HIST435: World War I and Interwar Period

• The lecture is about the aspects of World History from 1914-1945, focusing on World War I

Course Description

• The course provides an overview of major events from 1914 to 1945.
• It will cover the causes and effects of the world wars and the dissolution of old empires.
• Post-war treaties, the League of Nations, the United Nations, dictatorships in Europe, and the Great Depression will feature.
• The course will also discuss colonialism in Africa, and the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the time.
• Key figures and ideologies that shaped the world will be identified.

European Rivalries since 1850

• Western nations began to industrialize, seeking favorable conditions for economic growth, which increased competition.
• Great Britain aimed to protect its empire by maintaining free sea-lanes.
• France wanted to expand its colonies to include Morocco, which led to the Moroccan Crisis.
• Germany sought economic control over the declining Ottoman Empire region.
• Austria-Hungary aimed to expand into the Balkan Peninsula, while Russia aspired to control the Bosporus and Manchuria.

Moroccan Crises of 1906, 1911

• Morocco was an indepentant country ruled by a Sultan at the beginning of the 20th century.
• Economic interests of European powers rivaled for control of Morocco.
• France allowed Britain's position in Egypt in return for the French takeover of Morocco.
• Germany disagreed and announced support for the Sultan in 1905.
• At the Algeciras conference that followed Germany backed down as Britain supported France.
• In 1911, France occupied two Moroccan cities, prompting Germany to send a gunboat.
• By 1912, Germany accepted French and Spanish control over Morocco in exchange for territory adjoining Cameroon.

Nationalism and Slavic Nationalism

• Rising tensions in Europe were driven by competition among nations.
• France sought revenge against Germany after their defeat in 1871.
• Austro-Hungary and Russia wanted to dominate the Balkans as the Ottoman Empire declined.
• Austro-Hungarian Slavs were drawn to Pan-Slavism.
• Serbia supported South-Slavic nations in the Balkans.
• Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908.
• The First Balkan War in 1912 involved Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Bulgaria against the Ottoman Empire.
• The London Treaty of 1913 resulted in the Ottomans losing most of their European possessions, and Albania becoming independent.
• The Second Balkan War in 1913 involved Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire against Bulgaria.
• The Ottoman Empire lost most of its Balkan lands, and Bulgaria lost territory.

International Alliances

• Otto von Bismarck created the "Three Emperors League" in 1872 between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia; Russia later resigned due to Balkan rivalries.
• In 1882, Germany and Austria-Hungary were joined by Italy to form the "Triple Alliance".
• France signed a military alliance with Russia in 1894, which Great Britain joined in 1904 known as the 'Triple Entente'
• France and Russia formed an alliance due to the threat of German or Austria-Hungarian attacks.
• The "Triple Alliance" opposed the "Triple Entente", threatening peace in Europe in 1907.

Militarism in Europe

• Militarism developed alongside the alliance systems.
• European powers assessed and compared each other's military strength.
• Factors such as military training programs, spending, technology, industrialization, and the speed of troop mobilization were considered.
• Every nation employed diplomats to win new allies.
• Most countries adopted conscription and maintained large standing armies.
• A naval race developed, with Great Britain concerned that Germany's naval program would endanger its overseas empire.
• Germany developed the Von Schlieffen Plan to fight two enemies at once.

Imperialism

• During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Western Europeans colonized most of Africa and large parts of Asia.
• The Berlin Conference of 1884-85 divided Africa.
• Industrialization was fueled by raw materials and new markets provided by colonies.
• European nations competed for overseas empires which brought them to the brink of war.
• Technological advances allowed the conquest of militarily backward peoples via machine guns, steam engines, etc.
• Infrastructure was built i.e. railroads, cables, and other forms of communication.

Assassination and Ultimatum

• It was a relatively peaceful century in Europe after the Congress of Vienna.
• There was a common belief that a major war couldn't happen due to industrializaiton, scientific advancment and social reforms.
• June 28th, 1914, Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor visited Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• A Serbian secret nationalist group "Black Hand" sent assassins, with Gavrilo Princip shooting the archduke and his wife.
• Austria-Hungary demanded an investigation, holding Serbia responsible for the assassination.
• On July 23rd, Serbia was given a extensive ultimatum with 48 hours to agree with all demands or war.
• Serbia accepted most demands but rejected Austro-Hungarian officials investigating the case of murder in their country and conducting a trial.

The War Begins

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28th, 1914, after the ultimatum was not accepted.
• European powers counted on international alliances to secure mutual support.
• Russia promised support to Serbia, while Germany supported Austria-Hungary.
• When Germany gave an ultimatum to both Russia and France, they decided to support each other.
• Germany declared war on Russia and France on August 1st and 3rd respectively.
• Britain declared war on Germany when it invaded neutral Belgium.
• The general public was enthusiastic,trusting newly mobilized troops would secure a quick victory.

Central Powers against Allied Powers

• The Central powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary were joined by the Ottoman Empire in 1914 and Bulgaria in 1915.
• Allied powers comprised of Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and Belgium and were joined later.
• Montenegro, Japan in 1914 Italy (changed sides) in 1915, Romania in 1916 and USA in 1917 later joined.
• 'The Schlieffen Plan' for Germany to succeed in fighting on two fronts failed.
• French, British, Belgian troops resisted fiercely against Germany at the Battle of the Marne.
• Russia mobilized fastter and surprised Germany by invading East Prussia, but they were soon defeated.
• By November 1914 the war reached a stalemate and soldiers were digging in trenches.
• War spread to Africa and Asia and became a World War.

Adjusting War Plans on the West

• Trench warfare was implemented with soldiers digging in to maintain the front line.
• WWI was a 'War of attrition' on both sides including supply of guns/ammo/food + medicine.
• Propaganda was used to raise morale of allies to insult the enemy.
• Trenches stretched from Switzerland to the North Sea
• A no-man's-land separated both sides bounded by barbed wire.
• Battle of Ypres marked the first use of poison gas by Germans in 1915.
• The Battle of Verdun had 750,000 dead. The Battle of the Somme River marked the first use of tanks by the British of 1916.
• Battleships, submarines, machine guns, large artillery, and airplanes were involved.

Other Fronts

• The Eastern front in Russia was less entrenched than the Western.
• In 1916, Russians gradually lost territory against Germans but launched an offensive against Austro-Hungarians.
• Russian actions hampered the effectiveness of the German army on the Western front.
• The 'Galipoli campaign' was a British offensive from 1915-16 on the Dardanelle straight, to capture Ottoman capital but it failed.
• All German ports were blocked which resulted in Germans using U-boats and received supplies through neutral countries.
• The war at sea: Germany used U-boats to help receive supplies.
• Italians launched 11 offensives against Austria-Hungary at the Isonzo front between 1915 to 1917.
• US entered the war in 1917 after the "Zimmerman note" and due to the sinking of their ships by German U-boats.

Home Front and Economics

• All warring nations experienced great impacts.
• All able-bodied civilians put to work to the point that unemployment disappeared.
• Women were employed in factories, offices, shops and as nurses on the front line.
• Industries had to convert to weapons and munitions factories.
• Trade was disrupted resulting in desperation for resources.
• States controlled goods production.
• Supplying the frontlines had priority.
• Rationing was in affect from everything from food to leather.
• Nations like unindustrialized Russia struggled.

1918: Last Year of the War

• The Russian Revolution pulled the Russia out of the war, which signed peace with Germany at Brest-Litovsk in March 1918.
• Germans were then able to move soldiers from Eastern front to the West 60km from Paris.
• After the US contributed 2,000,000 troops in the West a shift occured.
• British supported Arabs in their fight for independence against Ottomans.
• Italians supported by French and British pushed the Austro-Hungarian forces out.
• In Autumn 1918, the Ottoman Austrio-Hungary's sued for peace.
• Germany finally signed an armistice on November 11th 1918.

Effects of the Great War

• 9 million soldiers and 13 million civilians died.
• Aristocratic political order vanished.
• Bankruptcy, famine, and the spread of disease.
• Borders of Europe, Africa and the Middle East were redrawn.
• Russia transformed to the Soviet Union following a bloody civil war.
• Ottomans killed 1 million Armenians amidst their rising nationalism The Russian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and German empires dissolved, thus new nations emerged in Europe.
• The defeated Central powers signed separate peace agreements to be discussed next lecture.

Africa during WWI

• Germany's African colonies were unperapred for war.
• Togo was taken by British/French in August 1914
• German South West Africa - Namibia, and Cameroon were concurred by 1915 and 1916 respectively
• British and French colonies supplied troops to fight alongside them in Europe Tanganyika resisted until the end of the war and was the only Southeast Africa colony.
• Germany lost all its African Colonies.
• Afro-Americans fought on European Solis.

The HIST435 course explores the dissolution of old empires and post-war treaties after World War I. It covers dictatorships in Europe, the Great Depression, and colonialism in Africa. The course examines the social and political contexts of Europe during this period.