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The Origins and Course of WWI (1905-18) (International Rivalry (1905-14)…
The Origins and Course of WWI (1905-18)
Alliance System (1905-14)
Triple Alliance 1882
Dual Alliance 1879
Austria-Hungary
.
Germany
Scared of not having allies
Italy
New country - wanted to join the winning side
Triple Entente
France
.
Franco-Russian Alliance
Britain
Entente Cordiale
.
Russia
Anglo-Russian Entente
.
Alliance Systems caused chain reactions from the Balkan wars to a world war
International Rivalry (1905-14)
International Agreements
Triple Entente
Triple Alliance
.
Naval Arms Race
Nationalism
Imperialism
Growth of Tension in Europe (1905-14)
Balkan Tension
Balkan Nationalis
Austro-Serbian Rivalry
Groups such as the Black Hand wanted liberation of Austria-Hungary
Bosnian Crisis (1908-1909)
Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, the Serbs wanted Bosnia to expand their Balkan empire
Broke Treaty of Berlin increasing international tension
Who would get Bosnia? Tension
Balkan Wars (1912-1913)
Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria v. Turkey, then Bulgaria, then Austria-Hungary
Led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Alliances began to get called into play
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
By Gavrilo Princip on June 28th, 1914
Princip member of the Black Hand
Black Hand wanted Serb freedom from Austria-Hungary and unification of ethnic Serb territories
Short term cause of WWI
Anglo-German Rivalry
Naval Race
Britain 'Two Power Standard' that their navy had to be the same size as the next two largest navies
Creation of the Dreadnought made other ships obselete
British slogan "we want eight and we won't wait" in reference to dreadnoughts
By 1914 Germans focused on submarines and the army so the British won the Naval arms race
Moroccan crisis 1905-1906
Kaiser rode through Tangier and declared he supported the Sultan
Against French influence over Morocco
Germany ordered conference which was organised but Germans not supported and lost
Increase tensions between entente and alliance
Strengthened French, British, and Russian trust and alliance
Moroccan crisis 1911
French deployed troops into Morocco
Germany wanted territorial compensation so they sent a gunboat, the panther, to stir up tension
German economical crisis so they let French have Morooco
German hostility brought Britain and France closer together
Gunboat Diplomacy
The Schlieffen Plan
Reasons for failure
Events
Deadlock on the Western Front
The Trench System
Life in the trenches
Reasons for deadlock
New Methods
New Weapons
Battles
Battle of the Somme
Battle of Passchendaele
Sir Douglas Haig
Successes and Failures
The War at Sea
German threat to Britain in North Sea
U-Boats
Unrestricted submarine warfare-18 February 1915, Germans would shoot on sight
Declared a warzone on February 18 1915
Fights
German Raids
December 1914-Germany attacked East coast of Britain
British recruitment boost
Public outrage towards Navy then Germany
3 British and 3 German ships damaged
Around 600 civilian casualties
Heligoland Bight August 1914
British ships led German ships into a trap
1 British ship sunk
6 German ships sunk
German ships instructed to remain in port
Early Allied victory increased morale
Jutland
31st May, 1916 Germans and British fought at Jutland
Germany wanted to lure Britain into a trap
Germany wanted to end British control of sea and naval blockade
Germans were better gunmen and the British guns blew up from direct hits
British decoded German plan
2 British ships exploded and British lured Germans into British trap
British Dreadnoughts opened fire
Germany retreated
14 British ships sunk and 11 German ships sunk
Dogger Bank
January 24th 1915 - British intercepted German radio signals of attack on Dogger Bank
British were waiting for Germans when they arrived
2 British ships damaged
2 German ships sunk
Raids on England stopped but Germany escaped
U-Boats
threat
Originally threatened only Navy
Began to target merchant ships supplying Britain
Unrestricted submarine warfare
Germany would attack anyone in British waters regardless of country
.
