Start of WW1 Flashcards
Reasons for the start of WW1
Militarism- build up military
Alliances- (Triple Alliance- Germany, Ottomans, Austria Hungary) (Triple Entente- Britain, France, Russia)
Imperialism
Nationalism- extreme pride in country
War Breaks Out
-Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot and killed by Serbian Gavrilo Princip because AH tried to invade Serbia
-AH moves military closer to Serbia and Russia defends Serbia
Beginning of war in US
-Us remained neutral- Monroe Doctrine and capitalism opportunity to sell to both sides, many immigrants
-Wilson favored Britain- more culturally aligned with US and Germany was new and built off militarism
-tried to sell supplies to both sides- British Navy stopped them and German U boats stopped them- chose to go against germany rather than Navy
Growing Ties between US and Allies
-couldn’t trade with germany so traded more with Britain
-Wilson favored British and let wall street banks lend to allies
-Paid for US weapons but with interest
National security league
-start an information campaign in order to convince americans that war against central powers was necessary
-side against Germans because submarine warfare
-germans don’t want americans in the war so they say they’ll warn
-US found them barbarous and called them huns as propaganda
Lusitania Sinking
-luxury liner than the germans sank killing 12,000 and 128 US
-used ship to smuggle supplies, passengers didn’t know
-used sinking as cry for war
-Wilson condemned it but didn’t go to war over it
Arabic Sinking
-another passenger liner than was sunk by U boats
-Germans say they won’t sink boats if they are allowed to search them fro smuggling
-Don’t want US to enter war
Sussex Sinking
-sank by german torpedo injuring 7 no one killed
-US cuts diplomatic ties with Germany
-Sussex pledge- germany promises to not sink any more ships
-brought peace for Wilson’s reelection- kept us out of war
German American Relations
-Germany is at a stalemate in war
-ONly reason France and Britain in it is because of US assistance
-Germany makes calculated guess and states that they will sink any boat going to France and Britain, thinking they can knock both of them out before US got involved
-Wilson hears and arms merchant ships
-Zimmerman Telegram- German telegram by Arthur ZImmerman sent to Mexico asking them to attack US to distract their resources in return for help to reconquer southwest after European war
-Sent by British so is controversial- did they do it to get US to enter
-Germans sinking a lot of american ships
-Wilson declares war a little after inauguration for second term in 1917
War as America enters
-Russia just overthrew the tsar and are in Revolution
-Vladimir Lenin of Russia pulled them out of the war by signing the Brest Litovsk treaty so that russia could focus on the revolution and promised freedom and bread
-All forces focus on the western front towards france
-Britain and France are exhausted
America in the war
-wilson went back and forth on sending Troops
-sends general Pershing with the american expeditionary force which lifted the morale of the french soldiers
-draft starts and the selective service act calls for men 21-30 later extends to 17-46
-400,000 African Americans
-15,000 women as nurses
-American Navy takes leading role- send convoys to rat out torpedoes- only 2 ships sunk during war
American Forces in France
-US troops lift morale and become a deciding factor in war
-Germany is 50 miles outside Paris and are trying to swing back momentum to their offense
-Battle of Chateau Theirry- Americans repel Germans on a line where germans attacked- if they lost that line they lost the war
-Germany retreats and allies lead offensive in Meuse Argonne offensive where they cut the german supply line and end the war
-Germans sign armistice 11/11
-8 million europeans die, 115,000 americans- most from disease
