World War 1 - Causes and Impact PDF

From July 1914 - November 1918 —----------------- Involved more countries than any previous war —------------------ First “Total War”= governments mobilized (utilized) virtually every person AND resource to support the war effort Marching Towards War Module 9.1  Impact of New Technolog...

From July 1914 - November 1918 —----------------- Involved more countries than any previous war —------------------ First “Total War”= governments mobilized (utilized) virtually every person AND resource to support the war effort Marching Towards War Module 9.1  Impact of New Technologies Impact of industrialization = war took place on a larger scale ○ On land, at sea, AND in the skies ○ Impact of colonialism = european Mustard gas countries funneled colonized peoples in (left) to war efforts to be used as soldiers and Machine laborers guns (below) This tech made war more lethal (deadly) ○ Nearly 10 million deaths (Russia lost the most: 1.7 million) ○ 22 million wounded, disfigured or disabled Causes of WWI = Militarism Militarism = belief that strong nations had to have strong military forces ○ This leads many states to build up their armies, navies, and air forces = increased production of modern weapons and = large-scale militaries “on call” for war Significant increase in military-related spending ○ Military tech (guns, ships, plans, tanks) ○ Employing more troops ○ Training their soldiers Causes of WWI = Alliances Alliance = agreement made b/w nations stating that each country will assist the other if they are attacked Wanting to increase their own nation’s security, european powers signed treaties, forming alliances ○ Triple Entente = Russia, France, and Britain ○ Triple Alliance = Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary These two alliance groups had built up their militaries and were prepared for war Causes of WWI = Nationalism Militarism = idea that people w/ the same ethnic origins, language, and culture had the right to form independent (sovereign states) ○ Groups (nations) of people fought to create their own countries out of older empires Leading up to WWI, people in Europe started to define themselves based on their nation and in opposition to others ○ Pride in one’s nation was at an all time high Tension was created when large empires, like A-H, did NOT want its various ethnic groups to break away Causes of WWI = Imperialism Competition for lands ○ These lands represented increased political and economic power in the form of… Natural resources, acreage for agricultural products, and cheap/free labor Insatiable quest for more lands led to conflicts between european powers, which led to tension back in europe ○ E.g., Boer War Causes of WWI = Assassination Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand is killed in Bosnia by a serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip ○ Princip was part of a group known as “The Black Hand” Believed that Bosnia and Herzegovina should belong to Serbia NOT A-H F.F. was heir to the A-H throne As a result of the assassination, A-H declares war on Serbia July Crisis = series of diplomatic + military escalations among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914