Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy ● Triple Entente: Great Britain, France, and Russia

I. What are the MAIN causes of World War I? 1. Militarism: a policy of aggressive military preparedness; building large militaries

● European nations were building larger armies than ever before; fought to maintain a balance of power ● Germany built the most powerful army and created a navy that rivaled Britain. 2. Alliances: Countries made alliances with each other to create a balance of power (strength of rival nations is nearly equal). In Europe, leaders thought that no country would start a war without a real advantage in military strength. ● Triple Alliance: Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy ● Triple Entente: Great Britain, France, and Russia. 3. Imperialism: Building an overseas empire by acquiring colonies

● Britain had the largest empire by the early 1900s and was the world’s superpower. ● France, Germany, Italy, and Russia all wanted to create similar empires ● They also fought over territory in Europe - France wanted to recover Alsace-Lorraine from Germany

4. Nationalism: An extreme sense of pride for one’s nation or ethnic group. People who shared a language or culture wanted to unite politically. ● Brought some nations together (Germany, Italy) ● Threatened to tear others apart: in Austria-Hungary, Slavs wanted their own country (they were encouraged by Serbia, a slavic country that Russia supported). This area is known as the Balkans. In the early 1900s people called it a “powder keg.”

The Players

Queen Prince of Wales – GB Victoria - GB (later King George V) Germany

Kaiser Wilhelm

II Russia Tsarina Alexandra

Tsar Nicholas Tsarevich II Alexei

Austria-Hungary

Archduke Franz Franz Joseph I Ferdinand 4. The Spark that Lit the “Powder Keg”

• In 1908, Bosnia and Herzegovina (in the Balkans) was annexed by Austria-Hungary annexed it. This angered Slavic nationalists who wanted the region allied with Serbia. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, visited Sarajevo (capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina) with his wife, Sophie. Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Serb-nationalist, shot them both to death.

This was an excuse for Austria-Hungary to crush Serbia and the Slavic Nationalist movement they led. On July 28, 1914, they declared war on Serbia. Russia, who had promised to protect Serbia, began to mobilize (prepare a nation’s military for war) This meant the other alliances had to take action. In support of Austria-Hungary, Germany declared war on Russia and its ally, France, then invaded Belgium, which Britain had promised to defend. So, Britain declared war on Germany. To reach France quickly, Germany invaded Belgium, a neutral nation which Britain had promised to defend. So, Britain declared war on Germany. Then Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and the Great War (later called World War I) began. 6. New Alliances:

• Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey).

• Allied Powers: Britain, France, Russia, and eventually Italy and the US, and others.

“The Boiling Point” “A Chain of Friendship”

If Austria attacks Serbia, Russia will fall upon Austria, Germany upon Russia, and France and England upon Germany.

The Brooklyn Eagle, July 1914