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World War I

Causes of WWI

How did the Long Term Causes of WWI Cause War?

Awful Governments

  • Few countries were democracies – many were autocracies
  • Italy was corrupt
  • Germany – Wilhelm was mad
  • Russia – tsar was weak
  • Turkey – was falling apart

Nationalism

  • Intense national pride
  • Many peoples wanted self-determination
  • Panslavism

Imperialism

  • British Empire covered a fifth of the world
  • Belief in superiority
  • Fight for resources mainly in Asia and Africa, but also Latin America and Middle East
  • Wilhelm wanted ‘a place in the sun’

Militarism

  • Germany’s Navy Law 1900
  • Germany’s Schlieffen Plan – was no secret that Germany had plans to attack France through Belgium (Russia mobilized faster than Germany anticipated, drawing German resources away from Western Front and creating a stalemate in France)
  • Standing, professionally trained armies
  • Military was not just an arms race, it was a valid means of foreign policy
  • New Weapons - Submarines, dreadnoughts, zeppelins, airplanes, tanks, machine guns, etc

Alliances

  • European countries thought alliance system would be a deterrent to war
  • Triple Alliance
  • Triple Entente
  • Confrontation at Algeciras
  • Assassination and ‘blank cheque’ lead to ultimatum

Events

  • Boer War (1899-1900)
  • German Navy Law (1900)
  • First Moroccan Crisis (1905-06)
  • Bosnian Crisis (1908-09)
  • Agadir Crisis (1911)
  • Balkan Wars (1912-13)
  • Assassination at Sarajevo (1914)

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World War I

Trench Life During WWI

What was Trench Life like during WWI?

Conditions

  • Conditions in the trenches were unimaginably bad
  • Constant fear of attack, stench of dead bodies and site of rats feeding on corpses
  • Bitterly cold in winter, horribly hot in summer
  • Trenches were mainly in low-lying land, so soldiers were often up to knees in water or sewage, leading to trench foot

Mental Torture

  • For much of the time life was boring, on guard duty or repairing or digging trenches
  • When fighting took place casualties were great
  • Shelling, gas attacks and conditions led to nervous breakdowns. Initially soldiers were shot for refusal to obey orders, but later shell-shock was officially recognized

Frontlines

  • It was clear defense was far easier than offense
  • In some places the frontlines were very close (20 yards). Even the slightest movement could result in instant death via sniper
  • Other areas the gap could be much wider (1/2 mile or more). Unofficial truces were sometimes agreed upon

No Man’s Land

  • The ground separating the opposing trenches
  • Both sides put up barbed wire defenses and laid mines in front of their trenches to prevent attacks
  • Before attacks, whistles were blown and troops were ordered to advance across No Man’s Land – called going ‘over the top’

Artillery Barrages

  • Both sides tried to destroy the opposing trenches in immense artillery barrages
  • This was often inaccurate and caused huge craters in No Man’s Land
  • Heavy shelling always took place before each major attack, but usually failed to destroy trenches or barbed wire defenses

The Somme

  • The front line at the beginning of a major battle suffered terribly
  • At the Battle of the Somme (July 1916) 70% of the troops who went over the top in the first wave were killed or wounded
  • Many of the casualties were part of Pals’ Battalions (English)

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World War I

US Involvement in WWI

How and Why did the US get Involved in WWI?

Anti-War

  • Until 1916, the US under Woodrow Wilson held a strong anti-war position
  • US made it clear that it did not wish to get involved in European affairs

US Benefits

  • While Europe was involved in war, US was able to make technological and trade gains on European competitors
  • US filled trade markets left empty by alliance system and also developed new techniques and technology

Large War Loans

  • Yet by 1917, US had lent large sums of money to Britain and France
  • There was increasing sympathy for Britain and France from within the US, seen as fellow democratic countries

Submarine Warfare

  • In 1915, a German U-boat sunk the liner Lusitania, resulting in many US deaths. This had a profound impact on public opinion about the war
  • In March 1917, Germany began unrestricted U-boat warfare, four US ships were sunk
  • The US prepared for war

Zimmerman Telegram

  • Early 1917 – America’s reason for declaring war. Britain intercepted a telegram and showed it to the US
  • The telegram was from the German foreign minister to his counterpart in Mexico
  • It suggested that Mexico should attack America if war broke out

Effect of US Involvement

  • In April 1917, US declared war on Germany
  • Germany made repeated attempts to finish the war before US troops arrived
  • A huge moral boost for the Allies (the yanks are comin’), the US soldiers showed immense bravery but weren’t fully prepared for modern warfare and suffered high casualty rates

American soldiers in France, 1917

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World War I

Technology and Tactics

Why was WWI so Different than Previous Wars?

