World War I

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• All society was mobilized and affected by the war. Governments utilized every component of their armed forces, civilian populations, government institutions, economic resources, social organizations and cultural systems     

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• Freedom of thought was replaced with propaganda and censorship. Civilians were stressed: war casualties, hard work, poor food, so governments used propaganda to keep emotions at a high pitch       

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• Countries should maintain a strong military capability and prepare to use it aggressively to defend or promote nation interests.  -German submarine race

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• Triple Alliance- Germany, Hungary, Italy Triple Entente- England, France, Russia

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• Having pride in there country and wanting to be independent  German nationalism.  Growing nationalism especially Serbia.  French anger over loss of Alsace Lorraline

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• Countries tried to dominate other countries land because they had more power due to the political, economic and cultural life. Growing imperialism of Germany.  Rivalry between Austria and Russia in the Balkans.

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• the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists prompted Austria to declare war with Serbia. Russia had promised to protect the Serbs so they began to take military mobilization, as they believed Germany was using the crisis to launch a war. Upon hearing Russia took military steps, Germany declared war on Russia  

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• The alliance system callled for each nation to join. After Russia joined the war, France did too, so Germany also declared war on the French

1. Schlieffen Plan

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   • Germany's plan was to rapidly advance through France in 6 weeks, allowing German troops then to move to the east to fight Russia 
   1. Belgian Invasion

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      • to execute the plan, Germans had to invade Belgium, which broke the promised neutrality that had been guaranteed by the major European powers in 1830. This brought Great Britain into the war on the side of France and Russia
      1. Stalemate

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         • At the First Battle of the Marne, the French army counterattacked and stopped the Germans. After a couple months of trying to outflank the other side, they both settled down, and would remain almost unchanged for the next three years
         1. h
2. Russia loses

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   • The mass of the Russian people did not support a war that they were asked to suffer so much in return for so little and Russia faced two big losses     
   1. Treaty of Brest-Litvosk

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      • On March 3 1918, Russia and Germany signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk.The treaty acknowledged the independence of Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltics from Russia     
      1. Turning Point
         1. German Navy

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            • The German U-boats sunk ships, which angered Americans and caused them to enter the war  
            1. America enters the war
               1. One Year

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                  • The net effect of 1917 was to reinforce the stalemate in Europe, incline the Allies to await the Americas, and give America what it needed – time They enforced conscription, and turned 3.5 civilians into soldiers. The government loaned the Allies 10 million dollars, which the Allies used to buy American food and munitions, factories and farms were converted for war use, and civilian consumption was drastically reduced       
                  1. The last phase of the war

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                     • Germany frantically tried to win the war before enough American troops were employed, but Germany was overstrained and began to falter. They realized they could not win and sued for peace
                     1. New republics

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                        • Holy Roman Empire ended when Charles abdicated, and they were declared a republic. Hungary followed one week later.  Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were formed, and Romania was enlarged     
                     2. Germany

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                        • The High Command realized that the war could not be won, so a republic was formed two days before the end of the war. In this way, the German army was not blamed for the loss of the war. 
                     3. Effects of the war
                        1. Creditor America

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                           • Before the war, America was in debt to Europe 4 billion dollars, but after the war, Europeans were in debt by 10 billion to America    
                        2. Inflation

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                           • Governments had to print more money, sell huge bond issues, and get bank credit to cover the expenses of the war, which lead to inflation. The huge national debts meant taxes for years to come     
                        3. Treaty of Versailles

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                           • 27 countries assembled at Paris, not including Germany or Russia. Only the big four made decisions: Wilson (America), Lloyd George (England), Clemenceau (France), and Orlando (Italy)     
                           1. 14 points

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                              • Woodrow WIlson's plan: – Demanded an end to secret treaties and secret diplomacy – Freedom of the seas  – Removal of barriers and inequalities in international trade  – Reduction of armaments by all powers – Colonial readjustments  – Evacuation of occupied territories  – Redrawing of European boundaries  – International political organization to prevent war     
                              1. 14 points: revised

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                                 • Took the idealist parts of the 14 points out and had to make concessions to get everyone to agree. Wilson thought anything not included in the 14 points could be figured out a future League of Nations
                           2. German losses

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                              • Germany was stripped of its colonies, given as “mandates” to the victors. German army was limited to 100,000 and denied heavy artillery, airplanes, and submarines. Immense reparations were demanded, with no set total and no consideration of how Germany might pay. Alsace and Lorraine were returned; Saar coal was to go to France for 15 years; the Rhineland was to be restricted from German use              
                           3. Eastern Europe

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                              • Seven new independent states were formed: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Romania and Greece were enlarged. The Ottoman Empire disappeared, replaced by Turkey and with Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq as mandates under the League of Nations    
                           4. Signifigance

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                              • -The Treaty of Versailles was not successful in putting down the German menace because the Allied countries had produced a treaty that in the long run they did not with to impose -The Russians, when they reentered the international arena, were unhappy with the situation they had no part in making - A wave of isolationism swept over the US, and disgust for Europe, made the Senate repudiate Wilson’s work, and they never ratified the Treaty of Versailles, which made France mad - WWI dealt a last blow to monarchy and aristocratic feudalism. The war was a victory for democracy, but it did not address problems of modern civilization, industrialism and nationalism, or economic security and international stability - It left the majority of European states much weaker than before to face the rising economic power of the United States, the revolutionary government of the Soviet Union, and the emerging anticolonial movements of Africa and Asia                                  
                              1. Nation-states

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                                 • -Each European people or nation, as defined by anguage, was set up with its on sovereign and independent nation state, but populations were thoroughly inter-mixed, and most of the new nations had minority problem
                              2. Not Successful

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                                 • -The Treaty of Versailles was not successful in putting down the German menace because the Allied countries had produced a treaty that in the long run they did not with to impose -The Russians, when they reentered the international arena, were unhappy with the situation they had no part in making - It left the majority of European states much weaker than before to face the rising economic power of the United States, the revolutionary government of the Soviet Union, and the emerging anticolonial movements of Africa and Asia
                              3. In the U.S.

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                                 •  A wave of isolationism swept over the US, and disgust for Europe, made the Senate repudiate Wilson’s work, and they never ratified the Treaty of Versailles, which made France mad
                              4. Democracy

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                                 • - WWI dealt a last blow to monarchy and aristocratic feudalism. The war was a victory for democracy, but it did not address problems of modern civilization, industrialism and nationalism, or economic security and international stability