World War I: Causes, Nations, and War

• These notes will help you review before the test on World War I.
• Review the attached texts and prepare answers beyond what is explicitly stated.

Causes of WWI

• Nationalism in the Balkans created tensions.
• Imperialism caused competition for colonies among major European powers.
• Militarism, the building of large militaries, increased the risk of war.
• Alliance systems between countries led to rapid conflict spread.
• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, 1914 was the immediate cause of the war.

Nations at War

• Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.
• Allies: Great Britain, France, Russia (until 1917), Italy (from 1915), USA (from 1917).

The War Itself

• Major battles occurred on the Western Front with trench warfare, and the Eastern Front, characterized by mobile warfare between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia.
• Trench warfare, machine guns, tanks and gas attacks defined the nature of combat.
• Approximately 10–20 million people died, including 9 million soldiers.

Key Concepts

• The Western Front involved fighting between Germany and the Allied forces of Great Britain and France.
• The Eastern Front involved fighting between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia.
• The Triple Alliance was a military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
• The Triple Entente was an alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia.
• "Svarta veckan" (Black Week) refers to the first week of the war, starting in July 1914.
• The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's strategy to avoid a two-front war by quickly defeating France before turning to Russia; it failed.
• Trench warfare involved soldiers digging trenches for protection, leading to prolonged, static battles incurring high casualties.
• The Russian Revolution was series of political upheavals in 1917 leading to the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II and the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, seizing power.
• Colonialism refers to Europe's efforts to take over countries for control and resources.

Additional Terms

• Nationalism is the sense of a unified people wanting their own country and showing loyalty.
• The League of Nations was an international organization formed after World War I to promote peace and security.
• Historiebruk refers to how history is used and interpreted to influence current perceptions or politics; for example, Germany used the history of World War I to justify aggression in World War II.

Short and Long-Term Consequences

• Short-term: 10–20 million dead and many injured, widespread destruction across Europe, the collapse of empires as Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Germany lost territories.
• Long-term: Germany faced harsh terms in the Treaty of Versailles contributing to World War II.
• Geopolitical changes included new states forming and old empires collapsing.
• The League of Nations was created to prevent future wars but was weak.
• Germany experienced economic problems including inflation and unemployment.
• The global balance of power shifted, leading to new political structures and setting the stage for World War II.

Source Criticism

• Apply critical source evaluation criteria: authenticity, bias, context, and dependence.
• Assess when a source is useful.
• Evaluate the credibility of historical sources.