Defensive War

  • Development of new weapons technology meant WWI became a defensive war
  • The development of machine guns made traditional methods of attack impossible
  • Attempts to break the stalemate with heavy artillery failed, so both sides turned to new technology

Gas

  • Poison chlorine gas was first used by the Germans at Ypres in 1915
  • Both sides used phosgene and mustard gas
  • The main weakness was that the wind could blow it back towards your own side

Tanks

  • Tanks were developed by the British and used in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme
  • Were initially very unreliable – breaking down – and horrible to drive
  • However they were a huge propaganda and morale boost, and proved to be very effective by the end of the war

Sea

  • New and more powerful battleships – dreadnaughts – were developed but only involved at Jutland
  • German submarines were a great threat, causing serious disruption
  • Following Lloyd George’s insistence, the convoy system was introduced

Air

  • Planes were initially used for reconnaissance and dropping bombs by hand, but technological developments such as fixed machine guns made dogfights and attacks on enemy trenches possible
  • German airships called Zeppelins began to bomb London and other cities

New Kind of Warfare

  • WWI saw death and destruction on a scale never experienced before
  • Technological developments were seen as vital to both sides, but each new weapon brought further destruction
  • No one invention was decisive though as both sides quickly copied each other

British Mark I tank, Battle of the Somme, 1916

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World War I

Germany at the End of WWI

How did WWI Affect People in Germany?

The German Empire

  • Germany before 1918 was an empire in the center of Europe
  • It was created in 1871, but it was already one of the most powerful states in the world
  • It was ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II
  • The government did have some democratic features

Food Shortages

  • By the end of the war the German people were nearly starving
  • They lived on handouts of potatoes, turnips and sawdusty bread
  • Even basic foods were strictly rationed
  • The longer the war lasted, the more serious the shortages became

The Allied Naval Blockade

  • The British navy blockaded the sea approaches to Germany’s ports
  • This created food shortages and stopped basic supplies from overseas
  • British secret agents would report back to Britain about these shortages and the blockade’s effects on Germany

Winter 1918

  • As winter approached in 1918 conditions grew much worse
  • Adults lived on 1000 calories a day – starvation level
  • Fuel shortages led to power cuts, factory closures and transportation problems
  • The flu virus swept across Germany killing thousands

Democracy?

  • With defeat close on the battlefields, and conditions poor at home, the German army asked for peace
  • The allies agreed, but only if the Kaiser shared his power
  • This proved unpopular, and public opinion turned against the Kaiser
  • Revolution was being talked about

Revolution

  • The Naval Mutiny at Kiel was the catalyst for mass unrest
  • The Kaiser was losing control of the country as soldiers and workers rose against him
  • Wilhelm had to abdicate
  • Freidrich Ebert, leader of the Social Democratic Party, became head of the government

Freidrich Ebert, Chancellor of Germany, 1918-19, President of WeimarRepublic 1919-25

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World War I

International Crises, 1900-1913

How did international relations deteriorate, 1900-1913?

