Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

The War to End War; WWI

World War One

Causes of the War

Bismarck dismissed from office changed great-power relations; Kaiser Wilhelm 2^nd took his place
1894 France and Russia signed mutual defense; Brit joined France 1904 and Russia 1907 =Triple Entente
Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy; Germany superpower that challenged order
Naval race between Germany and Brit
Schlieffen Plan was designed to avoid a two front attack from France and Russia

Peace and Co-operation

The Outbreak of War

Trouble in the Balkans increased; began when Ottoman Empire began to weaken
1908 Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires came to brink of war when Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina
Russia being weakened and without support gave a warning that next time there would be war
This “next time” occurred on June 28, 1914 when Franz Ferdinand and his wife were murdered

The July Crisis

Austria was certain that Serbia was behind the assassination
June 6 Austria’s foreign minister Leopold von Berchtold got full support from Germany - “blank cheque”
July 23 Berchtold send Serbia an ultimatum with 10 demands; all accepted but two
Austria declared war against Serbia on July 28 and began bombing capital Belgrade
For Schlieffen Plan to work German ordered Russia to stop mobilization in 12 hours
With no reply, German declared war against Russia on Aug 1^st and on France Aug 3^rd
Brit declared war on Germany for invasion of Belgium

The Beginning of the War

Battle of the Marne on Sept 6-9 1914
Success in the war depended on: more soldiers, material, allies, science, propaganda = Total War
Italy joined the Triple Entente
The Balfour Declaration in 1917 was a bid by London for Jewish opinion by promising a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine
By the end of the war 38 nations were involved
1916 started with the German assault on Verdun; greatest bombardment in history or warfare
In July Britain attacked the Germans at the Somme River

Wartime Leadership

Mutinies spread in French trenches as a cry for making war in a different way
New commander Marshal Philippe Petain; believed firm endurance was the way to victory
David Lloyd George became British leader in 1916; France was Georges Clemenceau
Germany in 1915 used poison gas 1915 which failed then turned to the submarine
America declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917; landed & surpassed Central Power resources
Allied invention of convoys reduced threat of German submarines
Lenin was sent by Germany back to Russia and was one of the most powerful revolutionaries

War and Revolution in Russian

Communist rule in Russia shaped by struggle against czarist regime
Populist Movement of the 1870s – youths educated peasants for the revolution
Revolutionary Alexander Ilich Ulyanov hanged in 1887 for plotting to assassinate the czar George Plekhanov formed Russian Social Democratic Party in 1883; father of Russian Marxism
Czar Nicholas was a weak ruler, defeated by Japan in 1905, and abdicated on March 15 of 1917 due to revolts – the March Revolution 1917
The March Revolution in 1917 and Romanov family brought down in one week
Power now in two organizations – provisional govn’t and Soviets

Lenin the Revolutionary

Thought revolution would be lead by Marxist intellectuals and not the working middle-class
Thought intellectuals could see beyond capitalist system and lead others to overthrow it
Bloody Sunday 1905 troops slaughtered peaceful crowd of 200 taking petition to imperial palace
Members of RSDP called Bolsheviks and in 1817 when Lenin returned he had 20 000 members
Lenin’s plan was better than the provisional governments: “Land, peace, bread”
Bolsheviks grew to 200 000 and seized power Nov 7 1917 from provisional govn’t
November Rev aka “Red October” revolutionary minority grabbed power from more democratic government – “Red Miracle” of 1917 the birth of communism
First trial democracy and minority vote went to Lenin
Lenin used Marxist idea of “dictatorship of the proletariat” – temp dictatorship after revolution
Russian Civil War 1918 to 1921
Russia pulled out of the war March 15^th 1918 when Lenin signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Bolsheviks changed name of Russia to Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 1922 (U.S.S.R.)

World War One: The Last Days

Govn’ts aimed propaganda at their own people
Jan 8 1918 Woodrow Wilson announced “Fourteen Points” for peace on American terms

The Social Impact of the War

· War changed attitudes towards govn’t and leaders and showed destructive power of technology

· More than 10 million lives lost; Euro youth destroyed

· Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge in 1917 was a crucial event to Canada’s nationhood

· Germany used Support Services Law to make ppl b/w 16-60 work in war industries

· Others used non-citizens as enemy aliens and restricted their civil rights; labor camps

· Women began replacing men in many types of work and told to stay away from men in civilian clothes to encourage men to go to war

Wartime Artists

Erich Maria Remarque published All Quiet on the Western Front
John McCrae’s poem is patriotic In Flanders Fields
Rupert Brooke’s nationalistic poem The Soldier read on Easter Sunday in London for war prep.
Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon used realism to describe the horrors of war
Beginning of the war music/poetry patriotic and became more critical as war went on
CDN Group of Seven members A.Y. Jackson and Frederick H. Varley captured scenes of war using impressionism and realism

The End of the War

American declarations of war strengthened Allies and brought fresh troops and supplies
Germany was out of soldiers and low on endurance by 1918; the Allies had more of everything
Ludendorff told Kaiser Wilhelm 2^nd on Sept 29, 1918 that the war was lost
November 9, 1918 Germany declared their nation a republic
November 11, 1918 reps of new German republic met Allied officers in France and signed armistice that ended World War One

The Treaty of Versailles, 1919

27 Allied nations participated and it was signed on June 28, 1919
It was referred to as a compromise peace between the victors; defeated nations given no voice
Reflected the view of a simple peace and that of getting back at Germany

Whom to Blame?

The treaty stated that Germany accepts responsibility for all losses and damages
Victors reduced Germany’s army to 100 000, lost Alsace and Lorraine to France; lost eastern territory to Poland
Dismemberment of Hapsburg Empire – emergence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia
Austria-Hungary became Austria and time was up for the Ottoman Empire as well
1917 Allied troops sent to Murmansk, Archangel, Vladivostok to stop supplies to Germany from Russia and to keep Russia against Germany
In fear of communism spreading West about 100 000 troops supported fight against communist “Red forces”
New nations emerged in old Romanov lands: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland

The Consequences of the War

The Results of the War

The war and revolution of 1914-18 unleashed more wars and revolutions that would shape the rest of the century: