The Great war begins Unit 8.1 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Great war begins

Unit 8.1Slide2

5 Steps to War in Europe

Sarajevo, June 28, 1914:

A Serbian terrorist assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand—the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire—and his wifeSlide3

5 Steps to War in Europe

2.

Vienna, July 23, 1914:

The Austrian government threatens war against Serbia and invades that country 4 days laterSlide4

5 Steps to War in Europe

3.

Berlin, August 1, 1914: As Austria’s ally, the German government under Kaiser Wilhelm I declares war against Russia, an ally of Serbia Slide5

5 Steps to War in Europe

4. Berlin, August 3, 1914:

Germany declares war against France, an ally of Russia, and immediately begins an invasion of neutral Belgium because it offers the fastest route to ParisSlide6

5 Steps to War in Europe

5. London, August 4, 1914:

Great Britain, as an ally of France, declares war against GermanySlide7

?

How would the sequence of events in Europe been different had Archduke Franz Ferdinand not been assassinated?Slide8

Alliances

Triple Entente (Allied Powers)

Triple Alliance (Central Powers)

France, Great Britain, Russia (and eventually the U.S.)

Germany, Austria-Hungary, ItalySlide9

AlliancesSlide10

Neutrality

As with the War of 1812, the problem was that either side was seizing American ships and blockading each other’s ports, which angered many Americans

Wilson: “a violation of a neutral nation’s right to freedom of the seas”

Great Britain the first to declare a naval blockade against Germany

Mined the North Sea and seized any ships attempting to run the blockade (including U.S. ships)Slide11

Neutrality

Germany’s one hope for challenging Britain’s naval blockades was a new naval weapon, the submarine

In February, 1915, Germany issued its own blockade against Great Britain and established a “war zone” in waters near the British IslesSlide12

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare

The

Lusitania

Crisis:

The

Lusitania

was a British passenger liner carrying U.S. citizens

A German torpedo sank it on May, 7, 1915, killing 128 Americans

Wilson sent a message to Germany warning that it would be held to “strict accountability”

William Jennings Bryan resigns as Sec. of State because he claims this message is too warlikeSlide13

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare

There were several other

sinkings

that Germany claimed to be accidentsMarch, 1916: A German torpedo sinks the

Sussex

, killing several American passengers

Wilson and Americans very angrySlide14

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare

Rather than risk U.S. involvement, Germany issued the

Sussex

Pledge, and promised not to sink merchant or passenger ships…without giving fair warningSlide15

?

If Germany had not developed submarine technology, how might U.S. involvement in WWI been altered?Slide16

Economic Links with

Great Britain and France

Industrialist Partnership:

U.S. economy became closely tied to the Allied war effort

Orders for war supplies from the Allied powers increased U.S. industry during the early years of the war

In theory, the U.S. could’ve traded with Germany, but British blockades effectively prevented such tradeSlide17

?

What could’ve happened differently for the U.S. to economically support Germany and the Central Powers rather than France and Great Britain?Slide18

Economic Links with

Great Britain and France

Loans:

J.P. Morgan and other bankers loaned over $3 billion to France and Great Britain

Maintained U.S prosperity because the money would be coming back to the U.S. to purchase war goods

Sustained the Allied war effortSlide19

Public Opinion

Ethnic Influences:

1914: 1

st

- and 2

nd

-generation immigrants made up 30% of the American population

They were glad to not be fighting and strongly supported neutrality

Even so, immigrants often sided with their ethnic origins

Italians cheered on the Allied powers

German Americans sympathized with Germany

Irish hated Britain, favored the Central Powers

Although most wanted neutrality, the majority of native-born Americans supported Great Britain and FranceSlide20

?

If immigrants had not made up such a large percentage of the U.S. population in 1914, how would public opinion about U.S. involvement in WWI been different?Slide21

Public Opinion

British War Propaganda:

Britain commanded the war news that American newspapers and magazines received

The British government seized this opportunity to sway America’s public opinion by printing stories of evil German soldiers committing atrocities in Belgium and the German-occupied part of FranceSlide22

?

How would U.S. public opinion about Germany been different if Britain had not been the dominant source of war news?