PowerPoint to my 4th grade students in order to help them to understand the WW1 and the Russian Revolution

1. 7. The First World War
and Russian Revolution
4st ESO
Maira Gil Camarón

2. Why did war break out in Europe in
1914?

3. The armed peace in Europe
Between 1870 and 1914 there was a period known as the
Armed Peace: although there was peace, tension between
the European countries was growing
The importance of the German Empire
After the unification of Germany in 1871, it became the most
important power in Europe (economic and military development)
Emperor: Wilhelm I – Chancellor: Otto von Bismarck  they
used diplomacy to maintain the balance of power between the
European countries
They established a system of alliances with the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, Russia and Italy, known as the Bismarckian system.
They wanted:
To maintain Germany hegemony in Europe
To prevent France from declaring war on Germany to recover
territories (Alsace-Lorraine)

5. Colonial conflicts
Berlin Conference (1885) had tried
to establish rules for the
colonisation, but the new
international expansionist polity
(Weltpolitik) undertaken by the
German Emperor (Wilhelm II)
after the Bismarckian system
reopened conflicts between
European countries and destabilized
the international situation 
Moroccan crises (Germany against
France)

6. Rivalry between powers and nationalism
European countries became nationalistic in order to defend
their interests in Europe and in their colonial empires
Some European peoples had nationalist aspirations (they
wanted to be independent) and others defended their
status as great traditional empires
The French region of Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by the
German Empire after their victory in the Franco-Prussian war
and France wanted to recover it
Strong rivalry between the British and German
Empires over economic control of Europe and its trade routes
 GB saw the supremacy of its merchant navy threatened
when the German Empire constructed a large fleet of merchant
ships in order to dominate international trade

7. The Balkan wars
The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire competed for
control of the Balkans (under the control of the Ottoman Empire).
At the same time, Serbia (a Balkan country) was angry about the
expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the area. The
situation led to recurring crises in the Balkans
1912-1913: Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro declared war on the
Ottoman Empire for the possession of its territories in the Balkans. After
their victory, a second war was fought between these countries over the
division of the territories. The Treaty of Bucharest was signed in 1913,
ending the was in which Bulgaria was defeated; and Serbia expanded its
Balkan territories, provoking the hostility of Austria-Hungary because it
had interests in this area

9. Military alliances and the arms race
The Great Powers divided into two opposing military alliances in
preparation for a possible confrontation:
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
1882: German Empire + Austria-Hungary + Italy
TRIPLE ENTENTE
1907: France + Russia + Great Britain

10. The mistrust between the Great Powers also caused an arms race: all of
them spent vast amount of money on manufacturing new weapons and
strengthening their armies
28 June 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Autro-
Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) by
a nationalist, and the Austro-Hungarian government blamed Serbia for the
assassination and sent an ultimatum which was ignored
28 July 1914  Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on
Serbia. The First World War was started

13. The phases of the war
1. Initial German offensives (1914)
Schlieffen Plan: Launching a rapid offensive on the Western
Front, invading Belgium (a neutral country) and the north of
France with the aim of reaching Paris. After that, German
troops advanced on the Eastern Front to fight the Russians.
The Germans hoped to win quickly so it would be able to the
concentrate on the Eastern Front  this plan did not succeed
because France an Britain stopped their advance in the First
Battle of the Marne
At the same time, Japan occupied the German colonies in the
Pacific and China

15. 2. Trench warfare (1915-1916)
The Western Front between Germany and the Allies stabilised
a new phase of the war: it became immobile and both sides
focused on defending their positions building trenches from
where they could defend themselves using new weapons
(machine guns, heavy artillery, tanks, poison gas and
flamethrowers)
Both groups had to find new allies who could provide more
soldiers  the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Romania entered
in the war
The Germans launched a new offensive in 1916 but were
stopped by the French at the Battle of Verdun. The French
and British attacked German lines at the Battle of Somme.
Both offensives achieved very little despite enormous casualties
on both sides
They used battleships and submarines: in the Battle of
Jutland, the British fleet defeated the German fleet

