World War I

Chapter 26
Section 1

THE GREAT WAR BEGINS

 I. War Breaks Out
A. The Cause
1. Place: Sarajevo (Austria-Hungary)
2. People: Franz Ferdinand – archduke of Austria-
Hungary (Heir to the throne)
Gavrilo Princip – member of a secret
nationalist group called the Black Hand
3. Problem: Princip kills Ferdinand in broad daylight
4. Why?: The Black Hand wanted Serbs to be ruled
by Serbia, not Austria-Hungary.
B. The Impact
1. Austria-Hungary made a series of humiliating demands
for Serbia, then declared war on July 28, 1914.
2. Dominos:
a) Russia - promised to support Serbia if Austria-Hungary
attacked.
b) Germany – Austria-Hungary’s ally; Italy – Germany’s ally.
(Central Powers)
c) France - saw German action as threat on Russia
d) England – France’s ally, jumps in to help France, Russia, and
Serbia. (Allied Powers)
C. Fighting Begins
1. Germany faces war on two Fronts: 1) Russia in
the East 2) France in the West
a) Schlieffen Plan – called for German troops to quickly
defeat France in west and then head east to fight
Russia.
 II. A New Kind of War
A. The WWI Battlefield
1. Trench Warfare
a) Miserable – deep puddles of thick mud; removing
dead bodies from trenches/ surrounding area was
impossible; lice, rats, other creatures were always
present.
b) “over the top” – ordered to jump out and sprint across
no man’s land, area between opposing trenches.
c) Thousands of soldiers, both sides, died in no man’s
land, bodies left where they fell.
2. New Weapons
a) Poison Gas – different types of gas could blind, choke,
or burn the victims.
1) Value limited: change in wind direction could blow gas
back toward troops who used it
2) Both sides developed gas masks – provided protection
b) Rapid-fire machine guns
1) Could fire hundreds of bullets each minute – used to
defend trenches
c) High-explosive shells
1) Enormous destructive power
3. Tanks and Aircraft
a) Tanks – armored vehicles that could cross rough
battlefield terrain
1) Pioneered by Germany and British
2) Would not make a contribution until late in the war
b) Aircraft – Flying machine with propellers.
1) Start of the war they were used to observe enemy
positions.
2) By end of the war they had machine guns attached
and pilots began to drop bombs
 III. The War Ends
A. The United States enters the War
1. Reasons: German U-boats sank the British ship,
Lusitania, killing 1200 people, 120 Americans.
2. Zimmerman Note – Mexico and Central Powers
proposed alliance
3. Selective Service Act – authorized a military draft –
required to serve until after war was over
B. The Treaty of Versailles
1. Contained a war-guilt clause forced Germany to take
responsibly for WWI
a) Germany had to limit size of military
b) Germany had to return conquered lands to France and
Russia
c) Germany had to pay damages – $33 Billion
C. Wilson’s 14 Points
1. Blueprint for lasting peace in Europe after World
War I.
1. Central Powers – reduce weapons
2. National groups in Europe would have rights to form
own governments.
3. World Association to keep peace
1. League of Nations
2. Countries would talk out problems
3. Weakness was that L.o.N. had no army
B. Facts about the War
1. Called “The Great War” or “War to End All Wars”
2. Involved 31 countries, 65 million soldiers
3. 9 million soldiers were killed in battle
4. 21.2 million soldiers were wounded
5. 13 million civilians died
6. First war to use trench warfare heavily
7. The war cost the world’s nations $332 Billion