WORLD WAR I

The Great
War
1914 - 1918

Key facts
Went

from June 1914 to November

1918
Fighting was mostly in Europe
Countries from around the world
fought.
20 million people killed.
21 million people wounded.
Changed the face of Europe.
Set the stage for the start of World
War II.
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Europe Before 1914

Origins of the war

There

were a number of factors

which made war likely at this
time.
The Alliance system
When one country got into a fight it
automatically brought many other
countries in also.

The Arms Race

Countries had large standing armies.
These posed a very serious
threat.
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Origins of the war

An Acceptance of War
War was accepted as a legitimate
method of getting what your country
wanted.
Nations were very proud of their armies
and military histories.

Nationalism
Ordinary people took a fierce pride in
their country.
Easily turned into hostility towards other
countries.
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This idea was reinforced in
education,

Pre-WWI Scenario Alliances

Countries

had alliances to join

each other in wars and defend
each other against attack.
Triple Alliance
Germany
Austria- Hungary
Italy

Triple Entente
Russia
France
Britain

Opposing Alliances
1907
Britain

1904

Russia

Triple
Entente
(Allies)
France

1894

AustriaHungary

1882

1879
Germany

Triple
Alliance
(Central)
Italy

1882

Why did a Serbian assassinate

the Archduke of Austria-Hungary?

Serbia
1804-19thC

Serbia was ruled by the Turkish

Ottoman Empire, whilst Austria-Hungary
was a major European power.
In 1815 the Serbs successfully rebelled, and
in 1835 they proclaimed their own
constitution.
Austria-Hungary, which was a dynastic
empire comprised of MANY different races
Austria-Hungary was terrified of the
'panslavism', the nationalism by which the
Slav races of the Balkans aspired to set up
their own nation-states.

Austria-Hungary

regarded Serbia as the

leading, and the worst, example of this.
The Balkan Wars: in 1912 Serbia, Greece
and Bulgaria (calling themselves the
Balkan League) attacked Turkey and all but
drove the Turks out of Europe.
Next year, Bulgaria attacked Serbia, but
was defeated, leaving Serbia as the
leading Slavic power in the Balkans. Pasic,
the Serbian prime Minister, declared: 'the
first round is won. Now for the second
round - against Austria.'

TheBalkan

Peninsulaand
theBalkansis apeninsulaand
acultural areain Southeast
Europewith different and disputed
borders. The region takes its name
from theBalkan Mountainsthat
stretch from the east ofSerbiato
the Black Seaat the east
ofBulgaria.

Serbia went to war with

Turkey and conquered
Bosnia. But AustriaHungary persuaded the
great powers to give
back Bosnia to Turkey

Austria-Hungary
annexed Bosnia. The
Serbs were furious
(1908)

The Balkan Wars

(1912)
Serbia, Greece and
Bulgaria attacked
Turkey and drove them

Bulgaria
attacked
Serbia, but
was
defeated
(1913)

Serbia got
themselves
free from
ottoman
empire
(1835)

The

archduke traveled to Sarajevo

in June 1914 to inspect the
imperial armed forces in Bosnia
and Herzegovina
On 28th June 1914 Austrian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was
assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Franz Ferdinand was heir to the
Austrian throne.
He was killed by a Slav
nationalist and student called
Gavrio Princip.

The

Austria-Hungary government
saw the assassination as a direct
attack on the country.
The assassination provided AustriaHungary with an excuse to take
action against Serbia.
Austria sent an ULTIMATUM, a final
set of demands on July 23, 1914.
It ordered Serbia to end all antiAustrian activities and to let the
Austrian officials handle the
investigation of the murder. Austria

At

the same time, Russia began to mobilize

their army to help protect Serbia.
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
A few days later, Germany declared war on
Russia to help its ally Austria-Hungary.
Then France began to mobilize to help its
ally Russia, and Germany followed by
declaring war on France.
Britain backed France and declared war on
Germany
Japan sided with Britain in hopes of gaining
German territory in Asia
World War I had begun.
Italy signed a secret treaty with the

What were the advantages of both the Central

and Allied Powers?

