History Finals Chapter 26 Sect 1, 2, 4

Schlieffen Plan

Germany faced a war on two fronts—against Russia to the east and France to the west. Years earlier, German military planners had developed the Schlieffen Plan, which called for German troops to quickly defeat France in the west and then head east to fight Russia. German leaders believed this strategy would be effective because Russia's vast size meant that the Russian military would need some time to move toward the German border. Germany began with a quick strike into Belgium, which was located between Germany and France. Belgium was a neutral country. Still, Germany planned to sweep through that country and then move on to France. Germany's attack on a neutral country led Great Britain to declare war on Germany.

Battle of the Somme

An attack that the British launched, intended partly to pull German troops away from Verdun, in June 1916. This British attack took place in the Somme River area of France. The battle was the main Allied assault during 1916. On the first day of fighting alone, the British suffered nearly 60,000 casualties. By the end of the battle in December 1916 there had been no major breakthroughs. Both sides lost an enormous number of troops.

New Weapons

Because no power was able to make significant advances past the enemy's trenches, each side turned to new weapons and technology. One of the new weapons was poison gas. Different types of gas could blind, choke, or burn the victims. A change in wind direction could blow the gas back toward the troops who had launched it. Also, both sides developed gas masks for protection. Another weapon, rapid-fire machine guns were far more effective and came into wide use during the war. Modern industry also produced artillery and high-explosive shells with enormous destructive power. Tanks were first used in WWI. Tanks, armored vehicles that could cross rough battlefield terrain, were pioneered by the British. Because reliability was a problem, however, they would not make a contribution until late in the war. Aircraft also were first used in WWI. At the start of the war, few aircraft existed, and they were used mainly to observe enemy positions. Soon, mechanics began to attach machine guns to airplanes, and pilots began to drop bombs from the air. As the war dragged on, new, faster airplanes proved useful in attacking battlefields and cities.

Battle of the Frontiers

Beginning in August 1914, German troops fought French and British forces in a series of clashes known as the Battle of the Frontiers. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the result was a German victory.

Third Battle of Ypres

In 1917 a failed French offensive caused rebellion among some French soldiers. In July, the British began an offensive near Ypres, Belgium, where two earlier German attacks had taken place. The Third Battle of Ypres was a disaster for the British, who ended the attack in November. After three years of battle in western Europe, the front lines were virtually unchanged.

Balfour Declaration

In Europe, the Zionist movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East was growing. In 1917, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, which favored establishing a Jewish state in Palestine, the ancient Jewish homeland. Later, Britain created Transjordan from the Palestine Mandate and named Abdullah as Transjordan's first ruler.

Fourteen Points/Peace Conference at Versailles

In early 1918, Woodrow Wilson had announced his vision of world peace. This plan was called the Fourteen Points. These points included the reduction of weapons and the right of all people to choose their own governments. He also proposed forming an organization in which the world's nations would join to protect one another from aggression. The leaders of the four major Allies—Great Britain, France, the United States, and Italy—had very different ideas about a peace treaty. The French, led by Georges Clemenceau, wanted to punish Germany. Clemenceau also wanted Germany to pay for the costs of the war. Great Britain's David Lloyd George stood somewhere between Clemenceau and Wilson. He also wanted to punish Germany, yet he did not want to see Germany weakened. He was anxious that Germany be able to stop the spread of commulsism from Russia. Italy's leader Vittorio Orlando hoped to gain territory for his nation, but he was largely ignored by other leaders during the peace talks.

Armenian Massacre

In late 1914, Russia had launched an attack in the Caucasus, a mountain region that lies between the Black and Caspian seas and borders northeastern Turkey. The area was home to ethnic Armenians. Because most were Christians, Armenians formed a minority group in the largely Muslim Ottoman Empire. Ottoman leaders claimed that the Armenians were aiding the Russians. In the spring of 1915, Ottoman leaders began forcibly. Removing Armenians from the Caucasus. Some 600,000 Armenians died from violence and starvation. Ottoman leaders were accused by many of genocide.

Battle of the Marne

In the Battle of the Marne in early September 1914, the Allied troops succeeded in driving the Germans back. After retreating, German forces dug a series of trenches, or deep ditches, along the Aisne River and awaited the Allied attack. From their strongly defended trenches on the Aisne, the Germans were able to fight back the Allied forces. But the Allied forces soon dug trenches of their own. As a result, German and Allied positions would change little in the coming months, despite a series of major battles. The deadlocked region in northern France became known as the Western Front.

Second Battle of the Marne

In the Second Battle of the Marne, Allied forces stopped the German assault—just as they had stopped the Germans at the Marne in 1914. Now the Allies went on the offensive. Combining effective use of tanks and aircraft, Allied forces gained huge amounts of territory. Many Germans simply gave up without a fight, knowing that Germany was a defeated force.

