World+War+I

(1914-1918) by Lance Wilson, Austen Tyryfter, and Cole Bachmeier
 "America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us." - Woodrow Wilson

During the 1800's European borders were divded based on ethnic group. However, while there were many states created in the Balkan Peninsula, many Slavic groups still remained under the control of Austria-Hungary. Between 1908 and 1913 events in the Balkans left the rest of the countries in Europe angry at each other. Partly because of this and partly because of militarism, many nations enlarged their armies to massive proportions. These armies were often raised by conscription, which was a military draft. The major powers of Europe also created two distinct alliances. Thie first of these was the Triple Alliance, formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in 1882. The second was the Triple Entente, which was formed by Great Britain, France, and Russia in 1907. By 1914, Serbia hoped to create a large Slavic state in the Balkans. Russia supported Serbia, but Austria-Hungary was determined to make sure that nothing happened. Bosnia, which was part of Austria-Hungary, wanted independence to become part of the large Serbian nation. From this region came the Black Hand, a terrorist group that supported the independence of Bosnia. There plan was to kill Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne and was visiting the city of Sarajevo, located in Bosnia, on June 28, 1914. The Black Hand first attempt to throw a bomb at the car that Ferdinand was in. This failed. Later that day, Gavrilo Princip shot both Ferdinand and Sophia. With the support of Germany's Emperor Willian II Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum on July 23. The demands given were extreme, and Serbia could not agree to meet them. As a result, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28. On the same day, Czar Nicholas II of Russia ordered his troop to be mobilized against Austria-Hungary in defence of Serbia. However, the mobilization plan called for mobilization against both Germany and Austria-Hungary. The leaders of the Russian army claimed chaos would result otherwise. Germany demanded that Russia cease the mobilization. When they didn't, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1. Germany's mobilization plan, called the Schlieffen Plan called for the swift invasion of France, followed by a full assault on Russia. Fueled by the belief that this plan was set in stone and that Germany could not mobilize against Russia alone, Germany declared war on France on August 3. The following day, Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4 to protect their own power in the world, though the official reason given was that Germany had violated the neutrality of Belgium when they demanded to pass German troops through it. By now almost the entire continent was at war. World War I, known then as the Great War, had begun.

Much of Europe thought the war would be over in a few weeks, and by Christmas the soldiers would have returned home. However, the German advance was halted near Paris in early September 1914. The two opposing sides dug trenches to protect themselves at the First Battle of the Marne, creating trench warfare. As neither side could drive the other out of the trenches, a stalemate developed. This stalemate on the Western Front would last for over four years. Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front, the war with the Russians was decided by an army's mobility. The Russians, while capable of holding their own against the Austro-Hungarians, were no match for the German army. Russia suffered over 2.5 million casualties, and they were quickly eliminated from the war despite Italy's betrayal of Germany and Austria-Hungary in favor of the Allied Powers. Serbia was crushed soon afterward in September 1915. The Central Powers also crushed the Allied attempt to create a Balkan Front at Gallipoli, a city southwest of Constantinople. This attempt failed disastrously. As 1916 wore on, military leaders searched for a breakthrough of the other sides trenches. However, this involved sending massive amounts of troops across the land between the trenches, called no-man's-land. While on no-man's-land the soldiers were easy targets for their enemies who remained in the trench system. The Battle of Verdun, which lasted over ten months from February to December in 1916, claimed over 700,000 lives by the attempts to find breakthroughs. World War I did not just take place on land, however. Battles also took place in the sky. Airplanes were used to attack ground targets as well as other fighter planes. At sea, the British used their navy to blockade Germany. Germany responded with unrestricted submarine warfare. This type of warfare resulted in them attacking both military and passenger ships. On May 7, 1915, the Germans sunk the Lusitania, a passenger ship. Casualties included over 100 Americans. At the demand of the United States, Germany ceased its unrestricted warfare policy after this. In 1917, eager to win the war, German military leaders managed to convince the emperor that if they resumed unrestricted submarine warfare they would be able to starve the British out of the war. The United States would not have time to act, and if they did intervene they would not make it to Europe. Unrestricted submarine warfare resumed, and in April 1917 the United States declared war. At home the mobilization effort was no less than on the battle front. This made World War I a total war. In a total war, all citizens of warring nations are effected by the war effort. This total war required people home to work in factories. Most men, however, were off fighting. The result was the employment of hundreds of thousands of women. After the war women would also be granted the right to vote in many countries.