Feb 1917 brought back - by April Britain only had 6 weeks of food left
USA declares war on Germany April 6th 1917
By 1918, for the first time the number of U-boats sunk decreased while the tonnes of allied supplies lost decreased
Lusitania
1198 died including some Americans
Sunk by German U-Boats
Unrestricted submarine warfare restricted due to USA threats
Anti-U boat Measures
Convey system
June 1917
Group of ships sailed together, protected by fast warships equipped with depth charges and hydrophones
16,539 ships sailed through, only 154 torpedoed
Many U-boats were sunk by warships
Q Ships
1915
Cargo vessel with large guns - after Germans boarded and u-boat surfaced the submarine was sunk
U-boats began to stop surfacing
Horned Mines
Explosives underwater - if the horns were touched they would explode
U-boats began to surface at night and sail above the explosives
1918 - British fitted searchlights into the Channel
Depth Charge and Hydrophone
Explosive dropped above suspected U-boats
Set to explode at a certain depth
Sounds travels easily underwater so with headphones U-boats could be heard
Raids on U-boat bases
Attempted to block off U-boat bases
Block ships sunk at entrance to harbour
Did not completely block off ports
Little success
Gallipoli
Causes
Attack on Turkey by Winston Churchill
Meant to break down stalemate on the Western Front
March 18th, 1915 - Allied ships sailed through Dardanelles to Constantinople but 3 battleships were blown up from mines due to proper minesweeping not occuring
Events
April 1915-January 1916
Troops would be used to capture Turkish forts guarding Dardanelles
Turks were already prepared and Allies dug in leading to another stalemate
August - British took Turks by surprise at Sulva Bay but general delayed advance giving Turks time to prepare
Food and water scarce - widespread dysentery from contamination - by September 78% had dysentery and 64% had skin sores
Cold weather during winter - on November 28, 15,000 died of exposure
Evacuation
December 1915 attack called off
From December 12th, at night men were snuck off the island and 83,000 escaped without a single death
Effects
Churchill resigned
Bulgaria joined the Central Powers
Turkey not taken out
213,000 Allied deaths
300,000 Turkish deaths
Diverted Turks away from Suez Canal in Egypt
No troops died during evacuation
BAD PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP
Failed naval attack on Dardanelles gave away surprise
Detailed planning by senior officers did not occur
Sir John French refused to let experienced commanders leave western front
Used a tourist guide book, a 1912 manual on Turk army, and old maps
FAILING TECHNOLOGY
Warships out of date and no help to those on land
Minesweepers not used
No air force or Naval artillery support
OTHER
Strong Turkish defence
.
Turkish had higher ground
Difficult to advance
The Defeat of Germany
US Entry
Causes
Sinking of Lusitania - 128 Americans dead
Zimmerman Telegram (Germany wanted to ally with Mexico)
4 US ships sunk - 36 dead
Tsar Nicholas II overthrown - USA more comfortable allying with them rather than an autocracy
USA declared war on Germany on April 6th, 1917
By end of 1917 - more than 200,000 troops in Europe however, not as well trained
Increased morale and material
4,355,000 troops mobilized, 1,950,000 faced active service on Western Front, 318,203 casualties
Played large part in defeating Ludendorff Spring Offensive
Ludendorff Spring Offensive (1918)
Causes
March 1918 Russia signed peace treaty with Germany
transfer of 500,000 troops to Western Front
Belief that Germany could win in 1918
Longer war continued, less likely they were to win due to USA entry
British naval blockade
USA, Sweden, and Denmark stopped trading with Germany
Dangerously low on supplies
Allies were failing
Austria-Hungary was in stalemate with Italy
Turkey was being pushed back through the Middle East
Soon they would be fighting alone
Events
Attempt to cut through Somme and then stop British communication
Cut off British and French
Avoid British strong points
21st March - stormtroopers used mustard gas and artillery
Advanced 8km on the first day
Support could not keep up with stormtroopers
Germany exhausted and called off attack in July
Effects
Germany suffered 880,000 casualties
Ludendorff needed 200,000 troops each month, only 300,000 could be supplied for the next year
Gamble failed and Germany knew defeat was near
German lines dangerously overstretched
Allied Drive to Victory (July-November 1918)
8th August 1918 - tanks break through line, 11 km advance
September 27th 1918 - Hindenburg line broken, 30 km advance
September 28th - Ludendorff urges Kaiser to sign an armistice
Allies push Germany back VERY quickly and there is a sudden change from stalemate to Allied victory
Reasons for German Defeat
British naval blockade of Germany
290,000 Germans died if starvation by 1918
Riots and strikes - civilians demanded end to the war
Decreased morale
Less supplies for soldiers
USA entry
Bolshevik revolution
Socialists wanted to remove Kaiser
Russian revolution
Fear of Communist revolution if government not reformed
role of tanks
8th August 1918 - broke German lines followed by infantry assaults
failure of Ludendorff Spring Offensive
Not enough troops left
German line overstretched
Defeat of Germany's allies
29th September 1918 - Bulgaria surrendered
30th October 1918 - Turkey surrendered
3rd November 1918 - Austria-Hungary surrendered
Revolution in Germany
Starvation and flu epidemic - civilans rioted
October 1918 - sailors mutinied, rebellion spread
9th November 1918 - Kaiser abdicated
11th November 1918 - Armistice concluded by Social Democrat Party (Fredrich Ebert)