1. Causes of the War

2. Europe at Its Peak • Industrial Revolution at its peak • Modernization led to sense that Europeans were at the peak of world civilization • Europe had 25% of world population—highest percent of any time in history

3. Imperial Tensions • European nations competed for colonies

4. Militarism • Glorification of war and increase in military spending • Germany competed against England’s naval superiority

5. Nationalism • Great pride in one’s country or aspiring to become one’s own country • Germany and Italy had only recently become united, independent countries • Many countries torn by tensions of different nationalist groups

6. Combined with militarism and imperial competition, this increased tensions in Europe

7. The System of Alliances • Web of treaties to protect themselves • Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy • Triple Entente: France, Russia and Great Britain

9. How do I possibly REMEMBER all of that?

10. These are the MAIN causes for World War I • MAIN • Militarism • Alliances • Imperialism • Nationalism

11. War Breaks Out

12. Nationalism in the Balkans

13. Nationalism in the Balkans • People with diverse religions, ethnic backgrounds, languages • As Ottoman Empire receded, new nations were born • Russian and Austria competed for colonial control of new nations • Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia in 1908 and Serbia resents this

14. Nationalism in the Balkans

15. The Assassination of the Archduke

16. The Assassination of the Archduke • Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria visited Bosnian capital (Sarajevo) on June 28, 1914 • 7 assassins from the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist group, plot against him • 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip kills the Archduke and his wife (THE SPARK)

17. The Assassination of the Archduke

18. Austria-Hungary’s Ultimatum • Germany gave “blank check” of military support to Austria-Hungary • Austria-Hungary’s serves ultimatum to Serbia • Serbia refuses to let Austria-Hungary’s officials run an investigation in Serbia

19. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia July 28,1914

20. The Alliance System Leads to War • Russia supported Serbia and Germany supported Austria-Hungary • Within one week, almost all of Europe plunged into war: • Germany declares war on Russia and France • Britain declares war on Germany

21. Alliances and Fronts of the War

22. What has changed about the alliances????

23. The Alliances • Allied Powers — Britain, France , Russia, Belgium • Central Powers — Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire

24. The Western Front • Germany tried to take France quickly in the Western Front and then turn to fight Russia (Schlieffen Plan) • Instead, battle lines formed in northeastern France and changed little (stalemate) • Miles of trenches built (trench warfare)

25. The Western Front

26. Battles Along the Western Front • Long, bloody battles: Verdun—680,000 casualties • Somme—over 1 million casualties

27. The Eastern Front • Lack of modern technology caused Russia enormous defeats • Led to Bolshevik (Russian)Revolution • Treaty signed with revolutionary government in Russia—lost one-fourth of territory

28. The Eastern Front Brest-Litvosk Treaty

29. The Balkan Front • The Allies abandoned attempts to land in Balkans after losing battles to Ottoman Empire (ex. Gallipoli) The Italian Front • Italians joined the Triple Entente in 1915 and fought Austria-Hungary

30. The War Ends • 1917 – USA enters war – replaces Russia in Triple Entente • Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were first Central Powers to be defeated • Revolts inside Austria-Hungary and Germany helped end the war quickly

31. New Weapons Used in the War

33. The Machine Gun • Modern industry replaced the single-fire, short-range rifle • British machine guns fired 8 round per second, at a distance of 2,900 yards

34. Artillery • Greater power and carried shells much further • 24 million shells used in the Battle of Verdun alone

37. Weapons of the Industrial Age • 75 different types of poison-gas used (1st time – 1915 2nd Battle of Ypres) • Flame throwers • Tanks (first used in 1916) • Airplanes • U-Boats

41. Casualties of Modern Weaponry • Tactics of sending masses of men toward enemy didn’t work against modern weapons (No Man’s Land) • Britain suffered 57,470 casualties on the first day of the Battle of Somme • Total losses for WWI exceeded 10 million

42. The Reality of Soldiers’ Lives

44. Patriotic Fervor • Many Europeans looked forward to war at the start Attitudes Change • Soldiers changed Europeans’ optimistic fervor through letters about the horrors of war

45. The Return Home • No crowds or heroes’ welcome after the war

46. Trench Warfare

49. The Race to the Sea • 475 miles of trenches were dug across northern France • British troops used over 10 million shovels during the war