In November 1917 Russia underwent a revolution. A few months later they would withdraw from the war, allowing Germany to concentrate all of its forces on the Western Front. In March 1918 Germany launced a grand assault on France. Within a month they were only 50 miles from Paris. However, at the Second Battle of the Marne an Allied army support by over 140,000 fresh American troops and thousands of tanks repelled the German line of offense. As over a million American soldiers were shipped to France the Allies manage to began their own advance toward the French-German border. Germany, realizing it had lost, asked for peace. However, Germany was an autocratic nation and the Allies were not willing to initiate peace talks with an autocratic nation. The Germans immediately pressure Emperor William II to step down, which he did on November 9, 1918. A democratic republic was declared by Friedrich Ebert. On November 11 an armistice was reached. Peace settlements began in early 1919 in Paris. The peace conference was dominant by Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, Great Britain's prime minister, David Lloyd George, and the French premier, Georges Clemenceau. Wilson hoped to created a League of Nations that would use international cooperation to prevent future wars. He also called for the reduction of armaments and the creation of democratic governments. George and Clemenceau, however, wanted reparations to make Germany pay for the war and a buffer state between France and Germany in the Rhineland. The final peace treaty with Germany, called the Treaty of Versailles, was signed on June 28,1919. The treaty required Germany and its allies to pay reparations for the war as well as reduce the size of its military. German land around the Rhine River was made into a demilitarized zone, and part of the land in eastern Germany was given to the new nation of Poland. Many other new nations were created in eastern Europe. These nations all had ethnic minorities in them, and there would still be much tension in Europe. While the First World War had ended, war in Europe had by no means ended.

Key Dates



 * June 28,1914:** Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is assassinated by the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist organization.
 * July 28, 1914**: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
 * September 1914:** Trenches are dug at the First Battle of the Marne, creating a stalemate that will last for four years.
 * September 15, 1914:** The Russians are defeated at the Battle of Masurian Lakes, removing them as a threat in the war.
 * April 1915:** The Allies attack Gallipoli in attempt to create a Balkan Front, but fail.
 * May 7, 1915:** German submarines sink the Lusitania.
 * February 1916:** The Battle of Verdun, which will result in over 700,000 deaths, begins.
 * April 1917:** The United States declares war and enters World War I. Though troops do not begin arriving for almost a year, they provide a psychological morale boost for the European soldiers.
 * November 11, 1918:** An armistice is reached, ending conflict in World War I. The day is currently celebrated as Veterans Day.
 * June 28, 1919:** The Treat of Versailles is signed, formally ending the war with Germany.

**People:**


 * 1) ** __Gavrilo Princip:__ ** was a Serbian nationalist who became the catalyst for World War I when he assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. This murder leads to the beginning of the World War 1 month later. He was too young to face the death penalty so he served live in prison.
 * 2) ** __Archduke Franz Ferdinand:__ ** He was the royal prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, until 1889 when he died. He was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo. This assassination led to the allies and the central powers to declare war on each other starting World War I
 * 3) ** __Czar Nicholas II:__ ** The Russian general who ordered a mobilization order of the Russian army against Austria-Hungary on Jul 28, 1914. This mobilization was considered an act of war and other countries also mobilized.
 * 4) ** __John Pershing:__ ** Nickname “Black Jack”, he was a United States general he was the American Expeditionary Force commander. He had one of the best Military minds in U.S. history, he lead most of the American forces during WWI.
 * 5) ** __Woodrow Wilson:__ ** The president of the united states during WWI or the “Great War”. His famous quote was “The men and women who remain till the soil and man the factories are no less part of army than the men beneath the battle flags.”
 * 6) ** __General Alfred Von Schlieffen:__ ** He created the German military plan or the Schlieffen plan. This plan called for a two front war or a war on two sides between France and Russia.
 * 7) ** __Otto Von Bismark:__ ** A Prussian Diplomat responsible for the unification of Germany. He expels Austrians from Zollverein, fights the Austrian-Prussian war with the help of the Germans. Ultimately a great diplomat during WWI.
 * 8) ** __Arthur Zimmermann:__ ** The German foreign minister responsible for the 1917 Zimmermann telegram, which attempted to coerce Mexico into attacking the United States in exchange for financial incentives and a military alliance between Mexico and Germany. This was a major factor in the U.S. declaring war on Germany.
 * 9) ** __Sir Charles Townshend:__ ** British general in command of the Sixth Indian Divison. He is known for leading a British campaign in Mesopotamia form 1915 to 1916. On April 29, 1916, he surrendered all 10,000 of his men at Kut, Mesopotamia. This was the largest military surrender in British history.
 * 10) ** __George Clemenceau:__ ** A French Premier who wanted Germany stripped of all weapons vast German payments for costs of war, and to separate Rhineland to serve as a buffer state.

