, controlled transportation, regulated prices and wages, and rationed food and necessities • Universal conscription • Women replaced men in the workforce • Huge rise in national debts • Severe hardship for many civilian populations

19. ASPECTS OF THE WAR II • TRULY GLOBAL WAR • Involved non-European countries • Fought outside Europe by non-European people • Belligerents used colonial troops • Lawrence of Arabia organized Arab Bedouins LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

20. CASUALTIES 20 MILLION WOUNDED “LOST GENERATION” 10 MILLION DEAD 6000 PER DAY

21. ADDITIONAL CONSEQUENCES • MATERIAL LOSSES: 200 BILLION DOLLARS • 10 MILLION DOLLARS A DAY • BANKRUPT ALL BELLIGERENTS EXCEPT U.S. • ALTERED POLITICAL STRUCTURE • CAUSED COLLAPSE OF OTTOMAN AND AUSTRIAN EMPIRES • CAUSED CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT IN RUSSIA AND GERMANY • LEGACY? HUMAN AND MATERIAL DEVASTATION, BANKRUPTCY, AND COMPLETE POLITICAL CHAOS