Unit 6 World War I
The Great War or “The War to End All Wars”
1914-1918 CE
One hundred years ago, the increasing competition among European nations for power and prestige exploded into a “Great War”. Europeans’ loyalties had been drastically changing for years. No longer was people’s first allegiance to their empire or kingdom, but rather to their ethnic or ideological identity. Nationalist pride swept across Europe making conflict almost inevitable. Years of imperialistic, industrial and military rivalry along with a growing spirit of nationalism and a complex system of alliances sparked what we know today as World War I. The steep rise in Militarism made certain that conflict was unavoidable as military leaders around Europe became eager and confident to try their new and more advanced weapons of war.
The tipping point was reached with the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Almost immediately machine guns were being fired while trenches were being dug. Newly developed military technology initially led many to believe that the war would be relatively quick, yet the conflict soon bogged down into a grim and drawn out bloodbath. After years of economic and political competition, Europe entered into a war that exceeded everyone’s expectations in its levels of death and destruction. World War I continued for four years until almost complete exhaustion set in.
The magnitude of the killing (9 million military deaths and almost equal civilian casualties) made this war the deadliest in human history at that time. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918, World War I ended.
The conclusion of the war and the Treaty of Versailles created an unstable and bitter peace that would continue to leave resentment and disillusionment. The psychological, social and political impacts of the First World War left a generation feeling hopeless and betrayed. While many dubbed the conflict “the war to end all wars”, World War I and the legacy it created actually became a direct cause of World War II and the start of the deadliest and most violent century of human conflict to date.
Section 1: The Road to War
As World War I began and then spread to much of Europe, the United States tried to remain neutral as long as possible.
Section 2: The United States Declares War
German submarine warfare helped push the United States into World War I.
Section 3: Americans on the European Front
American troops helped the Allies defeat the Central Powers in World War I.
Section 4: Americans on the Home Front
Americans and their government took extraordinary steps at home to support the war effort.
Section 5: Global Peacemaker
When the fighting ended in Europe, President Wilson pressed for a treaty that would bring peace to the postwar world.
Essential Questions
· What were the main causes of this global war?
· How does a regional conflict become a global war?
· How did militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism set the stage for WWI?
· How do people and nations respond to crisis?
· What is it like to live through war?
· How did science and technology change the nature of war?
· How did the Great War affect future conflicts in the 20th century?
· How did the Treaty of Versailles lay the groundwork for the years following the War including the lead up to World War II?
· Why did the peace treaties foster resentment and hostility instead of…. peace?
· What are the key features of the Russian Revolution?
· What lessons can the results of World War I still teach us today?
Topics
Otto von Bismarck
Kaiser Wilhelm II
The Balkans
Four MAIN causes of WWI- M.A.I.N. (militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism)
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary
Triple Alliance (central- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire)
Triple Entente, (allies- France, Great Britain, Russia)
Lost generation
Schlieffen Plan
Western Front (location, significance)
Modern warfare
New technology of the war
Trench warfare (what was it like?)
No Man’s Land
Stalemate and why it existed in the war
Eastern Front
Russian Revolution
Russia’s withdrawal
Vladimir Lenin and his agreement with Germany
Unrestricted submarine warfare
Total war
U-Boats
Lusitania
Propaganda (significance)
Reasons why the US stayed neutral in the beginning
Zimmerman Note
Ottoman Empire (world’s last ‘old’ empire, dissolved after WWI, significance is what becomes of their territory in the Middle East)
Armenian Genocide
Armistice
Results of WWI – who won?
Treaty of Versailles
War Guilt Clause and Reparations
Germany after the war
League of Nations (significance)
Woodrow Wilson
Fourteen Points
League of Nations
The Great War or “The War to End All Wars”
1914-1918 CE
One hundred years ago, the increasing competition among European nations for power and prestige exploded into a “Great War”. Europeans’ loyalties had been drastically changing for years. No longer was people’s first allegiance to their empire or kingdom, but rather to their ethnic or ideological identity. Nationalist pride swept across Europe making conflict almost inevitable. Years of imperialistic, industrial and military rivalry along with a growing spirit of nationalism and a complex system of alliances sparked what we know today as World War I. The steep rise in Militarism made certain that conflict was unavoidable as military leaders around Europe became eager and confident to try their new and more advanced weapons of war.
The tipping point was reached with the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Almost immediately machine guns were being fired while trenches were being dug. Newly developed military technology initially led many to believe that the war would be relatively quick, yet the conflict soon bogged down into a grim and drawn out bloodbath. After years of economic and political competition, Europe entered into a war that exceeded everyone’s expectations in its levels of death and destruction. World War I continued for four years until almost complete exhaustion set in.
The magnitude of the killing (9 million military deaths and almost equal civilian casualties) made this war the deadliest in human history at that time. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918, World War I ended.
The conclusion of the war and the Treaty of Versailles created an unstable and bitter peace that would continue to leave resentment and disillusionment. The psychological, social and political impacts of the First World War left a generation feeling hopeless and betrayed. While many dubbed the conflict “the war to end all wars”, World War I and the legacy it created actually became a direct cause of World War II and the start of the deadliest and most violent century of human conflict to date.
Section 1: The Road to War
As World War I began and then spread to much of Europe, the United States tried to remain neutral as long as possible.
Section 2: The United States Declares War
German submarine warfare helped push the United States into World War I.
Section 3: Americans on the European Front
American troops helped the Allies defeat the Central Powers in World War I.
Section 4: Americans on the Home Front
Americans and their government took extraordinary steps at home to support the war effort.
Section 5: Global Peacemaker
When the fighting ended in Europe, President Wilson pressed for a treaty that would bring peace to the postwar world.
Essential Questions
· What were the main causes of this global war?
· How does a regional conflict become a global war?
· How did militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism set the stage for WWI?
· How do people and nations respond to crisis?
· What is it like to live through war?
· How did science and technology change the nature of war?
· How did the Great War affect future conflicts in the 20th century?
· How did the Treaty of Versailles lay the groundwork for the years following the War including the lead up to World War II?
· Why did the peace treaties foster resentment and hostility instead of…. peace?
· What are the key features of the Russian Revolution?
· What lessons can the results of World War I still teach us today?
Topics
Otto von Bismarck
Kaiser Wilhelm II
The Balkans
Four MAIN causes of WWI- M.A.I.N. (militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism)
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary
Triple Alliance (central- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire)
Triple Entente, (allies- France, Great Britain, Russia)
Lost generation
Schlieffen Plan
Western Front (location, significance)
Modern warfare
New technology of the war
Trench warfare (what was it like?)
No Man’s Land
Stalemate and why it existed in the war
Eastern Front
Russian Revolution
Russia’s withdrawal
Vladimir Lenin and his agreement with Germany
Unrestricted submarine warfare
Total war
U-Boats
Lusitania
Propaganda (significance)
Reasons why the US stayed neutral in the beginning
Zimmerman Note
Ottoman Empire (world’s last ‘old’ empire, dissolved after WWI, significance is what becomes of their territory in the Middle East)
Armenian Genocide
Armistice
Results of WWI – who won?
Treaty of Versailles
War Guilt Clause and Reparations
Germany after the war
League of Nations (significance)
Woodrow Wilson
Fourteen Points
League of Nations