You are on page 1of 23

War and Revolution, 1914-1919

The Road to World War I The War The Russian Revolution End of the War

The Road to World War I

Objectives: 1.Discuss how militarism, nationalism, and a crisis in the Balkans led to World War I 2. Explain why Serbias determination to become a large, independent state angered AustriaHungary and initiated hostilities

Nationalism and the System of Alliances The system of nation-states that emerged in Europe led not to cooperation but to competition At the same time, Europes great powers had been divided into two loose alliances. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the *Triple Alliance

France, Great Britain, and Russia created the *Triple Entente A massive crisis emerged in the Balkans between 1908 and 1913 Each state was guided by its own self-interest and success

Militarism
The growth of mass armies after 1900 heightened the existing tensions in Europe *Conscription had been established as a regular practice in most Western countries before 1914 European armies doubled in size between 1890 and 1914; Militarismaggressive preparation for warwas growing

The Outbreak of War: Summer 1914 The Serbian Problem The rivalry between Austria-Hungary and Russia for domination of these new states created serious tensions in the region *Serbia, supported by Russia, wished to create an independent Slavic state in the Balkans

Assassination in Sarajevo *Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austriahungary, was assassinated by the Black Hand, a Serbian terrorist organization that wanted a free *Bosnia *Gavrilo Princip shot the archduke and his wife

Austria-Hungary Responds

The Austro-Hungarian government did not know whether or not the Serbian government had been directly involved in the archdukes assassination *Emperor William II of Germany gave unlimited support to Austria-Hungary Austrian leaders sent an ultimatum to Serbiabut was a series of extreme demands leading to war

Russia Mobilizes *Czar Nicholas II ordered partial mobilization of the Russian army against Austria-Hungary Unable to partially mobilize, the czar ordered a full mobilization of the Russian army, knowing that Germany would consider this order an act of war

The Conict Broadens


Germany declared war on Russia *General Alfred von Schlieffen created the German military plan of action known as the *Schlieffen Plan Germany would hold Russia back while conducting a rapid invasion of Francetherefore, declaring war on France In retaliation, Great Britain declared war on Germany

Objectives: 1.Discuss how militarism, nationalism, and a crisis in the Balkans led to World War I 2. Explain why Serbias determination to become a large, independent state angered AustriaHungary and initiated hostilities

The War

Objectives: 1. Report how the stalemate at the Western Front led to new alliances, a widening of the war, and new weapons 2. Summarize how governments expanded their powers, increased opportunities for women, and made use of propaganda

1914 to 1915: Illusions and Stalemate Government *propaganda worked in stirring up national hatreds before the war Almost everyone believed that the war would be over in a few weeks

The Western Front The Schlieffen Plan had called for the German army to make a vast encircling movement through Belgium into northern France The war quickly turned into a stalemate, as neither the Germans nor the French could dislodge each other from the trenches they had dug for shelter

The Eastern Front Eastern Front was marked by mobility The Russian army moved into eastern Germany but was defeated at the *Battle of Tannenberg and the *Battle of Masurian Lakes The Austrians had been defeated by the Russians in Galicia and thrown out of Serbia as well

The Italians betrayed their German and Austrian allies in the Triple Alliance by attacking Austria in May 1915. Italy thus joined France, Great Britain, and Russia, who had formed the Triple Entente now called the *Allied Powers German-Austrian army defeated the Russian army in Galicia and pushed the Russians far back into their own territory

1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter By 1916, the Trenches became an elaborate system of defense: 5 feet high and 30 yards wide, concrete machine-gun nest with heavy artillery Troops lived in holes in the ground

Tactics of Trench Warfare


Breakthroughthrowing masses of men against enemy lines that had rst been battered by artillery Millions of young men died in failed attempts at breakthrough World War I had turned into a *war of attrition, a war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses

War in the Air


By the end of 1915, airplanes had appeared on the battlefront for the rst time Fights for control of the air occurred and increased over time Hand pistols to machine guns Germans used their giant airshipsthe zeppelinsto bomb London and eastern Englandthough hydrogen gas became raging infernos

Widening of the War

Both sides sought to gain new allies who might provide a winning advantagethe Ottoman Empire had joined Germany; Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers In the Middle East, a British ofcer known as *Lawrence of Arabia urged Arab princes to revolt against their Ottoman overlords The British mobilized forces from India, Australia, and New Zealand

Entry of the United States At rst, the United States tried to remain neutral The British ship Lusitania was sunk by German forces through unrestricted submarine warfare *Admiral Holtzendorff wanted to continue the attack method which drew the US into the war

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War As World War I dragged on, it became a *total war, involving a complete mobilization of resources and people Led to an increase in government powers and the manipulation of public opinion to keep the war effort going

Increased Government Powers Wartime governments also expanded their power over their economies *planned economies directed by government agencies

Manipulation of Public Opinion Authoritarian regimes, such as those of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary, relied on force to subdue their populations The British Parliament passed the Defense of the Realm Act (DORA)arrested protestors as traitors General propaganda

World War I created new roles for women Women were asked to take over jobs that had not been available to them beforetruck drivers, farm laborers, and factory workers Both men and women seemed to expect that many of the new jobs for women were only temporary The return to the old order and the right to vote

Total War and Women

Objectives: 1. Report how the stalemate at the Western Front led to new alliances, a widening of the war, and new weapons 2. Summarize how governments expanded their powers, increased opportunities for women, and made use of propaganda

