WWI

1. THE FIRST WORLD
WAR
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2. THE ANTECEDENTS

3. POLITICAL TENSION IN EUROPE AT
THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY:
THE WAY TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
 After the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, there were
no wars between the European powers.
 However, relationships between these nations
were characterised by increasing tension.
 At the same time, many countries were increasing
their production of arms and military equipment.

4. POLITICAL TENSION IN EUROPE
1871 - 1914
THE WAY TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
The German unification process made Germany
the most powerful country in Europe.

5. POLITICAL TENSION IN EUROPE AT
THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY:
THE WAY TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Second French Empire opposed the
German expansion through Europe and
declared the war to the Kingdom of
Prussia, aided by the North German
Confederation, of which it was a
member.
Prussia won the war and it brought
about changes in Europe. France had
to surrender the region of Alsace-
Lorraine to Germany.
Napoleon III's Empire finished during the
war, and the Third Republic was
established in France.
1870-1871 Franco-Prussian
War

6. POLITICAL TENSION IN EUROPE AT
THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY:
THE WAY TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
 German Confederation
became a political
union as well after the
war, as Bismarck
wished.
 Bismark then
established the Second
Reich, or German
Empire, with Wilhem I
as its kaiser.
King Wilhelm I
Chancellor
Bismarck

7. GERMANY´S FOREIGN POLICY
 Germany´s foreign policy became especially
important during this period in two phases:
The Bismarkian
system
The policies of
Wilhem II

8. THE BISMARKIAN SYSTEM
German Chancellor
Otto von Bismark
established a system
of alliances with
Austria, Russia and
Italy in order to reach
to objectives:
 The isolation of
France.
 The balance in
the Balkans.

9. Part of the Austrian
Empire
Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, part of
present-day Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
part of Ukraine
Part of the Russian
Empire
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, part of
Ukraine
Part of the Ottoman
Empire
Turkey

10. THE BISMARKIAN SYSTEM
The isolation of France
 France´s main objective
during this period was to
recover the region of
Alsace-Lorraine, which it
had lost to Germany in
1871.
 Bismark used his
alliances to prevent
conflict in Europe,
including a possible war
with France over Alsace-
Lorraine.

11. THE BISMARKIAN SYSTEM
 Bismark knew that Austria and Russia wanted to
control the Balkans and that these tensions could
be the origin of a European conflict.
The balance in the
Balcans

12. THE POLICIES OF WILHELM II
 Kaiser Wilhlem I died and Wilhelm II took the
throne.

13. THE POLICIES OF WILHELM II
 Wilhelm II wanted a more agressive foreign
policy in Europe, so in 1890 he dismissed
Bismark and abandoned his system of alliances.
 Then, Wilhem II began a policy of expansionism
known as Weltpolitik (world politics).
 This policy created tension between
Germany and other European countries,
especially in unstable regions such
as Morocco and the Balkan Peninsula.

14. THE FIRST WORLD WAR

15. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
 France wanted to recover the region of Alsace-
Lorraine, which the French had lost to the German
Empire in 1871.
TWO BLOCKS
-France
-Germany

16. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
 Britain and Germany became involved in a
naval arms race.
 Both countries built fleets of powerful new
battleships known as dreadnoughts
(acorazados).
HMS Hood (Royal Sovereign-class
battleship of 1890s).
TWO BLOCKS
-Great Britain
-Germany

17. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
 Industrialised European countries expanded
their empires and competed for the control of
colonies.
RIVALRY AMONG
RULING STATES

18. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
 The competition for control of
colonies had an important
role in North Africa:
 The two Moroccan crises
 Germany didn´t want France to
create a protectorate in
Morocco.
 But Great Britain helped France.
 Finally, France gained control of
Morocco.
TWO BLOCKS:
-Germany
-France and Great
Britain

19. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
 Another important region of Imperialism took
place in the Balkans:
 The Eastern Question (La Cuestión de Oriente)
 The Ottoman Empire was collapsing, and Austria and
Russia wanted to take control of the Balcans.
• Russia supported the Slavic
States (Serbia and Bulgaria).
Russia didn´t want these
states to be under the Austro-
Hungarian Empire.
• Austria wanted to expand its
territories to the Adriatic Sea
coast.
TWO
BLOCKS
•Russia
•Austro-
Hungarian
Empire

20. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
 Between 1878 and
1908, the Austro-
Hungarian Empire
occupied and then
annexed Bosnia-
Herzegovina.

21. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
(WWI)
Between 1878 and 1908, the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
occupied and then annexed
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Nacionalist
protests of
Serbians living
in Bosnia.
It also angered
Russia,
Serbia’s
traditional ally.

22. THE ARMED PEACE
 THE ARMED PEACE (1890-1914)
 Because of this situation, rivalries between
European countries led to the formation of two
powerful alliances that ended up fighting against
one another during the First World War:
Two alliances
The Triple Alliance The Triple Entente

23. THE ARMED PEACE

24. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
 On 28 June 1914, Archduke
Franz Ferdinand, the heir to
the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
was assassinated by a
Serbian gunman in the
Bosnian city of Sarajevo.

25. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
 Archduke Franz Ferdinand´s death triggered the
sequence of events that led to the First World War:
1. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, supported by Germany,
raised an ultimatum to Serbia. They threatened Serbia with
war if this one didn´t allow Austria to investigate the murder.
2. Serbia, supported by Russia, rejected the ultimatum.
3. On 25 July The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on
Serbia, blaming the Serbs for the archduke´s death.
4. Russia began mobilising against Austria and Germany.
5. Germany declared war to Russia, and then to France,
because it was a Russian allied.
6. Great Britain declared war to Germany.

26. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
The Austro-Hungarian
Empire, supported by
Germany, raised an
ultimatum to Serbia. They
threatened Serbia with war if
this one didn´t allow Austria
to investigate the murder.

27. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
Serbia, supported
by Russia, rejected
the ultimatum.

28. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
On 25 July 1914 The Austro-
Hungarian Empire declared
war on Serbia, blaming the
Serbs for the archduke´s
death.

29. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
Russia began
mobilising against
Austria and
Germany.

30. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
Germany declared
war to Russia, and
then to France,
because it was a
Russian allied.

31. THE TRIGGER OF THE WWI
Great Britain
declared war to
Germany.

32. THE CAUSES OF WWI
 Page 163:
 Exercises 1, 2 and 3

33. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
 First, Austria declared the war on Serbia.
 After the Austro-Hungarian Empire had
declared war on Serbia, other European
countries chose sides, based on:
 Their pre-existing alliance
 Triple Entente
 Triple Alliance
 Their own national interests

34. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
Russia began
mobilising against
Austria and Germany.European
countries
chose sides.

35. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
Germany declared war to
Russia, and then to
France, because it was a
Russian allied.
European
countries
chose sides.

36. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
Great Britain declared war
to Germany.
European
countries
chose sides.

37. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
 As a result, two alliances emerged which then
fought each other for the next four years.
Two alliances
The Central
Powers
Austro-
Hungarian
Empire
German Empire
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
The Allied Powers
Serbia
Great Britain
France
Russian Empire
Later:
Japan, Romania,
USA, Greece and
Portugal.

38. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS

39. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
 What did Italy do?
 Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance.

40. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
 What did Italy do?
 But Italy remained neutral at the beggining of
the war.

41. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
 What did Italy do?
 However, in 1915,
Italy joined the Allied
Powers.
 Italy hoped to
acquire territory that
belonged to the
Austro-Hungarian
Empire.

42. THE WAR´S PARTICIPANTS
 Globalization of the conflict.
 Both blocks looked for new allies.
 The following countries took place in the war:
 14 European countries with their colonies.
 Japan
 USA

43.  Orange: Central Powers (Triple Alliance)
 Green: Allied Powers (Triple Entente)
 Grey: Neutral countries
First time a war affected such a wide
territory.

44. PHASES OF THE WAR

45. PHASES OF THE WAR
4 PHASES
•1914: Initial offensives
•1915-1917:Trench warfare
•1917: The crisis of 1917
•1918: Allied victories and the
armistice

46. 1914: Initial offensives

47. INITIAL OFFENSIVES 1914
1.-
GERMAN
OFFENSIVE
S IN THE
WESTERN
FRONT
2.- RUSSIAN
OFFENSIVES IN THE
EASTERN FRONT

48. INITIAL OFFENSIVES 1914
1.-
GERMAN
OFFENSIVE
S IN THE
WESTERN
FRONT

49. INITIAL OFFENSIVES
1914 (West front)
 The German plan wanted
a quick victory over
France and then fight
against Russia.
 The German Military Staff
had developed the
Schlieffen plan:
 A surprise attack over
France invading Belgium,
which was neutral.

50. INITIAL OFFENSIVES 1914
(West front)
 But the German were stopped in the Battle of
Marne (September 1914), near Paris.

51. INITIAL OFFENSIVES 1914
2.- RUSSIAN
OFFENSIVES IN THE
EASTERN FRONT

52. INITIAL OFFENSIVES
1914 (East front)
 France asked Russia to
attack Germany in the
East.
 German forces fought
against Russia and
defeated the Russian in
Tannenberg and the
Massurian Lakes.
 But the Allies achieved
to make the German
move towards the east.
That´s how Paris was
saved.

53. 1915-1917:Trench warfare

54. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 In 1915, the western front
between Germany and the
Allies stablilised and a
period of trench warfare
began.
 The failure of the German
offensive consolidated the
fronts, so the objective
was to defend the
achieved positions.

55. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 Defensive tactics:
Trenches
Machine-guns
Video about the trenches in the
Battle of the Somme (France)

56. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 The German tried to break the
fronts in the Battle of Verdún
(February 1916).
 The British tried it in the Battle
of Somme (July 1916).
 But anybody succeed.
 Thousands of soldiers died in
these battles.

57. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 As the main fronts were stabilised, the Allies
tried to break the balance attacking the
secondary areas:
Secondary areas
The
Mediterranean
area.
The German
Colonies in
Africa and Asia.
The Middle
East.

58. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
Attack to the
Mediterranean area.
 The British attempt to
take the Bosporus
and the Dardaneles
in order to aisle the
Ottoman Empire.
 But the British were
defeated in the Battle
of Gallipoli (1915)

59. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 German colonies were conquered:
 Great Britain conquered the German colonies in
Africa.
 Japan conquered the German colonies in Asia.

60. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 The Middle East belonged to the Ottoman
Empire. These areas were invaded by the Allies,
supported by the Arab nationalists. (Palestina,
Siria, Arabia e Irak)

61. THE TRENCH WARFARE
1915-1917
 Meanwhile, a naval
conflict took place:
 The German submarines
attacked the Allied
merchant ships in order to
cut the supply to G.B.:
 The German and British
fleets fought in the Battle
of Jutland (1916).
 Great Britain won the battle
and blockaded Germany.

62. 1917: The crisis of 1917

63. THE CRISIS OF 1917
 The Russian Revolution.
 The Tzar was overthrown and a
Communist government was imposed.
 The new government signed the
Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918):
 Russia withdrew from the war and gave a
big part of territory to Germany.
 As Germany didn´t have to worry
about the East front, it attacked Italy
and won the Battle of Caporetto.

64. THE CRISIS OF 1917
The entrance of USA
 At first, USA was neutral,
but it sold supplies to the
Allies.
 The German tried to avoid it
through attacks to American
merchant ships.
 In 1915, Germany sank the
transatlantic Lusitania.
 In 1917 USA entered the
war in support of the Allies.
 USA provided the Allies
more than one million of
soldiers and a powerful
industry.

65. 1918: Allied victories and the
armistice

66. ALLIED VICTORIES AND THE
ARMISTICE 1918
 German offensive in
spring 1918
 Germany moved its troops
from the east to the west
and attacked France.
 But Germany was
defeated by the support of
USA to France.

67. ALLIED VICTORIES AND THE
ARMISTICE 1918
 Allied offensive in 1918
 The Allies took advantage of the internal problems in:
 Autria-Hungarian Empire there were independent
movements.
 In Germany there was a communist revolution.
 The Allies defeated the Central Powers in Bulgaria,
the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary.

68. ALLIED VICTORIES AND THE
ARMISTICE 1918
 The end of the war
 The Central Powers
collapsed and surrendered:
 First, Turkey
 Then, Austria
 Finally, Germany, where
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated.
 In november 1918, the war
had finished.
HOMEWORK:
PAGE 163, EXERCISE 6

70. THE PEACE SETTLEMENT

71. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
(1919-1920)
 After the
armistice,
representative
s of the Allied
Powers met at
the Paris
Peace
Conference
(1919-1920) to
decide the
conditions
that would be
imposed on
the defeated
Central
Powers.

72. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
(1919-1920)
 At the Conference, USA President Woodrow
Wilson proposed a peace agreement that
would promote reconciliation between the
various participants in the war:
 The 14 points plan
 Reduce weapons.
 Break the old empires.
 Free international trade.
 Creation of a Leage of Nations.
 Etc.

73. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
(1919-1920)
 The 14 points plan
 However, this idea was rejected by Allied countries that
had been devastated during the conflict, such as
France.
 Instead, they wanted the Central Powers to
compensate them for their losses.

74. THE PEACE TREATIES
 The Allied ratified five treaties at the Paris
Peace Conference, which were then signed
by the defeated countries:
 Treaty of Versailles with German
 Treaty of Saint Germain with Austria
 Treaty of Trianon with Hungary
 Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey
 Treaty of Neully with Bulgaria

75. THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
 The Treaty of Versailles established especially
severe terms for Germany:
• It could not have tanks or
an air force.

76. THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
• It had to return
Alsace-
Lorraine to
France.
• The German
region of East
Prussia was
divided from
the rest of the
country by a
corridor of
land that was

77. THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
• It had to pay reparations to the European Allies.

78. THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
• It had to sign the war-guilty clause.

79. THE TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
• The Treaty of Versailles would become the
source of problems because the German people
felt humilitated by its harsh conditions.

80. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
 During the Paris Peace Conference, President
Wilson proposed the establishment of the
League of Nations:
 An international organisation that would
guarantee peace and prevent future wars.
 However, the defeated Central Powers were
not allowed to join the League at first.
 In the end, USA did not become a member
either.
 It was a failure, but the antecedent of the U.N.

81. REVIEW
 Watch more videos about WWI in History
Channel:
 http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history/videos/1916-
battle-of-the-somme?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false