Balkans

In the early 1900s, some of the Balkan ethnic groups were trying to break free from the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the Balkans for hundreds of years but was now nearing collapse. Some of the strongest nationalist tensions in the Balkans were in Serbia. At the time, Serbia was an independent nation. Many ethnic Serbs, however, lived outside Serbia in other areas of the Balkans. Serbian leaders wanted to expand the nation's borders and unite all their people in a "greater Serbia." But Austria-Hungary, the powerful empire to the north of Serbia, opposed any Serbian expansion, fearing that such growth might encourage ethnic groups within Austria-Hungary to rebel.

Woodrow Wilson

In the early years of the war the United States was neutral, although the American public generally supported the Allies. Still, most Americans agreed with President Woodrow Wilson, who did not want to become involved in the huge conflict on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. He believed that the United States should stay out of the affairs of other nations. In 1916, in fact, Wilson used the slogan "He kept us out of war" to help win reelection.

Franz Ferdinand

In the midst of the tensions and resentment the Serbs felt toward Austria-Hungary, the archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, decided to visit the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. On June 28, 1914, as Franz Ferdinand's car drove through the Sarajevo streets, a young Serbian man, Gavrilo Princip, opened fire with his pistol, killing the archduke and the archduke's wife, Sophie.

Italian Front

Italy joined the Allied Powers in World War I in May 1915. They first sent its forces against Austria-Hungary on the Italy-Austria border. In a long series of back-and-forth battles, Italy made little progress.

Four Main Causes of WWI

Militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism.

Effects of WWI

Nearly 9 million soldiers were killed in battle. Millions more were wounded or taken prisoner. In the spring of 1918, a deadly outbreak of influenza swept across the globe. The disease spread rapidly in crowded military conditions and as soldiers made their way home at the war's end. Worldwide, perhaps 50 million people or more died in the epidemic. In places such as France, Belgium, and Russia, where much fighting took place, farmland and cities alike were devastated. Economic chaos soon spread misery throughout many parts of Europe. The war also cost Europe its role as the dominant economic region of the world. Also, countries that had formerly relied on European imports turned to new sources or developed their own products. WWI also caused widespread political unrest, including the Communist revolution in Russia. After the war, the monarchies in Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire were all overthrown, and many other countries also experienced political upheaval. Many colonists who had fought in the war had heard the Allied leaders speak noble words about the importance of democracy and freedom. After they shed blood for these ideals on behalf of their colonial rulers, the colonists came to expect these rights for themselves. Instead, the colonists soon found that their wartime sacrifices had not won them any new freedoms.

Gavrilo Princip

Princip was arrested after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. When he was identified as a Serb, Austria-Hungary decided to use the murder as an excuse to punish Serbia. Austria-Hungary made a series of humiliating demands of Serbia and then declared war on July 28, 191. Russia, a country with many people of Slavic ethnicity, had previously promised to support the Serbs if Austria-Hungary attacked. When Russia prepared to fulfill its promise to the Serbs, Austria-Hungary's ally Germany saw the Russian action as a threat. Germany declared war on Russia and then on Russia's ally, France. Thus, Europe's alliances and rivalries turned the action of a single assassin into a major conflict.

Alliances

Seeking to protect themselves from opposing armed forces, the nations of Europe formed a series of alliances, or partnerships. In the late 1800s, the so-called Triple Alliance united Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. France and Russia feared Germany's growing power and formed their own alliance. Soon Great Britain joined with France and Russia in a less formal promise to cooperate—an entente. France, Russia, and Great Britain thus became known as the Triple Entente. Leaders hoped that these alliances would help keep the peace. They believed that no single nation would attack another, since that action would prompt the attacked nation's allies to join the fight.

Treaty of Versailles

The Allies finally compromised on the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was named after the French Palace of Versailles, where the treaty signing took place. The treaty came much closer to Clemenceau's vision than to Wilson's. Germany was forced to pay an enormous amount of money to the war's victims. The treaty also assessed responsibility for the war. Germany was forced to take full responsibility for the conflict. Other parts of the Treaty of Versailles were designed to weaken Germany. The treaty forced Germany to limit the size of its military. Germany also had to return conquered lands to France and to Russia. Other German lands were taken to form the newly independent nation of Poland, and German colonies around the globe were given to various world powers. Germans were furious about the humiliating terms of the treaty, but they had no choice but to accept them. Germany signed the treaty on June 28, 1919.

Battle of Verdun

The Germans were making plans for an assault on the French fortress of Verdun. Verdun had been an important French fortress since Roman times. German leaders believed that the French, unable to bear seeing the city captured, would defend it at all costs. The Battle of Verdun was meant solely to kill or injure as many French soldiers as possible. From the start of the battle in February 1916 to its end in December, France suffered from 400,000 casualties. However, Germany endured nearly as many. The battle left both sides weakened, and the stalemate continued.