Advantages of the
Central Powers
territory that
extended from the
North Sea to the
East powerful
Middle
Germanys
army
rapid
communications and
movement

Advantages of the
Allied Powers
more soldiers
greater industrial
capacity
Britains navy

Germany
Germany

had been a nation

since 1871.
Had ambitions to have
colonies and an empire like
France and Britain.
Was building up a navy which
was a threat to the British
Navy.
The monarch Kaiser Wilhelm
III spoke of how he wanted
Germany to be a great world
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power.

Germany : Schlieffen Plan

Germany

had been preparing for war

long before 1914. In fact, Germany
had started drawing up a plan for war
- the Schlieffen Plan - in 1897.
It was based on the theory that
Germany would be at war with Russia in the east.
France in the west.
The

plan was to quickly defeat France

before Russia could mobilise its army.
With France defeated it could
concentrate on fighting Russia.

Things went badly for

Germany
This

plan failed for a number of

reasons.
Russia moved their troops more
quickly than expected.
Belgium refused to allow Germany
access and put up fierce resistance
to German invasion.
The invasion of neutral Belgium
enraged Britain who joined the war.
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The Western Front

The Western Front

Both

sides raced to secure the ports

on the British Channel.
3 battles of Ypress
Battle of the Somme

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Problems on the Western

Front
The

artillery did not destroy the German

defences.
When the bombardment stopped the
Germans emerged and manned their
machine guns.
Germany trenches were difficult to hold
once captured and often had to be
abandoned.
Could be attacked from three sides.
Difficult to get supplies to.

Western Front Animations

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/wor

ldwars/wwone/launch_ani_western_
front.shtml
http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/ma
ps/maps_western.html

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Trench Warfare
Trench

a long narrow ditch dug in a

ground
type of fighting during World War I in
which both sides dug trenches
protected by mines and barbed wire
Over 200,000 men died in the trenches
of WW1, most of who died in battle, but
many died from disease and infections
brought on by the unsanitary
conditions.

New Weapons

MACHINE
GUNS
MACHINE GUNS

LONG
RANGE GUNS
LONG RANGE GUNS

POISON
POISONGAS
GAS

TANKS
TANKS

Manfred von Richthofen Red

Baron

Richthofen(May 1892 21 April

1918),
German

fighter pilot is the top

ace of the war, being officially
credited with 80 air combat
victories, which was the most kills
of any pilot during that war.
Richthofen was shot down on 21
April 1918. There has been
considerable discussion and
debate regarding his career & the
circumstances of his death.
He remains the most widely

The Eastern Front

Russia

mobilised quickly and invaded

East Prussia.
Germany had some success in Prussia
against the Russians.
Russians had many problems with
supplies and equipment.
Due to terrible conditions many Russian
soldiers deserted.
The Allies had problems getting supplies
to Russia due to the German North Sea
Blockade.
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The Eastern Front

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Russia
Politically,

the Russian empire was very divided

& dissatisfied, which lead to fertile ground for
revolutionaries and anarchists.
Russia was ruled by an autocratic Tsar (Czar).
Tsar retained and exercised all political decisionmaking and all sovereign power.
There was no constitution to define and limit the
tsars authority. Ministers were appointed and
sacked by the Tsar.

 The

Russian tsar at the outbreak of

World War I was Nicholas II
Became Tsar at age 26.
Intelligent but shy man
Pushed for expansion, both in eastern
Europe and in Russias Pacific region.
Russias chief interest was in eastern
Europe (Balkans & Ottoman Empire).
Russia was also an ally, indeed
something of a protector of Serbia,
whose people shared religious and
ethnic links with Slavic Russians.

Russia
Russia

was a mystery to most Europeans

They knew of Russias existence, marvelled at
its size and feared its military power but few
ever travelled there.
Its territorial holdings were enormous- 1/6 th of
the Earths landmass, population was enormous
(around 128 million people), large army.
Russias external power was more limited.
Russia was an under-developed economy,
mostly agricultural, very late indutrialization.

