(8) 4TH War

• World War I (1914-1918)
• Causes of World War I


  • Tensions over alliances
  • Imperialism
  • Militarism
  • Nationalism
• Major Players in World War I

  • Allied Powers (including France, Britain, Russia, and later the United States)
  • Central Powers (including Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire)
• Key Events of World War I

  1. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in 1914 triggered the war

  2. Trench warfare, battles of Verdun and the Somme, use of new technologies like poison gas and tanks

  3. Entry of the United States in 1917 tipped the balance in favor of the Allies
• Outcome of World War I: Treaty of Versailles in 1919 imposed harsh penalties on Germany, leading to resentment and economic turmoil, setting the stage for World War II
• World War II (1939-1945)
• Causes of World War II


  • Economic instability
  • Unresolved issues from WWI
  • Rise of totalitarian regimes (e.g., Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and militarist Japan)
  • Territorial ambitions
• Major Players in World War II


  • Allied Powers (including Britain, Soviet Union, United States)
  • Axis Powers (including Germany, Italy, Japan)
• Key Events of World War II

  1. German invasion of Poland in 1939 prompted Britain and France to declare war on Germany

  2. Blitzkrieg tactics, Battle of Stalingrad, Pearl Harbor attack, D-Day invasion, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

  3. Holocaust: Genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany
• Outcome of World War II: Allied victory, creation of United Nations, Nuremberg Trials for war criminals, division of Europe into Eastern and Western blocs, beginning of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union
• Events before World War I


  • Imperialism: Heightened competition among major powers for colonies and influence
  • Militarism: Buildup of military capabilities and alliances, escalating tensions
  • Nationalism: Rising nationalist movements fueled territorial disputes and rivalries
  • Industrialization: Rapid technological advancements and economic growth, but also social inequalities
  • Balkan Crisis: Series of conflicts and revolutions, particularly tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia
  • Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Immediate trigger for the war, sparking a chain of events leading to its outbreak
• The Balkans, a region in southeastern Europe, experienced several conflicts and revolutions in the years leading up to World War I. These tensions, particularly between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, were a significant factor in the outbreak of the war.
• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in 1914 was the immediate catalyst for the outbreak of World War I. The assassination, carried out by a Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrillo Princip, sparked a chain of events that led to the declaration of war between major European powers.
• The start of World War I


  1. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, leading to a series of alliances being activated. Germany declared war on Russia, followed by Britain entering the war to support France and Russia.

  2. This escalation of tensions and military actions marked the beginning of World War I.
• The Triple Alliance


  A pre-World War I military alliance formed in 1882 between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It was initially created as a defensive measure to counterbalance the alliances formed by other European powers.
• During World War I, the Triple Alliance effectively became the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary, which was later joined by the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, forming the Central Powers.
• The Triple Entente


  A diplomatic and military alliance formed between France, Russia, and the United Kingdom in the years leading up to World War I. It aimed to counterbalance the Triple Alliance.
• The conflict officially ended on November 11, 1918 with the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, which sanctioned the perpetrators of war and introduced the balance of power in Europe.
• The Romanov family, ruling Russia for over three centuries from 1613 until the Russian Revolution of 1917, saw its pinnacle and downfall under Tsar Nicholas II. The family, initially held under house arrest by the Provisional Government, met a tragic end at the hands of the Bolsheviks in 1918.
• Grigori Rasputin, a mystic monk, played a significant role in hypnotizing and taking the Romanov family under his control. When he was retired by the Bolsheviks, the same fate ended up with the family.
• The Bolshevik Revolution, also known as the October Revolution, occurred in 1917, leading to the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government and the establishment of Soviet rule under Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party.
• Communism, an ideology that promoted a society giving importance to the ordinary masses, also gained popularity in several Asian countries like China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, Laos, and formerly Cambodia, with Nepal experiencing significant Maoist influence.
• Adolf Hitler


  An Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934.
• Hirohito


  The emperor of Japan during World War II and Japan's longest-serving monarch in history. His rule coincided with Japan's 20th-century militarism and its aggression against China and Southeast Asia and in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
• Joseph Stalin


  A Soviet revolutionary and politician who was the longest-serving leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He implemented five-year plans to transform the Soviet Union into an industrial powerhouse, but his approach included government control of the economy, forced collectivization of agriculture, and brutal suppression of counter-revolutionaries and bandits.
• Key roles of Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • Alliance Building
  • Diplomacy
  • Soviet Relations
  • Postwar Vision
  • Instrumental in the creation of the Manhattan Project
• On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, leading to America's entry into World War II.
• J. Robert Oppenheimer


  The director of the laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the atomic bomb was designed. He played a key role in the Manhattan Project, the effort to harness nuclear energy for military purposes during World War II.
• The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, The Gadget at the Trinity test in New Mexico, on 16 July 1945, during World War II.

  
• The two atomic explosions on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had the effects desired by the Allies, leading to Japan's acceptance of defeat and the end of World War II.
• The use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki raised the spectre of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) that has haunted the world into our present times.
• The period after World War II is known as the Cold War because there was no direct military engagement between the United States and the Soviet Union, but multiple countries experienced internal violence as the U.S. and the Soviets supported competing factions fighting for power.