World War 1

• It lead to an appalling death toll – around 9 million people died in the fighting.
• The war was fought between two alliances - The Triple Entente (France, Russia & Britain) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary & Italy).
• In most parts of the world, the population between age 20- 40 were killed.
• The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
• The Triple Entente consisted of France, Great Britain, and Russia.
• The key factors led to the outbreak of the First World War were

  • The Alliance Systems
  • Anglo – German Rivalry.
  • The Arms race 
  • The need to plan for war.
• The Triple Alliance and Triple Entente block were in constant tension.
• The Second Naval law was passed in 1900 by Kaiser Wilhelm.
• The Second Naval Law called for the doubling of the German Naval Army.
• The British felt threatened by the new Germany who had a far better army than Britain, since it was now industrially and economically capable of challenging the might of the Royal Navy.
• In the period 1900 – 1914, the main European countries doubled their spending on their armies.
• Attempts to stop the massive arms buildup took place in The Hague in 1899 and in 1907.
• The Hague is located in Netherlands.
• The nations were unable to agree on limiting armaments production during the attempts to stop the arms buildup in Netherlands.
• More destructive weapons were developed, in the period 1900 – 1914.
• Germany's Schlieffen Plan, made by Count von Schlieffen, aimed to address the key challenge of fighting a war on two fronts simultaneously against France and Russia.
• The Schlieffen Plan involved a quick initial attack on France, which would occur after moving through and capturing Belgium, who was neutral at the time. Exploiting the fact that the Russian army would require a lot of time to mobilise to its eastern front. This attack against France was intended to be followed by a strategic relocation of German forces to the Eastern Front. The Schlieffen Plan ultimately played a significant role in shaping the early stages of World War I.
• France came up with its own plan, named Plan XVII (17). This involved the high speed mobilisation of its forces, which would lead to speedy attack and capture of Alsace and Lorraine. This would be followed by France crossing to take over Germany.
• Meanwhile, Austria- Hungary came up with their own plans called Plan R and Plan B. They involved attacks on Russia and Serbia respectively.
• Russia developed a complex plan to attack Austria - Hungary and Germany. They mainly relied on weight of numbers of their army, etc.
• World War I began in Europe in August 1914 and lasted until November 1918

  
• Alliance Systems


  European powers had formed two rival alliance blocks by 1907
• Anglo-German Rivalry


  Germany had replaced France, Russia and even Britain as the Industrial powerhouse of Europe, had the largest Army and Economy, and passed the Second Naval law in 1900 to double the German battleship fleet. Britain felt threatened by the new Germany
• Arms Race


  The naval race was part of a wider arms race between European powers, with main countries doubling their spending on armies from 1900-1914. Attempts to limit armaments production failed
• War plans of major powers

  • Germany: Schlieffen Plan
  • France: Plan 17 XVII
  • Austria-Hungary: Plan R and Plan B
  • Russia: Complex plan to attack Austria-Hungary and Germany
• The Moroccan Crises of 1905 and 1911, the Agadir Conference, the Balkan Problems, the Bosnian Crisis, the Balkan Wars, and the July Crisis were short-term causes of the First World War
• Moroccan Crises

  Germany opposed France's efforts to make Morocco a colony, leading to a crisis that highlighted the strengthening friendship between Britain and France
• Agadir Conference

  Germany sent a warship to the port of Agadir, which was seen as a warlike action, leading to Britain supporting France and preparations for war
• Balkan Problems

  The Balkan regions were under Ottoman control, and the weakening of the Ottoman empire inspired the Balkan states to gain independence, leading to internal conflicts
• Bosnian Crisis

  Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, angering Serbia and leading Russia to back down due to Germany's support for Austria-Hungary
• July Crisis

  The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo in 1914 was the immediate trigger for the outbreak of World War I
• Within three weeks, all the war plans of the Western powers had failed, leading to the use of trench warfare tactics by Germany
• Countries involved in World War I

  • Triple Alliance/Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
  • Triple Entente: France, Britain, Russia
  • Belgium, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Greece, Japan, USA

  
• Treaty of Versailles

  The peace treaty that officially ended World War I, negotiated by the 'Big Three' - Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, and David Lloyd George

  
• The Treaty of Versailles was not fully satisfactory to any of the 'Big Three' as they had to compromise to get the treaty finished