Gallipolli Campaign

The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers on the Eastern Front in late 1914. The vast empire was weakening, but it still had a vital location. The Ottomans controlled an important sea passage called the Dardanelles, which was part of the water route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Allies used the Dardanelles to ship supplies to Russia. To destroy the guns and forts that lined the Dardanelles, the Allies landed a force on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the spring of 1915. After months of fighting and nearly 200,000 casualties, the Allies gave up. The campaign was a failure. The Ottoman Empire suffered a major loss later in the war when its subjects in the Arabian Peninsula rebelled. To take advantage, the British sent officer T.E. Lawrence to support the Arabs. The Arabs overthrew Ottoman rule.

League of Nations

The Treaty of Versailles contained a victory for Wilson. It established the organization of world governments he had envisioned in his Fourteen Points. This organization was called the League of Nations. The League's main goals were to encourage international cooperation and to keep peace between nations. But the League did not represent all the world's nations. Germany was excluded from the League. In addition, Wilson was unable to convince the U.S. government to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, as some Americans worried that the League of Nations would drag them into another far-off war. The U.S. absence greatly weakened the League.

Blank Check

The first truly fatal error made by Germany - a promise of unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary might take to punish Serbia.

Trench Warfare

The idea of fighting from trenches, it was not new. Soldiers had long hidden behind mounds of earth for safety. Rainstorms produced deep puddles and thick mud, and sanitation was a constant problem. Sometimes removing dead bodies from trenches or the surrounding area was impossible. Lice, rats, and other unpleasant creatures were always present. Occasionally soldiers would be ordered over the top of their trench to attack the enemy. They would jump out of their trench and sprint across the area between opposing trenches, called no-man's-land. As they ran, many were cut down by enemy guns and thousands of soldiers on both sides died in no-man's-land.

Central and Allied Powers

The main players of what came to be called World War I, or the Great War, were now in place. Germany and Austria-Hungary made up one side, known as the Central Powers. Great Britain, France, Russia, and Serbia were known as the Allied Powers.

Total War

The nations fighting in World War I soon realized that winning this new type of war would require the use of all of society's resources. This tactic is called total war. Governments began to take stronger control of their citizen's lives. In some countries, new controls resulted in changes to the nation's industries and economy. Factories began to produce military equipment. Civilians conserved food and other goods for military use. Governments also sought to control public opinion. They censored newspaper reports about the fighting, worried that truthful descriptions of casualties might discourage the public. Governments also created propaganda, information designed to influence people's opinions, in order to encourage support of the war effort. Posters, pamphlets, and articles urged people to volunteer or told stories of the enemy's brutal actions.

Imperialism

The quest to build empires in the late 1800s and early 1900s had created much rivalry and ill will among the nations of Europe. Germany, France, Russia, and Great Britain each saw themselves as great imperial nations. They believed they could not afford to stand by while a rival empire gained power.

Zimmerman Note

The repeated attacks on shipping moved the United States closer to declaring war against Germany. In February of 1917, the discovery of the Zimmermann Note provided the final push. The Zimmermann Note was a secret message from German diplomat Arthur Zimmermann to officials in Mexico in which Germany proposed that Mexico attack the United States. In return, Germany promised, Mexico would gain the U.S. states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, all of which had once belonged to Mexico. German leaders hoped that an American war with Mexico would keep the United States out of the war in Europe. The Zimmermann Note greatly angered the American public, which now began to call for war against Germany. Americans had much in common with the Allied Powers. Many Americans traced their ancestry to Great Britain and the two nations shared the same language and many cultural traditions. The United States also had strong financial ties to the Allied Powers and was selling millions of dollars' worth of war goods to Britain each week. In April 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the Allied Powers.

Nationalism

There was an increase in nationalism in Europe beginning in the late 1800s. In Europe, nationalism led to the formation of new countries, including Germany and Italy, and struggles for power. The most visible of these power struggles was in the Balkan Peninsula, a region of southeastern Europe that was home to many ethnic groups.

Militarism

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, European countries had undertaken a massive military buildup. This militarism was caused mostly by the desire to protect overseas colonies from other nations. Across Europe, the size of armed forces and navies had risen sharply, particularly in Germany. The growing power of Europe's armed forces left all sides anxious and ready to act at the first sign of trouble. In this nervous environment, even a minor disagreement had the potential to turn quickly into armed conflict.

Battle of Tannenberg

While France was struggling to fight off Germany during the Battles of the Frontiers, Russia attacked German territory from the east. The results for the Russians were disastrous. In the Battle of Tannenberg, German forces crushed the Russian invasion. The Russian attack had failed to defeat the Germans, but it succeeded in distracting German forces from their advance on France. This distraction allowed Allied forces to collect themselves and turn on the German invaders.