German Navy Law, 1900

  • Germany started building Dreadnought battleships
  • = Britain felt threatened
  • = alliances (Britain made an alliance with Japan, 1902, Entente with France, 1904)
  • = naval arms race (in 1909 the British public forced the government to build 8 dreadnoughts)

First Moroccan Crisis, 1906

  • Kaiser Wilhelm guaranteed the independence of Morocco – which France had hoped to conquer
  • = France and Britain were threatened
  • At Algeciras (1906) Britain, France and Russia forced Germany to back down (= international humiliation for Germany)

Kaiser Wilhelm and Britain

  • In 1900 Kaiser Wilhelm openly supported the Boers in the Boer War
  • = Britain felt threatened
  • In 1906 Kaiser Wilhelm gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph saying the British were mad and that many Germans disliked them
  • = British people were insulted

Bosnian Crisis, 1908

  • In 1908, Austria-Hungary took advantage of a rebellion to annex Bosnia
  • = Serbia was furious (many Bosnians were Serbs)
  • Serbia asked Russia to help, but France and Britain would not support Nicholas II, who had to back down (= Russia was humiliated and resentful)

Agadir, 1911

  • In 1911, when France took advantage of a rebellion to take over Morocco, Kaiser Wilhelm sent the gunship Panther into Agadir harbor in Morocco
  • = Britain and France were alarmed
  • they forced Germany to back down (= Kaiser Wilhelm was humiliated and resentful)

Balkan Wars

  • In 1912, the Balkan League (Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria) drove Turkey out of Europe
  • = Austria felt threatened
  • In 1913, Serbia and Bulgaria went to war, but Germany and Britain stopped it
  • = Russia had failed Serbia again
  • = Germany thought Britain was a friend

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Stalin

Stalin’s Economic Policy

Stalin’s Economic Policy – Success or Failure?

Five Year Plans

  • Private trade was banned
  • Coal, Oil, Gas, and Engineering
  • GOSPLAN (committee responsible for economic planning)
  • Individual targets set for factories
  • New cities ‘created’ – Magnitogorsk
  • KOMSOMOL – youth wing of the communist party (taught values of the party)
  • Gulag – the government agency that administered the penal camps
  • Stakhanovites – ‘hero’ miner, symbolized hard work ethic

Success?

  • Huge public work schemes
  • Education program
  • Industrial output expanded
  • Russia survived WWII

Failure?

  • Human cost – 10 – 40 million deaths
  • Overcrowding in cities
  • Production focused on heavy industry and military
  • Figures were unreliable
  • Quantity, not quality
  • No criticism allowed

Collectivization

  • Small farms were joined together (Sovkhozes –state farms, and Kolkhozes – collective farms)
  • To improve efficiency
  • Destroy Kulaks – class of independent peasant farmers who resisted collectivization
  • Increase Stalin’s control of countryside
  • Increase grain production to sell abroad for foreign currencies

Success?

  • By 1940 99% of land was collectivized
  • Production did increase (wheat up 33%)
  • New modern equipment and chemicals
  • Education programs in collectives
  • Red Army was fed during WWII
  • Kulaks were destroyed

Failure?

  • 1932-33 famine (5 million dead)
  • Human cost – 10 million peasants deported
  • Sovkhozes were a failure
  • Unpopular

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Germany 1919-1929

Post-War Germany 1919

What problems did the new democratic Weimar Government face?

Association with Defeat

  • The Republic was associated with the defeat of Germany as the Kaiser had fled before the end
  • Many leaders connected with the end of the war went on to form the Weimar Govt. in 1919
  • many Germans believed they had been ‘stabbed in the back’

Rebuilding Germany

  • After 4 years of war Germany was devastated. The country needed to be re-built
  • Returning soldiers needed jobs but there was poverty and unemployment

The Treaty of Versailles

  • The Treaty didn’t take into consideration Germany’s weak position and sought to punish her
  • The terms were relatively harsh, particularly the reparations
  • The ‘Guilt Clause’ humiliated the country
  • The Weimar government was associated with all of this

Political Uprisings

  • The discontent gave rise to political extreme groups
  • There were attempts to overthrow the government by these groups called Putches e.g. Kapp and Munich Putsch
  • There was a lot of violence and there were several murders of key political figures

Economic Problems

  • After the war Germany was bankrupt
  • In 1921 they were faced with the reparations bill. They paid until 1923
  • Invasion of the Ruhr worsened the crisis. Germany suffered from inflation
  • The government responded by printing more money, but this led to hyperinflation

The Occupation of the Ruhr

  • When Germany could no longer keep up with repayments French and Belgian troops marched into the most important industrial region
  • People (Germans) in this area refused to cooperate. Passive resistance led to further decline of the area’s industry, more unemployment, and poverty

50 million mark bill from 1923

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Germany 1919-1929

Weimar in Crisis 1919-1923

Why was 1919-1923 a period of crisis for the Weimar government?

