World War I: Causes, Militarism, Alliances

• The late 19th century in Europe was prosperous with artistic creativity, but the 20th century had extreme nationalist groups, leading to conflicts, military build-up, and the "Great War."
• Germany's division of Europe into two alliances and Hitler's ambition resulted in WWII.
• Axis powers: Germany, Japan, and Italy, initially won battles but the Allied nations won in 1942.

Causes of World War I

• Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, and Assassination led to the war.

Militarism

• Improving militaries, belief in military power led countries to stock up on weapons and reinforce their army.
• This European action was called militarism that was justified for the purpose of National Security.

Alliances

• Germany founded the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882.
• Russia joined in 1887.
• Otto von Bismarck aimed to strengthen Germany and isolate France.
• Kaiser Wilhelm ended the agreement with Russia to reinforce the German Army to be more powerful than Great Britain.
• Great Britain formed the Triple Entente with France and Russia in 1904.
• The Triple Alliance became known as the Central Powers, while the Triple Entente was known as the Allied Powers.
• Allied powers (1904): Triple Entente, France, Russia, and Great Britain.
• Triple Alliance (1882): Central Powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
• Britain was threatened by the alliance of Germany, so it made its own, called the Allied powers or Triple Entente that consists of Great Britain, Russia, and France.
• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, leader of the Triple Alliance, led to World War I after it angered Austria-Hungary.
• Allied powers included Great Britain, the United States of America, Russia, and France.
• Central powers included Germany, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary.
• The end of WWI was due to the Central Powers' deteriorating economy.
• US lending a hand to the allied powers was vital in ending the war.
• Germany was made responsible for starting the war in the Treaty of Versailles.

Nationalism

• It was a prominent force in early 20th-century Europe and a major cause of World War I.
• It is an intense form of patriotism or loyalty to one's country with nationalists exaggerating the importance or virtues of their home country, also placing its interests above those of other nations.
• Many Europeans, particularly citizens of the Great Powers (Great Britain, France, and Germany) believed in their nation's cultural, economic, and military supremacy.
• Growing nationalism inflated confidence in one's nation, its government, economy, and military power.
• Nationalists became blind to the faults of their nation and were convinced that their country was fair, righteous, and beyond fault.
• Nationalists criticized rival nations of the time to the point of demonization, also caricaturing them as aggressive, scheming, deceitful, backward, or uncivilized.
• Nationalist press reports convinced many readers that the interests of their country were being threatened by the plotting, scheming, and hungry imperialism of its rivals.
• Nationalism was encouraged and harnessed by European elites to encourage loyalty and compliance and was also a by-product of economic and imperial expansion.
• Growth and prosperity were interpreted by some as a sign of destiny.
• Politicians, diplomats, and royals contributed to nationalism in their speeches and rhetoric and was prevalent in press reporting and popular culture
• Newspapers were filled with nationalist rhetoric and provocative stories, such as rumors about rival nations and their evil intentions.
• Nationalist ideas were found in literature, music, theatre, and art.
• Many thought their nations would win a future war in Europe.

Military Confidence

• The British had naval power and resources from the British Empire, coupled with being an isalnd.
• German leaders had Prussian military efficiency, industrial base, new armaments, and fleet of battleships.
• German high command had confidence in the Schlieffen Plan to defeat France before Russia could help her.
• Tsar Nicholas II believed his empire was sustained by God and protected with an army of 1.5 million men.
• Russian commanders believed the country's population outmatched the smaller nations of Western Europe.
• The French relied on heavy industry and defenses, including a wall of concrete barriers and fortresses.

Imperialism

• It is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control.
• After the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain, Germany, and France needed foreign markets.
• These countries competed for economic expansion in Africa, leading to crises between Germany, Britain, and France.
• The crumbling Ottoman Empire in the Middle East attracted Austria-Hungary, the Balkans, and Russia.
• World War I, or the Great War, started in 1914 after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated.
• WW1 catapulted into a war that lasted until 1918.
• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire constituted the Central Powers battling Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States, or the Allied Powers.
• WWI introduced new military technologies and trench warfare, causing unprecedented casualties.
• The Allied Powers claimed victory with over 16 million dead soldiers and civilians alike.

