Causes of WWI
Assassination
-Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed in Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand who believed that Bosnia should belong to Serbia
Nationalism
-Extreme pride in one's country -Strong in the Balkan Area -Ottoman Empire-->ruled the Balkan area for 400 years -Albanians, Greeks, Romanians, Slav-->Each group was struggling for their own independence -Bosina -->Area of great hostillity -Austria-Hungary annexed Bosina as one of its territories in 1908 -Serbia was newly independent and thought that Bosina should be one of their territories -->Became on area of conflict
The Trench System
-Front line -Communication trench -Support trenches -No Man's Land -Barbed wire
U-boats
-German submarines that torpedoed enemy ships and neutral ships trading with the enemy
Stalemate
-Neither side can make a move to win -In WWI, both sides of the war threw arms and troops in to win but millions died without gaining ground
The Black Hand
-Serbian nationalist group -The main objective was the the creation, by means of violence, of a Greater Serbia
Triple Alliance vs. Triple Entente
-The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy was counter-balanced by the Triple Entente of France, Russia, and Great Britain -As a result, by 1907 Europe was divided into two armed and rather fearful camps
Trench Warfare
-Type of fighting during WWI in which both sides dug trenches protected by mines and barbed wire
Imperialism
-When one country takes over another country economically and politically -Virtually all the major powers were engaged in a scramble for empire to bolster their economies -The fiercest was between Britain and Germany and between France and Germany -Great Britain, Germany, and France needed foreign markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution. -->These countries competed for economic expansion in Africa -->Clash of France against Germany and Britain in North America -In the Middle East, the crumbling Ottoman Empire was alluring to Austria-Hungary, the Balkans and Russia
Alliances
-agreements between nations to provide aid and protect one another -Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy -Great Britain, France, Russia
Militarism
-policy of building up a strong military to prepare for war -WWI was the first war in which advanced weaponry and tactics were used -There was a race for creating more weapons of mass destruction among nations -There was a desire to create a large amount of weapons as well as building up a nation's army and navy
Domino Effect
1.Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for Ferdinand's death and declared war on Serbia 2.Germany pledged their support for Austria-Hungary 3.Russia pledged support for Serbia 4.Germany declares war on Russia 5.France pledges their support for Russia 6.Germany invades Belgium on the way to France 7.Great Britain supports Belgium and declares war on Germany
Life in the trenches
Elaborate systems of defense -Barbed wire -Concrete machine gun nests -Mortar batteries -Troops lived in underground holes Boredom - Soldiers read to pass time -Sarah Bernhardt came out to the front to read poetry to the soldiers
Central Powers
Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria
Allied Powers
Russia France Great Britain Italy Japan United States (1917)