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World War One Terms:



 * **Mobilization-**The process of readying troops and supplies and making them all ready for war. During 1914, this was considered and act of war.
 * **Propaganda-**The ideas that were used to spread the influence of public opinion for or against a cause. These ideas put forth by the government stirred up national hatreds before World War I.
 * **Trench Warfare-**Warfare style used in World War I where two trenches dug by opposing countries were separated by a land called “No-Man’s Land”. Trench Warfare had many problems one of which included becoming sick from diseases like “Trench Foot”.
 * **War of Attrition-**A war style based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks as well as heavy losses. This style was used all over Europe in places like France. France lost seven hundred thousand men for a few miles of land from this style.
 * **Soviets-**Councils composed of representatives from the working class as well as solders. These members were revolutionaries who challenged the current authority.
 * **War Communism-**A policy used to ensure regular supplies for the Russian Red Army. This meant the government control of most industries, banks, grain from peasants, and the centralization of state administration under the Communist control.
 * **Reparations-** Payments paid to cover the costs of war. In World War I, Germany had to pay heavy reparations**.**The French wanted revenge on the Germans and wanted Germany stripped of all weapons.
 * **Mandates-**Acquisitions in which other nations take control by annexation of territories. United States President Woodrow Wilson had been opposed to this annexation by the Allies.
 * **Armistice-**A truce; an agreement to end the fighting. There have been many armistices throughout history, some of which include the armistice of Germany which the government signed on November 11, 1918.
 * **Cheka-** The red secret police that began a Red Terror that was aimed at the destruction of all those who opposed the new Russian Regime. The Red Terror was similar to the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution.

Video
This video is the first part of documentary that describes some of the lesser known facts about World War I. The one on the right is about the causes of World War I. media type="youtube" key="x_FAOk4uMp8" height="315" width="420"media type="custom" key="13538032" align="right"

Map
This map shows Europe as it was at the beginning of World War I in 1914.

World War I Links:
Woodrow Wilson This link explains that Woodrow Wilson was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. It explains that he was a leader of the Progressive Movement. Wilson was elected president as a democrat on 1912. World War I This link gives a overview of World War I. It explains that World War I was called the Great War and that it started on July 28, 1914. This links explains that more that 9 million combatants were killed during the war. Georges Clemenceau This link explains that Georges Clemenceau was the French Prime Minister. He was mad over Germany's war effort and he wanted them to pay with reparations to the French. Trench Warfare This link explains how Trench Warfare effected World War I. Trench Warfare was explained by this link that it was a terrible style because all of the diseases and the little land gained with all the deaths. Gavrilo Princip This link explains who Gavrilo Princip was. It explains that he was the match that set the powder keg of Europe off. Gavrilo shoot both the archduke and his wife and this threw Bosnia into chaos. [|WWI Weaponary] This site provides information on every type of weapon used during WWI. It goes into great detail about each weapon, it explains how it was made how it was used etc. Great site, very easy to navigate through. [|Propaganda] This site provides all the information on WWI propaganda. It shows all the different type of posters different countries used to try and get young men to enlist and help with the war effort. It is a very neat site and extremely easy to navigate through. [|Alliances] This links explains all of the different alliance and how they were formed. It explains why certain countries allied with certain countries and how it affected the war. It is a fairly easy site to navigate through and is full of info. [|Germany] This site provides a basic overview of all the stuff that went on in Germany during WWI. It has info on the different battles and people. It even has a little bit of info on why Germany did what they did with every battle. [|Allies] This site explains everything about the allies during WWI. It has info on what countries were apart of the allies and why. It shows what battle were won and what ones were lost. It is a great site if you want to know everything there is to know about the allies.