19. 3. Incorporation and withdrawal of allies (1917)
The United States declined to join the war on the side of the
Allies because German submarines had sunk neutral merchant
ships  Germany has initiated attacks, endangering the
American merchant fleet that supplied Britain and France 
global conflict
A political and social revolution in the Russian Empire
caused Russia to withdraw from the war after signing the
Peace of Brest-Litovsk

22. 4. The end of the war and the Armistice (1918)
The help of the American troops and weapons allowed the Allied
forces to advance on the Western Front (the Second Battle of the
Marne). Exhaustion and an ever-increasing lack of resources drove
the central powers to seek peace
Kaiser (emperor) Wilhelm II abdicated and on 11 November 1918,
the Armistice was signed

23. A total war
The involvement of the civilian population
A new type of national army emerged as a consequence of
the 19th
century revolutions: compulsory enlistment  the
involvement of most of the male civilian population of
army-recruitment age. So, the war affected the entire
population as husbands and sons had to take part in the
war.
The first great refugee movement (civilians from
Belgium, northern France, Prussia, Russia and Serbia)
Women and men who were not eligible for inlistment
were recruited to work in factories (munitions and
provisions)
The war was the priority, and this slowed down the
production of food and basic consumer goods. Hunger
become common

24. Propaganda and
opinion control
For the first time, modern
marketing techniques were
used to create propaganda
for the war, with the aim of
maintain public morale as well
as supporting the war effort
 patriotism, and a way of
engaging the entire
population in the conflict
Newspapers and letters sent
from soldiers were censored in
order to avoid public dissent,
and pacifist or anti-war
socialists were arrested and
silenced

25. Economy at the mercy of the war
The Governments of the countries at war established war
economies with heavy state intervention.
Munitions industries had to work to their full potential
Female population and non-enlisted males were forced to
work in factories and any complaints or poor performance
were considered treason
The war had to be paid for and governments got into debt
and had to ask for loans  allies were financed particularly
by the USA, the richest power that remained neutral until
1917

26. Europe at the end of the war
An economic and demographic disaster
The war caused the deaths of around ten million soldiers and a
large number of civilian casualties due to malnutrition and
disease. This high death toll caused widespread
demographic decline
From an economic point of view, WW1 meant the permanent
loss of European hegemony. European industry reduced
in size by 40% and agriculture by 30%. All European countries
were in debt.
USA was the great beneficiary of the war and its economy
became the most powerful in the world and the dollar
replaced the pound sterling as the main currency in
international transactions

28. The organization of peace
1919: Treaty of Versailles
imposed the terms of peace with
Germany, while other treaties were
signed with other countries. They
broke up Europe’s empires and
drew new borders

29. A new European
map
The WW1 and the
Russian Revolution
changed the map of
Europe
The end of the great
empires
New nations
The borders of many of
theses states did not
correspond to
nationalities (Poland,
Romania, Yugoslavia)

30. US president Wilson presented a manifesto (Wilson’s 14
points) based on his vision for peace and a desire to not seek
revenge  League of Nations was created to guarantee
peace and cooperation between states, but the project failed
because Germany and the USSR were initially excluded and US
senate voted not to join. Ultimately, the LN and the USA had
no influence on international politics

31. New problems, new conflicts
Instead of bringing stability, the peace conference created new
disputes.
Germany considered the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles
a humiliation (War Reparations) and Italy’s frustration at not
receiving the land they had requested also led to increase
nationalism

32. Why was there a revolution in Russia?
An autocratic empire
20th
centuries: the tsars ruled a vast empire with an absolute
monarchy  absolute power (the tsar ruled by decree, was no
subject to any constitution and did not have to answer to a
parliament)
A loyal bureaucracy and a powerful army controlled the
empire, while the Orthodox Church was one of the ideological pillar
of the regime
Feudal agriculture and dependent industry
Agriculture was the main economic activity and the land was
controlled by a powerful and wealthy aristocracy  Feudalism still
existed in Russia: the majority of the population was peasants
Industrialization had begun in some areas: a large industrial
proletariat had emerged

