Causes of WWI: Imperialism: One of the reasons for WWI was imperialism, or the establishment of political control control over other countries. Many of the countries of Europe, including Great Britain and Germany, were trying to establish empires that expanded to other continents such as Africa Africa and Asia. Asia. They frequently got into each others way which led to animosity between those countries at home and abroad. One such war of imperialism was the Franco-Prussian Franco-Prussian War War of 1870. In this war Prussia, the dominant power in Germany, Germany, went to war with France. Prussia won the war in a month and through that war the German Empire Empire was established. Prussia also took the border provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, which France deeply resented and it gave them a motive for going to war 44 years later.
Alliances: Because Germany had made such a bitter enemy of France, it decided to protect itself by making alliances with other countries countries in Europe. It formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy called the Triple Triple Alliance. To keep the balance of power in Europe, France allied itself with Great Britain and Russia. That alliance was known as the Triple Triple Entente. Both the alliances swore to help their allies if if their countries were attacked. This system of alliances was very dangerous because any minor skirmish involving any of the countries in the alliances would result in war, and since all the countries made an agreement to support their allies, none of them could back out, no matter how much they wanted to. (Reference to first anticipatory question.)
Militarism: To protect their empires and to further national pride, many European powers started to make huge armies and pile munitions. Many of these nations tried to outdo each other by trying to have the most modern wea ponry and the most men in uniform. Germany tried to build a superior navy than Great Britain, which caused Great Britain to ally itself with France France and Russia. By 1914 almost all the the allied nations had armies in the millions and the most modern weapons including machine guns and artillery. artillery. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, the battle tactics during the war were not as modern as the weapons, thus resulting in millions of deaths.
Nationalism: One of the movements that resulted because of empire building was nationalism, or a devotion to to national interests, unity and independence. One area of Europe that was a focal point for nationalistic tendencies was the empire of AustriaHungary. Hungary. This empire consisted of many nationalities, including the Czechs, Slovakians, Poles, and Slavs. Even though the Austrian-Hungarian Empire consisted of almost 40 nationalities, the Austrians Austrians and Hungarians held the most power. power. Many nationalities resented this and wanted to break away from the empire. One of these nationalities was the Slavs, who resided in the Balkans. Encouraged by Russia, a Slavic nation, the the Slavs of the Austrian-Hungarian Austrian-Hungarian Empire tried many times to break free. It would be this struggle that would help to start WWI.
Start of War: On June 28, 1914, while visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian crown, was assassinated by Gavrillo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. The Austrians wanted Princip to be brought to Austria to stand trial and threatened war against Serbia if they didn’t comply. Serbia, who was an ally of Russia, appealed to Russia for help. Russia, in turn, decided to mobilize against Austria. This action led to Germany declaring war on Russia and then on France. When Germany invaded Belgium to get to France, the British, who were the allies of the Belgians, joined the war on the side of Russia and France. By the time of the war the countries of Germany and Austria-Hungary were called the Central Powers, and the countries of France, Russia and Great Britain were called the Allies. Later on during the war the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria would side with the Central Powers, and Italy, Greece, Romania and Portugal would join the Allies. By 1915 almost all of Europe was involved in the war and fought on multiple fronts.
Monday: Test Tuesday: New vocab: alliance, militarism, ultimatum, align, Type I: pressure from outside sources pg 742 Stereotype cliques of people in the High School and make alliances and enemies. What unites people? What divides people? What causes alliances? Map of Europe Alliance/Entente: Color over the map with three colors Alliance Green/Entente Purple/Non-Aligned Nations Yellow Germany/Austria Hungry/Italy G.B/France/Russia Netherlands/Switz/Belgium/Spain/Ottoman/Balkins (OUTLINED IN RED) Go over key terms Go over the major ideas Make Graphic Organ
HW: Reasons for War Wednesday: Go over homework Quiz on HW
Trench Warfare with Powerpoint What is it? Conditions in the trenches. Weapons of Trench Warfare. Quote: “Imagine a broad belt…”750 Westen Front Give them the brief overview of all the weapons. Weapons of war project Emphasis on Technology HW: 747-751 Thursday: Finish weapons of war pamphlet
Friday: Quiz on vocab and intro to All Quiet Western Front and Eastern Fronts and map of Europe Scleiffen Plan
HW:
TO DO: Kelly: Copy All Quiet and make GO for Tuesday’s HW, come up with intro day Tobey: Powerpoint and notes Need: New vocab with quiz, write assignment for technology pamphlet
Technology of World War I Print out Wikipedia Technology of WWI articles Poison Gas Machine Gun Airplane Tank Submarine Picture. Definition. Effects of technology How was it used.
