World War I Summary

Purpose: To make sure that you understand World War I

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Directions: Read the following and annotate. Standard: 10.7 and 10.8 Subject: Causes and Effects of World War II Vocabulary
Nationalism Reparations Triple Entente League of Nations Franz Ferdinand War Guilt Clause Bloody Sunday Triple Alliance Czar Nicolas II Trench Warfare V.I. Lenin Schlieffen Plan Bolsheviks 14-Point Plan Bolshevik Revolution Treaty of Versailles March Revolution The MAIN causes of World War I are militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. Militarism Before the war, the countries of Europe were building up their military. The best example of this is Germany. Right before the war, Germany increased its military 75%. Also, a lot of the money that was made due to the Industrial Revolution was used to buy and make weapons. Further, the factories that were started during the Industrial Revolution were also used to make weapons. Alliances There are two main alliances. The Triple Alliance was formed in 1881. It consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. The Triple Entente was formed in 1907. It consisted of France, Great Britain, and Russia. Once the war started, these alliances fought each other. But there were problems between these countries before the alliance. Imperialism Imperialism is when one country takes over another country. Many European countries took over countries in Africa and Asia. They took them to get natural resources that they could use to make money in factories in the Industrial Revolution. Germany and France fought in World War I, but they almost went to war before that over who would take control of Morocco. Furthermore, Germany and Great Britain competed for control of the industrial economy. They were using materials from countries that they took over to make money. All of this money would eventually be used to build weapons and kill each other. Nationalism Nationalism is pride in ones country. This became a major cause of war near the start of the war. For one, the war started when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was killed by Gavrilo Princip in Serbia (in the Balkans). He was killed there because the people in Serbia were nationalist and they did not want someone from Austria-Hungary in their country trying to rule over them. Nationalism also was used in the propaganda posters to persuade people to join the army and server for their country. The Start of the War The war started when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Serbia by Gavrilo Princip. This led to Austria-Hungary invading Serbia. Germany joined Austria-Hungary and invaded France and Russia. When Austria-Hungary invaded France, it went through Belgium. This upset Great Britain, so Great Britain also became involved. Italy changed sides right away. The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente no longer consisted of just three countries each. The Triple Alliance became known as the Central Powers. It was led by Germany and included AustriaHungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The Triple Entente became the Allies. They consisted of Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Russia (until it dropped out because of the Russian Revolution), and the United States. The first act of war was by Germany. It was called the Schlieffen Plan. Germany attacked France in the west, tried to conquer France, and then wanted to attack Russia in the East (They were trying to avoid fighting on two fronts). The plan failed because of the way that the fighting took place. Trench Warfare led to long trenches were neither side really won. Both sides were stuck in the trenches.

Armenian Genocide - During the war, the Armenian Genocide took place. The Armenians are an ethnic group from the area near where Iraq is, called the Middle East. When the Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians were targeted because they are Christians. The Ottoman Empire, which was ruled by the Young Turks, proceeded to kill 1.5 million Armenians. First, the men were taken outside of Armenian towns and cities and shot or hanged. Then, the women were shipped off to concentration camps were many were killed or died of starvation. To this day, Turkey, the country that used to be the Ottoman Empire, denies that this genocide took place. U.S. Enters the World In 1917, after three years of war, the U.S. entered the war. They joined the side of the Allies. This happened after Germany shot down a British boat called the Lusitania. Although it was a British boat, it was carrying 128 U.S. citizens. The Germans were also trying to get Mexico to join the war. Germany promised Mexico that it would help Mexico gets back areas of the U.S. that used to be theirs. For these two reasons, the U.S. joined in the war. The U.S. joining was the main reason that the allies won. The U.S. army was segregated and very racist, but was also very powerful. World War I quickly became a total war in which all the resources of the country were put into making more weapons and supplies for the war. After the U.S entered the war, Russia dropped out of the war. When the Russian Revolution took place, the leader of Russia, V.I. Lenin, pulled Russia out of the war. Without war against Russia, Germany focused on war with France, Britain, and the U.S. The U.S. was too strong and on November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down and Germany signed an armistice, an agreement to stop fighting. The Treaty of Versailles After Germany stopped fighting, the leaders of the Allies (Lloyd George of England, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.) met to make a lasting peace. Wilson called his ideas the Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points main idea was selfdetermination (the right of countries to make their own decisions). He also called for an international peace organization called the League of Nations. In the end, the Treaty, named after the French city where it was signed, punished Germany severely. Germany was given total blame for the war, had to pay $33 billion in reparations, lost land, was not allowed to keep the military, and not allowed in the League of Nations. The Allies were trying to punish Germany, and Italy also wanted land back from Austria-Hungary.

Russian Revolution
Cause/Conflict The most important cause conflict of the Russian Revolution was the terrible working conditions and bad pay of the factories that Czar Nicolas II built as he tried to create a capitalist economy. First Actions The First Actions of the Russian Revolution start with the creation of the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks, which both wanted to end the government. During Bloody Sunday, in 1905, workers brought a petition to the Czars palace and were shot at by soldiers, killing 500-1000 workers. This led to the creation of the Duma, Russias Parliament. Climax/Revolution The March Revolution Women factory workers led a strike of 200,000 workers in 1917. Soldiers were ordered to shoot at them, but instead joined the protesters and shot their bosses. Nicolas II lost all of his power, and the Duma set up a capitalist government. Soviets (socialist community groups) were also set up. The Bolsheviks led the Soviets. The Bolshevik Revolution In 1917, the Bolsheviks arrested the leaders of the Duma and V.I. Lenin took power. The secret police (the cheka) also terrorized the enemies of the Bolsheviks. Russias Civil War The people against Lenin created the White Army and for 3 years, Russians fought each other for control of Russia. Lenin and the Bolsheviks eventually won. Conclusion Lenin gave the name the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to Russia. He started the New Economic Policy. This brought back capitalism before making Russia fully socialist. Lenin gave some power to workers, but still had most of the power himself.