A Bad Start

  • Germany had no tradition of democracy and had always had strong leaders. Germans weren’t ready for democracy
  • Germans had suffered very badly because of the war. Many were starving and many were furious at the loss of the war – they blamed the new government (rightly or wrongly)

Lack of Consensus

  • There were huge political divisions in German society
  • Opinion was polarized with extremists on the left (Spartacists and socialists), and on the right, (nationalists and conservatives) both getting a lot of support
  • There were many other small political parties

Weimar Constitution

  • Proportional representation meant that the lack of political consensus was reflected closely in elected parties
  • There were many political parties and frequent changes of government
  • It was very difficult to establish stability or even get laws passed

Versailles Treaty

  • The Treaty had been very hard on Germany and the Weimar Government had been forced to accept it
  • Many Germans hated and resented the loss of territory, the reparations and the war guilt clause
  • It wasn’t their fault but the Weimar Government tended to get the blame

Extremist Attacks

  • The Spartacists Rebellion 1919
  • The Munich Communist Soviet 1919
  • The right wing Kapp Putsch 1920
  • The assassination of foreign minister Rathenau 1922
  • Hitler’s failed Munich Putsch 1923

Crisis by 1923

  • 1922 reparations crisis
  • France invaded the rich industrial Ruhr area in retaliation
  • Weimar ordered passive resistance on the part of Germans in the Ruhr
  • Weimar printed more money to try to solve the problem (hyperinflation)
  • Hitler’s Munich Putsch

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Germany 1919-1929

The Nazi Party

How and why did Hitler change the Nazi Party 1919-1925?

Birth of the Nazi Party

  • 1919 Hitler joined the German Workers Party
  • In 1920 the name changes to NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party) and adopted the 25 point program (nationalistic, self-determinationistic, welfareistic and anti-Semitic)
  • Hitler became leader in 1921 and adopted the swastika emblem
  • Hitler then set up the SA (brownshirts) as a private ‘army’

Munich Putsch 1923

  • When the French invaded the Ruhr Hitler decided to try and seize power
  • He planned to first take the Bavarian government and then march on Berlin (modeled after Mussolini)
  • Hitler took over a Bavarian government meeting but couldn’t get enough support
  • His march was stopped by armed police

Aftermath of Munich Putsch

  • Hitler ran away but was later arrested and charged with treason
  • He used his trial to make long public speeches which were widely and sympathetically reported
  • He got a very lenient sentence of 5 years in Landsberg Prison where he wrote Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf

  • Aryan race is the master race (social Darwinism)
  • Aryans should have ‘lebensraum’ (living space) in a new German Empire
  • Third Reich (1 – Holy Roman Empire 2 – Bismarck’s German Empire with AH)
  • All other races inferior (especially Jews)
  • Treaty of Versailles should be reversed, and Germany and Austria should join (Anschluss)

The Nazi Lean Years

  • Germany did well under Stresemann – support for extremists declined
  • Hitler served 9 months in prison during which time the Nazi Party had split and support declined dramatically
  • He decided to reform the party on his release in Dec 1924

Hitler’s Reform of the Party

  • 1925 Hitler reorganized and relaunched the NSDAP
  • Power was concentrated in the leader. Special sections set up for students, teachers, Youth and farmers
  • Party branches in all major towns – soon 100,000 members
  • Hitler decided to use elections, not revolution

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Germany 1919-1929

The Stresemann Years

Why was 1924-1929 a period of recovery for Germany?

Worldwide Economy

  • Worldwide economic recovery meant that there were new markets for German goods abroad
  • The economy prospered and unemployment was low

Political Stability

  • As prosperity increased support for the extremists like Communists and Nazis declined. Moderate pro-Weimar parties tended to win elections
  • The very able Gustav Stresemann remained as Foreign Minister throughout the whole period

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