World War I, fought from July 28, 1914, to November 11, 1918, involved two main factions: the Allied Powers (including France, Russia, Britain, and the U.S.) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria). The war was primarily ignited by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and was characterized by intense nationalism, militarism, and an intricate system of alliances. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed heavy reparations and territorial losses on Germany.

1. Prepared by
Kavisha Alagiya

2.  The Great war was fought between July
28, 1914 and November 11, 1918.
 The two superpowers were the Allied
Powers and the Central Powers.
 Other names for World War I include the
First World War, WWI, the War to End All
Wars, and the Great War.

3. The Allied Powers:
 France
 Russia
 Britain
 The United States also
fought on the side of the
Allies after 1917.
The Central
Powers:
 Germany
 Austria-Hungary
 the Ottoman Empire
 Bulgaria.

4. Central Nations
Allied Nations

5. Although there were a number of causes for the
war, the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand was the main catalyst for starting the
war.
After the assassination, Austria declared war on
Serbia.
Russia prepared to defend its league Serbia.
Next, Germany declared war on Russia to protect
Austria.
This caused France to declare war on Germany to
protect its league Russia.
Germany invaded Belgium to get to France which
caused Britain to declare war on Germany.

6.  Intense Nationalistic Feelings.
 Strong Ambition and Imperialistic policy of
Germany.
 Propaganda through Newspapers and Writers.
 Militarism and Hostile Tendency.
 Absence of Central International Institution.
 Immediate Cause.

8.  England hides its fleet under the skirt of home, the
dog Ireland is at its back.
King Oskar of Sweden looks “intently” at Russia.
France bravely retreats, while Spain devotes itself to
sweet “idleness.”
Belgium – already has!
 German and Austria-Hungary strike solid German
blows on all sides.
Good “will” prevails in Switzerland
 Serbia – a pack of swine! The King of Derazzo.
Albania – abandons its people.
Greece and Turkey are eager to devour one another.
Ferdinand of Bulgaria would also like to have a share.

10.  In the beginning of nineteenth century, there was rise of
many nations in Europe.
 During this period due to the Congress of Vienna, there
as a rapid spread of nationalistic feelings. Delegates
from Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia (the allies)
decided upon a new Europe that left both Germany and
Italy as divided states.
 Strong nationalist elements led to the re-unification of
Italy in 1861 and Germany in 1871. The settlement at
the end of the Franco-Prussian war left France angry at
the loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany and keen to
regain their lost territory. In due coarse the feeling of
Nationalism become severe and narrow.
 As a result the atmosphere of whole Europe became
corrupt which gave rise to the First World War.

12.  Wilhelm Kaiser of Germany was very
ambitious, imperialistic and formidable
nationalist.
 He considered the measure taken by Britain
to preserve peace as an act of cowardice.
 His instigating speeches created political
strain and disquiet and he challenged
England without assessing the power of the
nation which acted as a fuel to broke out First
world War.

14.  The writings of the authors and the
newspapers of whole of Europe inspired
national feeling and played an important role
in arousing the nationalistic emotions of the
people prior to the First World War.
 The great historian Fay remarks in this
context “The First World War became
unavoidable on account of mutual
allegations”.

15. British propaganda
showing the British
bulldog, with five
others representing
Australia, Canada,
India, South Africa
and New Zealand.
Savile Lumley’s famous poster
of 1915 depicted two young
children asking their father
about his military prowess
after the war: ‘Daddy, what did
YOU do in the Great War?’ The
emotional blackmail of using
children to shame their elders
into fighting was, in fact,
employed by most of the
belligerents.

16.  As the world entered the 20th century, an
arms race had begun.
 By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase
in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany
both greatly increased their navies in this
time period.
 Further, in Germany and Russia particularly,
the military establishment began to have a
greater influence on public policy.
 This increase in militarism helped push the
countries involved into war.

18.  Among the nations of Europe of that time,
there was no institution of the international
level, which could work as a mediator.
 No definite efforts were made to prevent such
wars.
 The Hague Conference(1907) tried to impose
some restrictions but Germany vehemently
opposed it.
 As a result the balance of power was
jeopardized which lead to cause the First
World War.

20.  The immediate cause of World War I was the assassination
of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
 In June 1914, a Serbian-nationalist terrorist group called the
Black Hand sent groups to assassinate the Archduke. Their
first attempt failed when a driver avoided a grenade thrown at
their car. However, later that day a Serbian nationalist named
Gavrilo Princip assassinated him and his wife in Austria-
Hungary.
 This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on
Serbia.
 When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia,
Germany declared war on Russia.
 Thus began the expansion of the war to include all those
involved in the mutual defense alliances.

