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4. World War I
I. Causes
A. General Causes - domestic unrest - nationalism - militarism - diplomatic instability - lack of will not to go to war
B. Diplomatic Revolution
- 1880's > alliances Germany France Austria-Hungary Russia Italy
- 1890's > alliances Germany France Austria-Hungary Russia Italy
- 1909 > alliances Germany France Austria-Hungary Russia Italy Great Britain
- Triple Alliance vs. Triple Entente
C. The Balkan Crisis 1) the Slavic Revival - Serbia was the center for South Slav nationalistic aspirations
2) 1876 Serbia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey - they lost, but Russia intervened and won - Treaty of San Stefano
3) Congress of Berlin (1878) revised the Treaty: - Serbia and Montenegro achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire - Bosnia and Herzegovina were placed under the protection of Austria-Hungary which was forbidden to annex the territories - the size of the proposed state of Bulgaria was reduced by about one-third - Russia fearful of a war with Germany agreed to the revised Treaty
4) 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina - Russia and Serbia opposed the annexation, but backed down when Germany intervened - a second humiliation for Russia and an obstacle to Serbia's hope for annexing these territories
5) The Balkan Wars - 1912 > Serbia, Montenegro and Greece defeated the Turks, but could not agree on how to divvy up Albania and Macedonia - 1913 > Serbia gained part of Macedonia, but Albania became an independent state - hostility intensified between Serbia and Austria-Hungary
II. The Outbreak of World War I A. The Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand (June 29, 1914) - occurred in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo - the assassin was a Bosnian Serb nationalist
B. The Critical 39 Days - Germany encouraged Austria-Hungary by issuing its "blank check" - Austria-Hungary gave Serbia an ultimatum - Serbia, counting on the support of Russia who counted on the support of France, rejected the ultimatum - Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28, 1914
C. Russia rashly mobilized - August 1 > Germany declared war against Russia - August 3 > Germany declared war against France - August 4 > England declared war against Germany - Italy declared neutrality
III. The Battle A. The Western Front - the Germans hoped to quickly defeat the French, but failed to do so because its troops were recalled to the Russian Front - by November the troops had dug into their trenches > a "war of attrition" ensued
B. Escalation of the War - Japan entered against Germany - Turkey entered in support of Germany - Italy entered on the side of the Allies - fighting extended to the Middle East > Lawrence of Arabia - fighting also extended into the colonies > Africa - the United States entered the war in 1917 on the side of the Allies "to make the world safe for democracy"
C. Armistice Signed November 11, 1918 - German socialist leader, Frederick Ebert, signed for the new German Republic - Final tolls: 8-10 million dead; 24-30 million wounded or crippled for life
IV. Settlement of World War I A. The Treaty of Versailles - Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France - German coal mines in the Saar Basin were ceded to France for 15 years - Germany was disarmed > its army limited to 100,000 men; its forces prohibited on the French border - Germany made to accept war guilt and pay heavy reparations
B. Problems with the Treaty of Versailles - Germany was humiliated - German war guilt was not true - unemployed German military > high unemployment - reparations amount and conditions were unrealistic
C. Subsequent Treaties 1) did not conform to President Wilson's 14 Points: self-determination of nations was ignored
2) Treaty with Bulgaria > Bulgaria lost territory to Rumania, Yugoslavia and Greece despite large Bulgarian populations in these regions
3) Treaty with Hungary > Hungary lost territory to neighboring states - it was reduced from 125, 000 to 35,000 square miles
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