World War I
The Causes of the War OK, in a nutshell, World War I’s cause went
as
far back as the early 1800s. People controlled by other nations began to
evolve
people’s feelings of nationalism. The French Revolution of 1789
brought a new
feeling to the word Nationalism. People who spoke French,
German, Italian, ext.
felt that they should have a separate government in a
country where everyone
spoke the same language. Unfortunately, we can’t
please everyone and this
demand they had was something impossible that could
be done. As time passed
people began to establish war cults or military
alliances. The members from
these groups would discriminate and verbally
abuse the people, which didn’t
speak their language. Warmongers criticized at
foreign ways of doing things.
Sometimes newspaper stories help spread
publicity. Some German leaders strongly
urged commercial & political
expansion to the east, mostly in Asia. II-
Military Alliances Military
alliances were another of the many causes of World
War I. When the German
Empire was united in 1871, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck
hoped for a period of
international peace. He looked for allies to support
Germany. It was then
that in 1882 Germany, Austria-Hungary & Italy signed a
treaty called, "
The Triple Alliance." The treaty was made to protect them
from attacks from
France or Russia. Germany & Italy feared France &
Austria-Hungary
feared Russia. The three members of the alliance formed a
powerful block in
central Europe. Unfortunately, Austria-Hungary & Italy
were not very
friendly. They argued mostly over land and/or territory that Italy
thought
they should have. So, both countries competed to see who would take
control
of the Adriatic Sea first. When the war broke out in 1914, Italy
didn’t keep
their word about the contract they had agreed to in the treaty. It
turns out
they had made a secret treaty with France in 1902. As a result of that
they
had to remain neutral then declared war on Austria-Hungary. After
the
Triple Alliance formed, the rest of the countries in Europe saw that
they were
at a disadvantage. The disadvantage was that if there ever was an
international
crisis, Great Britain, France & Russia would have to fight
for themselves
but the Triple Alliance would have the advantage of acting
together as one. Then
in 1894, France signed a defensive alliance with
Russia. Then only by itself was
Great Britain. Soon after they faced
naval rivalry & growing mercenary with
Germany. In 1904, Great
Britain & France reached a cordial understanding or
how you would say in
French, "Entente Cordial." By the terms in the
agreement, they settled all
the disagreements they had about almost anything
& everything. Most
important being colonies. Both nations became partners.
Then France
succeeded in bringing Britain and Russia together. In 1907 the two
nations
signed the Anglo-Russian Entente," it was kind of like the cordial
agreement
that linked France, Russia & Great Britain was called "The
Triple
Entente." Men, Battlefronts & Strategy I- Strategy of the War The
chief
of the German general staff Count Alfred Von Schlieffen planned a very
little
simple strategy in 1905 and changed it in 1912. His plan was that
German
armies were to crush France in a campaign by going through Belgium,
which was
neutral. Now, the Germans were planning to crush Russia, then
planned to make
Britain surrender. Then they would sweep into Asia &
yes, they would try and
conquer them too. This guy expected a 2 front war
& planned that
Austria-Hungary and some small German force in East
Prussia would take the
eastern front. But no. The Allied strategy called for
attacks by the French
armies in Lorraine upon the start of the war. OK, so
the plan was that. On the
Eastern front it would be Russia trying to
invade Germany through East Prussia
and attack Austria-Hungary in Galicia.
They hoped to strike westward at Germany
while the Allied Armies went east.
The War I- The US enters WWI (1917, 4th year)
Early in 1917, the Central
Powers, which consisted of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria,
Germany & the
Ottoman Empire, were at a strong position. They had in
control
Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, most of Belgium &
Northern France.