23.  Battle of
Tannenberg.
 First Battle
of Marne.
 Battle of
Somme.
 Russian
Revolution.

24.  It took place from August 23 - 30 in 1914.
 The battle actually took place closer to the city of
Allenstein than to Tannenberg, but the victorious
German command decided to call it the Battle of
Tannenberg for propaganda reasons.
 During the Middle Ages the German Teutonic Knights
had been defeated at Tannenberg. By naming this
victory after the city, they thought that the people
would see this as a return of Germany to power.
 The Battle of Tannenberg was fought between the
German Eighth Army and the Russian Second Army.

26.  The First Battle of the Marne was fought between
Germany and the allies of France and Britain.
 As the Germans advanced, their armies became
strung out and a large gap grew between the First
and Second German armies.
 The Allies took advantage of this gap and charged
between the two armies splitting the German
forces. Then they attacked from all sides confusing
the Germans.
 After a few days of fighting, the Germans were
forced to retreat. The battle was considered a
major victory, however, for the Allies.

28.  The battle was fought between the Allies (British and
French) on one side and the German Empire on the
other.
 It took place near the Somme River in France and lasted
from July 1 to November 18 in 1916.

29.  The Battle The Allied commanders refused to take
warning that the bombardment didn't work. After eight
days, on July 1, 1916, they ordered the attack.
 Thousands of British soldiers got out of their trenches
and began to advance on the German lines. They
were easily gunned down by the Germans.
 Despite the heavy casualties, the Allies continued to
attack.
 They didn't let up on the attack until November 18.
During that time they gained around seven miles of
territory.
 The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest
battles in human history.

31. Click on the image to watch a video

32.  The Russian Revolution took place in 1917 when the
peasants and working class people of Russia revolted
against the government of Tsar Nicholas II.
 They were led by Vladimir Lenin and a group of
revolutionaries called the Bolsheviks. The new communist
government created the country of the Soviet Union.
 During the period of time before the Russian Revolution,
life for the working class people and the peasants was very
difficult. They worked for little pay, often went without food,
and were exposed to dangerous working conditions. The
aristocrat class treated the peasants like slaves, giving
them few rights under the law and treating them almost like
animals.

34.  A major event leading to the Russian Revolution took place on
January 22, 1905. A Large number of workers were marching to
the Tsar's palace in order to present a petition for better working
conditions. They were fired upon by soldiers and many of them
were killed or injured. This day is called Bloody Sunday.
 In 1914, World War I began and Russia was at war with Germany.
A huge Russian army was formed by forcing working class and
peasant men to join. Although the Russian army had great
numbers, the soldiers were not equipped or trained to fight.
Many of them were sent into battle without shoes, food, and
even weapons. Over the next three years, nearly 2 million
Russian soldiers were killed in battle and nearly another 5 million
were wounded. The Russian people blamed the Tsar for entering
the war and getting so many of their young men killed.
 Over the next several months the two sides ruled Russia. One of
the main factions of the Petrograd Soviet was a group called the
Bolsheviks. They were led by Vladimir Lenin and believed that the
new Russian government should be a Marxist (communist)
government. In October of 1917, Lenin took full control of the
government in what is called the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia
was now the first communist country in the world.

35.  Russia withdrew from the war after Bolshevik
revolution.
 Being exhausted due to the long war, the
German army, by submarine war, tried to
drag England into the war.
 A submarine named ‘Lucitania’ of America
became the victim of the mutual clash of
Germany and England.
 Due to the loss of 147 soldiers, America also
declared to join in the world war to teach a
lesson to Germany.

37.  Following America, the nations like
Panama, Greece, Cuba, China and Siam
also declared war against Germany.
 The whole war situation changed when
America entered into the war.
 The fighting ended on November 11,
1918 when a general armistice was
agreed to by both sides. The war
officially ended between Germany and
the Allies with the signing of the Treaty
of Versailles.

39.  Germany was declared the main responsible for the war and received hard
sanctions:
 Huge war reparations for the destruction caused in France and Belgium
(20,000 million dollars)
 Loss of 1/8 of their territory in Europe:
 Alsace and Lorraine for France
 Schleswig for Denmark
 Part of Eastern Prussia and the Danzig corridor for Poland
 Memel for Lithuania
 Eupen and Malmédy to Belgium
 Reduction of their army to 100,000 soldiers.
 Their navy and air force were disbanded and military conscription was
forbidden.
 Demilitarization of the West bank of River Rhine.
 The German colonies were given to France and the UK. The Treaty of
Versailles also included the creation of the League of Nations.

42. “War was the best among all deeds
of mankind”
:- Benhardy, a German Politician.
How far can we agree with this statement when the
consequence is a lot more terrible and war also affected
many countries for the death of millions of lives?

43. Let us see the condition of the soldiers living in trenches
during the Great War.
Click on the image to watch a video