33. Opposition to Tsarism
Peasants (without clear alternatives) and
proletariat (Marxist ideas):
Russian Social Democratic Labour
Part (1898), founded by Lenin  it
soon split into two wings, the
Mensheviks ( the minority) and the
Bolsheviks (the majority), who wanted a
revolutionary path to change the country.
From 1905 they were organised in
Soviets: groups or assemblies of
proletariat, peasants and soldiers
Bourgeois liberal parties:
Constitutional Democratic Party
(Kadet)
Socialist Revolutionary party (Srs or
Esers), which was influential among the
peasants

35. 1905 Revolution
On January 22, 1905, about 200,000 workers and their
families approached the Tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
They carried a petition asking for better working conditions,
more personal freedom, and an elected national legislature.
Nicholas II’s generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd.
More than 1,000 were wounded and several hundred were
killed. Russians quickly named the event “Bloody Sunday.”
Bloody Sunday provoked a wave of strikes and violence that
spread across the country. In October 1905, Nicholas
reluctantly promised more freedom. He approved the creation
of the Duma (Russia’s first parliament). The first Duma met in
May 1906. Its leaders were moderates who wanted Russia to
become a constitutional monarchy similar to Britain. But
because he was hesitant to share his power, the Tsar dissolved
the Duma after ten weeks.

37. The crisis of the WW1
In 1914 Russia was not prepared for a world war: its army was not
ready, its transport system was inefficient and its arms industry could
not cope with demand  famine appeared in cities  the Tsar
Nicholas II was very unpopular
1916: the opponents to Tsarism saw the chance to end the regime
and take power

38. The Russian Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917. The fall of
Tsarism
1915: the Tsar took personal command of the Russian army.
People blamed him personally when the war went badly
1917: demonstrations, a general strike and riots. The
Tsar ordered to fire on the protesters, but many of them joined
the protests instead. The Tsar abdicated and the Duma
formed a Provisional Government which included liberals
and socialists who introduced liberal reforms but decided did
not end the war  this made impossible to improve the
living conditions of the population
Popular discontent grew and the Soviets began to demand
the dismissal of the government  two powers face to face:
the provisional government and the Soviets

39. The October Revolution. Bolsheviks
Most of the Soviets supported the Bolsheviks. His leader
(Lenin) returned to Russia from exile and published his ideas
in the April Theses: he wanted to establish a government of
workers and peasant Soviets and to sign a peace treaty with
Germany.
Thy created their own army: the Red Guards, and prepared
for an insurrection on 25 October 1917: the rebels
occupied Petrograd, took the Winter Palace and overthrew the
provisional government. The revolution quickly spread to
Moscow and the industrial regions  they proclaimed a
workers’ government led by Lenin (Trotsky and Stalin)
November 1917: elections were held for the Constituent
Assembly  Lenin dissolved the Assembly and put an end
to political pluralism in the new Soviet Russia. The new
government decreed the first revolutionary measures:
land was expropriated to distribute among the peasants, and
workers’ committees were given control of factories

42. The civil war and the formation of the USSR
Russian who opposed the Bolsheviks formed the White
Army to face them  Civil War
The Bolsheviks held the Tsar and his family prisoner, and in
1918 they executed them
At the start of the war, the Reds faced various problems:
The WW1 allies helped the Whites because they were
worried about communism spreading to other countries
The Reds were surrounded by the Whites
The Whites were led by professional soldiers
The Reds controlled Petrograd, industrial areas and
the railway: 1921, the Reds won the civil war
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or Soviet
Union): in theory it was a union of equal states, but it was
dominated by Russia and controlled by the Communist Party.
From the start, it had bad relations with Western countries