World War I Begins

• Austria-Hungary was readying for war, so the Serbian government mobilized the Serbian army and asked Russia for help.
• Austria-Hungary eventually declared war on Serbia on July 28, and peace quickly collapsed among Europe's powers.
• Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Serbia lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, starting World War I.
• Germany began fighting WWI on two fronts, according to aggressive military strategy, the Schlieffen Plan.
• Germany invaded France through Belgium and confronted Russia in the east.
• German troops crossed the border into Belgium on August 4, 1914.
• In the first battle of WWI, the Germans stormed the city of Liege.
• The German army capturing the city by August 15 with the help of enormous siege cannons.
• They left destruction as they advanced through Belgium toward France, shooting civilians and executing a Belgian priest.

Russian Revolution

• From 1914 to 1916, the Russian army did not break German lines.
• Defeat, economic instability, and scarcity of food led to discontent among the population, directing hostility toward Czar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra.
• Russia's instability exploded in the Russian Revolution of 1917, led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
• The revolution ended czarist rule and halted Russian participation in World War I.
• Russia and the Central Powers reached in an armistice in early December 1917, freeing German troops to face the remaining Allies on the Western Front.

America Enters World War I

• The United States remained neutral, as per Woodrow Wilson, during the outbreak of fighting in 1914 but continued in commerce and shipping with European countries on both sides.
• Neutrality proved difficult due to Germany's submarine aggression against ships.
• In 1915, Germany deemed waters surrounding the British Isles a war zone, and sunk commercial and passenger vessels
• The sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania with American passengers in May 1915 turned American public opinion against Germany.
• Congress then passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill in February 1917.
• Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships, and Woodrow Wilson called for a declaration of war against Germany on April 2.
• In fall of 1918, the Central Powers were unraveling on fronts.
• The Turks signed a treaty with the Allies in late October 1918 after losing battles.
• Austria-Hungary dissolved due to growing nationalist movements, reaching an armistice on November 4.
• Germany sought an armistice on November 11, 1918, ending World War I, due to dwindling resources, discontent on the homefront, and the surrender of its allies,

Effects of the War

• Allied leaders at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 wanted to build a post-war world to prevent future conflicts.
• The Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, did not achieve the lofty goal of preserving world peace.
• The League of Nations was Established in 1920 to serve as a forum for talks and peace.
• The United States did not join the league, weakening it.
• Germany was made responsible for starting the war in the Treaty of Versailles, and faced war reparations, division of territories, concession of colonies, and limitation on troops and arms manufacture.
• Germany felt tricked into signing the treaty, believing in Wilson's "peace without victory" stated in his ""Fourteen Points"" speech of January 1918.
• Hatred of the Versailles treaty grew in Germany and contributed to the causes of World War II.
• WWI left more than 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million more wounded.
• Civilian casualties numbered close to 10 million.
• Germany and France sent 80 percent of their male populations between 15 and 49 into battle.

Causes of World War II

• International peace efforts following World War I were unsuccessful in preventing another widespread conflict.
• This was because it quickly became all out war and destructive conflict on a global scale.
• World War II grew out of Hitler's determination to create a new German empire in Europe.
• Britain and France's initial appeasement of Germany eventually shifted to war in 1939.
• Japan's military expansion in Asia and the Pacific led the United States to enter the war.
• Causes of World War II (WWII): World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, Appeasement, Rise of Totalitarianism.

Effects of World War II

• The decline of European colonial empires coupled with the rise of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (USA).
• The US and USSR became competitors in the Cold War, characterized by espionage, political subversion, and proxy wars.
• Western Europe and Japan were rebuilt through the American Marshall Plan, while Central and Eastern Europe fell under Soviet influence.
• Establishment of the United Nations for diplomacy and cooperation, aiming to outlaw wars of aggression.
• Increased rate of decolonization from big economies.
• In the aftermath of WWII the influence of a communist ideal rose
• The People's Republic of China emerged victorious from the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
• More than 80 million died and it comprised two-thirds of the total number of people.