Then, yes, the USA entered the war. And so the tables
began to turn in favor of
the Allies. Germany unrestricted Submarine welfare
so this caused the US to join
the Allies. The news of the outbreak of the war
in 1914 had surprised many
Americans. As a result, President Woodrow
Wilson had declared that "the US
would be neutral in fact, as well as in
name." When the Germans torpedoed
Lusitania, in 1915 they killed128
Americans. So President Wilson thought the US
would not enter the war but as
we already know, he was wrong. Germany approached
Mexico for alliance;
this was heard from the British when they intercepted a
message. There was a
record number of sinking of US merchant ships. Germany has
thrust war on the
US. On April 2nd, 1917 the president read a war message that
was sent to him
which read: "The world must be safe for democracy." After
this the US didn’t
sign anything, but simply associated themselves with the
Allies, although
they were unprepared. II- The Allies Attack (1917) So the
Germans would
have benefit, they had to figure an out an attack. They went on
March of
1917 off to the battle line, prepared. The Germans called it the
Sigfried
Line and the Allies called it the Hidenburg Line. The Allies carried
out the
only offensive operation on the battlefront. That year ended without
much
change. In 1917, the French executed Mata Hari, who was a Dutch dancer
that
was spying for the Germans. Feelings against Germany were strong as
war
progressed. School kids were affected much by the war as well. They were
not
allowed to learn German or German Literature. People criticized any
techniques
that were said to spies. Therefore, the Dept. Of Justice was asked
to keep close
look for the spies. The Final Years I- The Final Year (1918)
The Allies won
fined victory in 1918. Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire,
Austria-Hungary &
Germany signed armistice. On January 8th,
WilsonFreedom of·announced
his 14 points. The 14 points included the
following: Reduction in· Trade Barriers · Amend to Secret Diplomacy
·Navigation Evacuation
of Central Powers troops· Adjustment of
Colonial Claims ·Amendments Creation of
an
association·
Re-establishment of Poland ·from Allied
Countries Independence
for the people of·of nations to work for
permanent peace Home rule for the non-Turkish parts of the Ottoman Empire.
The·Austria-Hungary14 points gave hope to many enemy people for a peace
settlement. II- The
Last Campaign After a quiet winter the Central powers
planned to overwhelm the
allied armies before the full benefit of American
aid could arrive. Hidenburg
promised he would be in Paris by April 1st. In
March, German armies under
Ludendorff struck along a 50-mile front. The
Allies gave way slowly but in other
sections fast. In April the Allies formed
unified command. On May 31st, the
Germans reached the reached the banks
of the Marne. It lost 7,800 men. France
then renamed the spot "the wood of
Brigade of Marne" to honor the heroic
stand of the man. American troops
blocked an enemy offensive at Ch?teau-Thierry & prevented Germans from
sweeping across the Marne to
Paris. 5 major battles raged at the same
time. After July 18th the Allied
offensive never stopped until the truce. On
August 8th, the Allies led by
Canadian & Australian troops attacked
the Germans fiercely at Amines. On
August 26th, Germans began retreating
to the Hidenburg line. The battle was
described as "The Black Day." About
1,200,000 Americans fought on the Battle
of the Meuse-Argonne. About 1 of
every 10 people was killed. III- The End of
Central Powers
Austria-Hungary also planned a huge drive to make Italy withdraw
from the
war. But floods and resistance by Gen. Armand Diaz’s troops stopped
the
Austro-Hungarian armies in June. In October, Diaz started an offensive to
the
northeast across the Piave River. He split the Austro-Hungarian Empire
into
2 and destroyed them. On Sept 29th, Bulgaria signed an armistice at
Salonika.
Another member of the Central Powers, the Ottoman Empire signed
a peace
agreement on October 31st. In the late of 1918, Hungarians, Czechs,
Slovaks
& Poles declared independence. IV- Results of the War. The peace
settlements
healed many wounds, but also caused new ones. The Allies had
emphasized the
principle of self-determination. This caused the flame of
nationalism to burn
more brightly than it had 1914. The Allies formed the
League of Nations to
settle disputes in a peaceful way. Unfortunately, member
nations didn’t always
support these agencies in International Dispute. V- The
Home Front The Home
Front in Europe came under intense bombing. The war
destroyed the industrial and
community lives of many cities, towns and
villages. It closed and/or destroyed
schools, factories, roads and railroads.
In many countries people had to depend
on food supplied by the government. In
Eastern Europe many left their homes
because they were scared of invasion.
Refugees moved from place to place in
search of food and shelter. After the
war, people who went back to their homes
went to find that their villages,
towns and/or cities didn’t exist.
Fortunately, the US supplied food and
clothing to an extent. BY:
PAULA--12/99
Bibliography
1).
Encarta 98© 1999 CD-ROM. ©
Copyright 1998
2).
Encarta 96© 1995 CD-ROM. © Microsoft
1996.
3).
Compton’s Encyclopedia 1998 ©
CopyrightOnlineà1997
4). The Concise Columbia
Electronic
Encyclopedia, Third Edition. Encyclopedia
www.encyclopedia.com ©
Copyright 1994, Columbia University
Press