The Russian Revolution

Objectives: 1. Explain how poor leadership led to the fall of the czarist regime in Russia 2. Relate how the Bolsheviks came to power under Lenin 3. Describe how Communist forces triumphed over antiCommunist forces

Background to Revolution
Russia was unprepared both military and technologically for the total war of World War I Lacking guns, soldiers using broomsticks to train and sent to the front without ries The Russian army suffered incredible lossestwo million soldiers were killed, and another four to six million wounded or six million wounded or captured

Beginnings of Upheaval
Czar Nicholas II was an autocratic ruler whose wife, Alexandra was German born *Grigori Rasputin, an uneducated Siberian peasant who claimed to be a holy man his inuence made him an important power behind the throne Assassinated in 1916, poisoned, shot, beat, and drowned

The March Revolution A series of strikes led by working-class women broke out in the capital city of *Petrograd The government had started bread rationing after the price of bread had skyrocketed Strikes shut down factories demanding Peace and Bread

The czar tried to dissolve the Duma, or legislative body. A provisional government was established which urged the czar to step down, eventually doing so *Alexander Kerensky, now head of provisional government, continued the war *The Soviets challenged this government and its policies the *Bolsheviks came to power

The Rise of Lenin

The *Bolsheviks began as a small faction of Marxist party called the Russian Social Democrats led by *V. I. Lenin He believed that only a violent revolution could destroy the capitalist system

German military leaders, hoping to create disorder in Russia, shipped Lenin to Russia ushering in a new stage of the Revolution They promised an end to the war the redistribution of all land, etc. Peace, Land, Bread

The Bolsheviks Seize Power Lenin and Leon Trotsky took over the government The Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communists and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovskthey gave up eastern Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic Real peace did not come, however, because the country soon sank into civil war

Civil War in Russia

Many people were opposed to the new Communist regime Liberals and antiLeninist socialists The Allies sent thousands of troops to various parts of Russia in the hope of bringing Russia back into the war

The Red Army was forced to ght on many fronts against these opponents Members of the local soviet murdered the czar and his family and burned their bodies in a nearby mine shaft

Triumph of the Communists


A policy of *war communism was used to ensure regular supplies for the Red Army A new Red secret police (Cheka) began a Red Terror aimed at the destruction of all those who opposed the new regime Communism transformed Russia into a centralized state and was largely hostile toward the Allied powers

Objectives: 1. Explain how poor leadership led to the fall of the czarist regime in Russia 2. Relate how the Bolsheviks came to power under Lenin 3. Describe how Communist forces triumphed over antiCommunist forces

End of the War

Objectives: 1.Report how combined Allied forces stopped the German offensive 2. Explain how peace settlements brought political and territorial changes to Europe and created bitterness and resentment in several nations

The Last Year of the War A New German Offensive

For Germany, the withdrawal of the Russians offered new hope for a successful end to the war *Erich von Ludendorff, who guided German military, decided to make one nal grand offensive in the west The German attack failed With more than a million American troops in France, Germany resistance collapsed

Collapse and Armistice

The Allies were unwilling to make peaceReforms were begin to create a liberal government, but these efforts came too late for the exhausted and angry Germans William II gave left the country in exile The Social Democrats under *Friedrich Ebert announced the creation of a democratic republic

The new German government signed an *armistice

Revolutionary Forces

A group of radical socialists formed the German Communist Party in 1918a month later, the Communists tried to seize power in Berlin The New Social Democratic government crushed the rebels Ethnic groups increasingly sought to achieve their independenceThe Austro-Hungarian Empire withered and ceased The empire was replaced by the republics of Austria, Hungary, and Czchoslovakia

The Peace Settlements

27 victorious Allied nations met in Paris to make a nal settlement of the Great War

Wilsons Proposals
Woodrow Wilson Fourteen Points for Congresshis basis for a peace settlement reduction of armaments and ensured self-determination Wilson became the spokesperson for a new world order based on democracy and international cooperation

The Paris Peace Conference


Resulted in making the Germans pay for the dreadful war *Georges Clemenceau, premier of France, desired revenge and security against future German aggression Germany was stripped of all weapons, forced to pay the *reparations of the war, and took the Rhinelandmaking it a buffer state In all this, Germany was not invited to attend and Russia could not due to civil war

Wilson wanted to create a world organization League of Nationsto prevent future wars Wilson wanted to create an international peacekeeping organization The US Senate refused to support the agreement made by the president which weakened the Versailles peace settlement

The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles with Germany resulted in the infamous War Guilt Clause which made Germany responsible for starting the war Germany reduced its army to 100 thousand soldiers, cutback its navy, and eliminate its air force *Alsace and *Lorraine were taken back by France and sections of eastern Germany were given to the new Poland state Germany was infuriated at their sole blame

A New Map of Europe


The map of Eastern Europe was redrawn Russia and Germany lost much territory in eastern Europe New states: Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary

The Wars Legacy The death of almost 10 million people, as well as the incredible destruction caused by the war, undermined the while idea of progress The turmoil created by the war resulted in revolutions in the old and new states

Objectives: 1.Report how combined Allied forces stopped the German offensive 2. Explain how peace settlements brought political and territorial changes to Europe and created bitterness and resentment in several nations

You might also like