World War I began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalists. This triggered a series of military and political events that led major European powers to declare war on each other. The war involved all of the European powers and dragged on for four years, resulting in massive casualties and new military technologies like tanks and chemical weapons being used. By 1918, the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary had been exhausted and surrendered. The war ended with the defeat of the Central Powers and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed punitive terms on Germany and helped create new countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Over 10 million soldiers and civilians died in the war, and
3. Spoiling for War
• Militarism-Belief that
war and combat are
good and moral.
• Alliances-Germany
and Austria-Hungary
verse England, France,
and Russia.
• Imperialism-The lust
to gain more power
and territory.
• Nationalism-Hatred
for other countries and
love for one’s own.
4. Powder Keg of Europe
• The Balkans had numerous ethnic groups
all demanding freedom.
• Austria-Hungary was a declining power in
the early 20th century. To gain power they
bullied the weaker powers in the Balkans.
• The Serbians were the number one enemy
to the Austrians.
5. Assassin in Sarajevo
• Franz Ferdinand was
the Arch-Duke of
Austria. His
assassination by
Serbian nationalists
gave Austria the
excuse to crush the
“Serbian Viper.”
6. The Guns of August
• Austria invaded Serbia with the promise of
full support from Germany, in Response
Russia defended Serbia. This in turn led to
Germany attacking France, Russia’s ally.
• The German plan was to attack knock
France out of the War and then turn all their
armies on Russia.
7. The Slaughter
• For 4 years both sides massacred one another in a
war of attrition.
• Germany bore the brunt of the war for the Central
Powers while Russia, France, and England carried
the war for the allies.
• Both sides used new weapons such as tanks and
gas warfare to break the stalemate.
• Germany eventually used unrestricted submarine
warfare to starve England into submission. In
1915 they sank the cruise ship Lusitania killing
many Americans. For a while the Germans
backed off.
11. Russia Collapses
• In 1917 the Russian Empire could no longer
take the strains of war. The Russian army
simply got up and walked out of the
trenches back to their villages.
• In Petrograd a food riot led to the eventual
overthrow of the Tsar. A provisional
government tries to continue the war but
they were overthrown by the Bolsheviks.
12. Nicholas II
• Nicholas and his
family were
overthrown and
eventually killed by
the Bolsheviks.
14. Over There
• With extra troops from the Russian front the
German's decided to knock France and
England out of the War.
• Part of the plan included using submarines
on all ships, including American, that
entered English waters.
• In response the American president
Woodrow Wilson declared war on
Germany.
15. The End
• A final German attack was beaten back with
the help American reinforcements in 1918.
• The defeat of Germany meant the end of the
war and quickly the Austro-Hungarian,
German, and Ottoman empire were all
overthrown.
• The victorious powers then meant at the
palace of Versailles outside of Paris.
16. Versailles
• The Big Three Powers were England,
France, and the United States. Germany
and Russia were not invited.
• Germany was to pay reparations(Money) to
pay fro the war damage and accept
responsibility for starting the war..
• Wilson believed in Self-Determination, so
many different ethnic groups got their own
countries. Especially in Eastern Europe
where Austria and Russia so their empires
turned into many different countries.
18. League of Nations
• To prevent another war the world formed a
League of Nations where countries could
come together to hammer out problems.
• The United States although an architect of
the Treaty of Versailles did not ratify the
Treaty from fear it would lead to constant
American involvement in European affairs.
19. Effects of the War
• Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Yugoslavia,
Poland, Hungary,and Finland are a few of
the countries created after World War I.
• The Germans were invited only to sign the
treaty, and many Germans felt the Treaty
was unjust.
• Millions were killed in the fighting and
billions of dollars of damage occurred.
• All of Germanys colonies were put under
the mandate (control) of Britain and France.
