THE WORLD WARS

Big History: Introduction to

World Wars I and II
Why do people go to war?

War is as old as the human race.

Archaeologists have even found
evidence of warfare among
hunter-gatherers. Ten thousand-year-
skeletons found on the banks of a
river in Kenya showed signs of violent trauma.
 Causes of War
Through history the causes of war have included
the desire for:
• Resources: Food to feed a growing population
• Territory: Land for people to live in
• Wealth: Taxes collected from the conquered
people; also economic stimulation by
manufacture of armaments and giving people
the job of soldier
• Adventure: Early wars were fought by rulers
and their hired armies, not by the people.
 CAUSES
Technology OF WORLD WAR I
• Ideology (Nationalism)

• Colonisation

• Military Alliances

• Immediate Cause: Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

 Causes of World War I: Technology

Armaments
Newly invented weapons made the military eager to use them.
 Causes of World War I: Nationalism
Nationalism means
exaggerated patriotism, with
Nationalism loyalty to one’s nation and
its goals seen as more
important than any other
loyalty.

In the early 20th century

extreme nationalism was an
important political force.
Through nationalism, the
nations of Italy and
Germany were created from
separate and independent
states.
Causes of World War I: Colonialism
The Race for World Power
Dominant nations carved up Africa and Asia into
colonies that they ruled from abroad, to
increase their power and resources.
Causes of World War I:
Military Alliances

Alliances: An alliance is a formal political, military or

economic agreement between two or more nations. Allies
promise to support each other in case of war. Many of
these alliances were secret and they often shifted.

By 1914 the Great Powers of Europe had shuffled

themselves into two opposing alliance blocs:

Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary

and Italy

Triple Entente: Britain, France and Russia

Causes of World War I: Assassination

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

On 28 June 1914 the heir to the throne

of Austria-Hungary was killed by a Serbian
Terrorist as he rode in an open carriage. This lit
the match to the conflagration that became
World War I.
The Beginning of World War I
In the aftermath of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Austria-
Hungary (allied with Germany) moved against Serbia (allied with
Russia). The alliances formalised into the opposing sides of the war:

Allies: France, British Empire, Russian Empire (left after Russian

Revolution), Japan, the United States of America (joined after 1917)

Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire,

Bulgaria
 WW I WARFARE
TRENCH WARFARE

The main form of fighting in World War I was trench warfare. For 3 ½ years in a
battlefield stretching across Belgium and France, soldiers dug out and lived in
trenches 4 meters deep and wide and lobbed grenades, gas and shells at each
other over a “no-man’s land”, using bayonets in hand-to-hand fighting. The use of
poisonous gas made it necessary at times to wear gas masks.
The majority of fighting in World War I
occurred on the Western and Eastern
Fronts in Europe; however military
campaigns occurred across the globe, with
battles as far east as New Guinea and as
west as Chile.
Interesting World War I Facts
AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR I
• World War I lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918

• 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war.

• The flower of English youth was lost in the war. In Germany, there were
so few men left that only 1 in 3 women was able to marry for a
generation.

• Four empires collapsed after World War I: the Ottoman, Austro-

Hungarian, German and Russian Empires, along with their monarchs.

• World War I created new nations: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,

Poland.

• As a result of World War I, the United States became the world’s largest
military power.
 The Treaty of Versailles

Harsh Sanctions:

The Treaty that ended the war, signed on 28 June 1919, was especially harsh, forcing
"Germany [to] accept the responsibility with her allies for causing all the loss and
damage" during the war.

In addition, Germany was forced to pay 132 billion marks in reparations , which
crippled it economically and destabilized it politically, sowing the seeds for the rise of
the Nazi Party.

Germany’s war debt was equal to 96,000 tons of gold, and the country made its final
reparations payment from WWI only in 2010.

League of Nations
As a result of the war, the League of Nations was founded with 42 founding member
countries, but it had many weaknesses and lasted only until World War II.
 CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II
• Seriously damaged economies after WWI

• Great Depression

• Rise of dictatorships

• Civil war in Spain

• Territorial aggression

• Immediate Cause: German invasion of Poland

Causes of World War II: Economic
Nations staggered under the war debt and economic ruin left from
World War I, which became an unbearable burden as the world
entered the Great Depression in 1929. This worldwide economic
depression with bank failures, widespread unemployment ,
homelessness and hunger, lasted through most of the 1930s until
the onset of World War II.
Causes of World War II:
Rise of Dictatorships
Rise of Fascism (a form of radical authoritarian nationalism):
In the political instability left after World War I, dictatorships arose in

Spain Germany Italy

Francisco Franco Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini

Causes of World War II:
Territorial Aggression
Italy invaded Ethiopia, Albania and Greece in an effort to create a ‘New
Roman Empire.’

Germany decided to restore the “rightful boundaries” of historic

Germany, annexing Austria and Sudetenland.

The Empire of Japan expanded into Manchuria and the Republic of

China.

Meanwhile, Western countries sat quiet,

following a doctrine of “appeasement”
or neutrality.
Immediate Cause of World War II:
German Invasion of Poland

Despite various non-aggression treaties, Germany invaded Poland on

September 1, 1939, whereupon England and France declared war on
Germany. Russia first allied itself with the Axis Powers, then found itself
invaded by Germany in 1941 and switched sides. Meanwhile, the
Japanese attacked the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbour, drawing
the USA into the war in 1941.
World War II Combatants

The Allies: England (British Empire), France,

USA, Russia
 India’s Role in World War II

During World War II, India was controlled by Great Britain and entered
the war in 1939. The Indian Army was one of the largest Allied forces and
fought with distinction in Germany, Italy, North Africa, and the Pacific.
While the Muslim League supported the British war effort, the Congress
Party demanded independence before they would help and many of its
leaders were imprisoned.
 End of the War

The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II, as

well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the
Soviet Union, took place in late April and early May 1945.
“VE Day” or the day marking victory in Europe was a joyous
affair.
The Last Soldier to Surrender

Hiroo Onoda, an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War
II, never surrendered in 1945. Until 1974, for almost 30 years, he held his position,
hiding out in the Philippine Islands. When he was discovered, his former commander
traveled from Japan to personally issue orders relieving him from duty in 1974.
Sources

http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/alliances/

http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/alliances/#sthash.tUKLJ8LE.dpuf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_warfare

http://ww1centenary.oucs.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/battles.jpg

http://www.factslides.com/s-WWI