Russia
Russia

entered the first world war with the

largest army in the world, standing at 1,400,000
and later expanded to over 5,000,000 soldiers
Russia could not arm all its soldiers, having a
supply of 4.6 million rifles

Russian Revolution
RUSSIAN

REVOLUTION

TheFebruary Revolution(March 1917) was a

revolution focused around Petrograd (nowSaint
Petersburg).
The February Revolution took place in the
context of heavy military setbacks during
theFirst World War, which left much of the
Russian army in a state of mutiny.
By

August 1917 the Russians were in

general retreat.
In theOctober Revolution(November as
per Gregorian calendar),
theBolshevikparty, led byVladimir Lenin,
overthrew the Provisional Government in
Petrograd. The Bolsheviks34appointed

Russian Revolution
RUSSIAN

REVOLUTION

TheFebruary Revolution(March 1917) was a

revolution focused around Petrograd (nowSaint
Petersburg).
The February Revolution took place in the
context of heavy military setbacks during
theFirst World War, which left much of the
Russian army in a state of mutiny.
By

August 1917 the Russians were in

general retreat.
In theOctober Revolution(November as
per Gregorian calendar),
theBolshevikparty, led byVladimir Lenin,
overthrew the Provisional Government in
Petrograd. The Bolsheviks35appointed

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
TheTreaty

of Brest-Litovskwas
apeace treatysigned on March 3, 1918,
between the new Bolshevik government of
Russia (the Russian Soviet Federated
Socialist Republic) and the Central Powers
(Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and
Turkey), that ended Russia's participation
in World War I.

Civil

warerupted between the "Red" (Bolshevik)

and "White" (anti-Bolshevik) factions, which was
to continue for several years, with the Bolsheviks
ultimately victorious. In this way, the Revolution

The Italian Front

Italy

was a German ally but stayed neutral.

Renounced the alliance in May 1915 and
declared war on Austria-Hungary.
Had setbacks and victories.
The battlefront was in stalemate for much
of the war.
Signed a truce with Austria in November
1918.

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The Middle East

Turkey

entered the war on the German side

in October 1914.
Britain was determined to knock Turkey out
of the war.
The Gallipoli Campaign was part of this.
When

Gallipoli failed the British did three

things.
Went through Mesopotamia to capture Baghdad.
Went from Egypt to Jerusalem.
Supported a revolt by Arabs against Turkish rule.

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American entry into World

War I
When

the war started

the USA declared it
was neutral.
But the German
brutality in Belgiumin
1914, and thesinking
of the British
passenger ship liner
RMSLusitaniain 1915
changed the stand
Germany sank the
Lusitania, Americans
were among the 1,200
passengers killed.

Germany

decided for submarine (U

Boats) warfareon every commercial
ship headed toward Britain, realizing
that this decision would almost
certainly mean war with the United
States.
Germany also offered a military alliance
to Mexico in theZimmermann
Telegram.
This outraged Americans just as
GermanU-boats(submarines) started
sinking American ships in the North
Atlantic.
Wilson asked Congress for "awar to
end all wars" that would "make the
world safe for democracy", and
Congress voted todeclare war on

Armistice of 11 November 1918

Anarmisticeis

a formal agreement of
warring parties to stop fighting. It is not
necessarily the end of a war, but a
cessation of hostilities while an attempt is
made to negotiate a lasting peace.
The armistice between the Allies and
Germany known as the Armistice of
Compigne marked a victory for the Allies
and a complete defeat for Germany,
although not formally a surrender.
Although armistice ended the actual
fighting, it took six months of negotiations

England:
Recruitment
and
Conscription

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England:
War Funding

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German: War
Funding
That's

how
your money
helps you to
fight!

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Germany: Morale Boosting

England

needs.

Poster explaining
how England
cannot use the
artillery is it
making.

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Australia:
Recruitmen
t and
Conscriptio
n

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Australia: War Funding

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Australia: Anti-German

http://cas.awm.gov.au/art/ARTV03277

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Activity
Make
Make

your own propaganda poster.

a poster that might have been
used in India/Britain during World War
One.
Pick a category and decide on a message
before you start.

Recruitment
War funding
Anti the other side.
Practical advice
Moral boosting

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Changes for women

Because

men were away fighting women

worked in areas that men normally
worked in.
Women who worked had independence
and choices about their money.
Women could go out alone.
Women smoked in public.
To enable women to work, skirts became
shorter and trousers more common.
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