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Unit 5 Lesson 20
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Following its loss in 1871, France lost both status and territory to the newly founded German republic. Both outcomes enraged the French. Germany was encircled by possible adversaries. As a result of these fears, Germany used its new technological might to develop a formidable army and navy. -
Germany overtook Britain as Europe's leading industrial force between 1871 and 1931. The balance of power in Europe was significantly altered as a result of these events.
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The Great Powers accepted Serbia's independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, and Austria-Hungary was granted control of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a multi-ethnic territory on Serbia's frontier inhabited by Croats, Turks, and Serbs. Russia soon developed good relations with Serbia and assumed the position of protector.
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The Triple Alliance was a secret agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy for the protection from France. -
Germany was a monarchy, but until 1890, its affairs were managed by Otto von Bismarck, the country's first chancellor. In 1881, he minimized the threat from Russia by establishing the Three Emperors' Alliance with Russia and Austria-Hungary. -
In 1894, France took advantage of the end of the Reinsurance Treaty by establishing an alliance with Russia. -
The atrocities on the Western Front and elsewhere in World War I were the product of combining modern technologies with old tactics. The shocking devastation of World War I was helped by new modern guns like the large British artillery gun seen here. -
The Russian invasion of Manchuria sparked a dispute with Japan, which was also involved in the resource-rich region. In 1904, Russia and Japan went to war over Manchuria and Korea, which was yet another point of contention between the two countries.
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In 1904, the US declared that it would take care of any Latin American country that could not handle its affairs properly. The policy prevented European powers from exerting greater influence over Latin America in order to safeguard their investments, allowing the US to emerge as the region's dominant force. It also sparked a great deal of discontent in Latin America.
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In the brief Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, Russia backed Serbia. The first war brought an end to Ottoman rule on the peninsula, and the second split the former Ottoman lands between the Balkan nations. As a result, Serbia's population grew by a factor of two.
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France, the UK, and Russia formed the Triple Entente. Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance in 1914, however Italy remained neutral. Each alliance became stronger as the war progressed. In 1914, Japan became a part of the Entente. -
In 1914, Russia's empire spanned Central Europe and the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Arctic and Afghanistan. Canada, India, and South Africa were among the 56 countries in the British Empire that needed to be secured and maintained. -
Two competing alliances had formed between the Great Powers. Fighting between representatives of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente will enlist the support of the other four nations. -
The declaration of war in August 1914 was met with zeal and patriotism. The declaration of war by France was met with cheers in Paris. The same thing happened in all of Europe's capitals. No one could have predicted the horrors that were to follow.
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In August 1914, the French pleaded with Russia to invade Germany and relieve pressure on the Western Front. The Russian army was not prepared to fight, but it invaded anyway in late August.
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Food and other commodities were in short supply as a result of the war, and several countries implemented rationing schemes. By appealing to Canadian patriotism, this poster encourages adherence to rationing policies.
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German officials had been preparing for a war like this for more than a decade before the fighting began in 1914. -
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was seen by Austria-Hungary as an opportunity to crush Serbian nationalism. It made a series of tough demands on Serbia after guaranteeing Germany's support. Austrian leaders expected Serbia to refuse these requests, offering a pretext for war between Austria and Hungary. Despite Serbia's acceptance of the majority of them, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. -
Germany gave Russia 24 hours to stop mobilizing its forces. In the event of a war between Germany and Russia, the Germans have requested that France declare neutrality. When these demands were not met, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1 and France two days later.
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On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany. -
Italy was neutral when war broke out and joined the Allied Powers.
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A naval force landed French, British, and colonial troops at Gallipoli, a peninsula in what is now Turkey's European part, in early 1915.
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The Armenian Genocide, which occurred during World War I, resulted in the deaths, torture, and suffering of over a million Armenians. This refugee camp depicts Armenian families who tried to flee the genocide's horrors. -
To defend Germany, a significant number of troops returned. This allowed French and British forces to halt the German advance from Belgium at the Marne River in early September, just outside of Paris.
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President Woodrow Wilson of the United States hoped to put the war to a close. He released the Fourteen Points, a declaration of war goals that stressed the right to national self-determination. -
Both civilians and soldiers suffered greatly as a result of the battle. Farmers in France's Somme area were forced to plough their fields without the use of horses or cattle. Many of their cattle had been captured by retreating German troops. -
World War I had a huge influence on the rest of the twentieth century. The Austrian and Ottoman empires, both centuries old, were no more. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia were no longer major powers, and France was determined to prevent Germany from being one. The United States and a growing power in the Pacific, Japan, took their positions in the world order.
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In 1919, when President Wilson arrived in Paris for peace talks, he was welcomed as a hero. Many Europeans claimed his Fourteen Points proposal would assist in the development of long-term stability.