Lesson 1: The Outbreak of World War I

The Origin and Causes of World War 1

Learning Intention: We will be learning about the reasons for the outbreak of World War 1

Success Criteria: I will be successful when I am able to:

define historical terminology and concepts
describe the alliance systems in Europe
explain the main causes of World War 1

TASK 1: KWL Table

Create a KWL Table in your books (like the one below). You need to write down what you KNOW, what you WANT to learn, and what you have LEARNT about World War I. Add to the L section as we're working through the unit.

TASK 2: Glossary

Create a new page in your books with GLOSSARY at the top and find the definitions of the following words (we will add to this list with new words each lesson):

Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
Triple Alliance
Triple Entente
Assassination

TASK 3: YouTube video

As you're watching the following video, write down five key points

Causes of World War 1

TASK 4: Comprehension

Read through the information below and then answer the questions in FULL sentences in your books

Although it was the Assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand that led to the outbreak of world war one in August 1914, the actual causes of the war were more complicated and not confined to a single cause.

Alliances

An alliance is an agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help if it is needed. When an alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies. A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies declared war first.

Triple Alliance was the joining of the nations of Germany, Italy and Austro-Hungarian Empire

Triple Entente was the joining of the nations Britain, France and the Russian Empire

Imperialism

Imperialism is when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule. By 1900 the British Empire extended over five continents and France had control of large areas of Africa. The amount of lands 'owned' by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany, who had entered the scramble to acquire colonies late and only had small areas of Africa.

The map above shows Overseas Empires of European Powers, January 1914. The three main countries you should look out for are the ones listed below in their respective colours

Pink = British

Blue = French

Red = German

Militarism

Militarism means that the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government. The growing European divide had led to an arms race between the main countries. The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas. The British had introduced the 'Dreadnought', an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed suit introducing their own battleships. The German, Von Schlieffen also drew up a plan of action that involved attacking France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany.

Nationalism

Nationalism means being a strong supporter of the rights and interests of one's country. The Congress of Vienna, held after the Napoleonic wars, left both Germany and Italy as divided states. It was nationalism the re-unification of Italy in 1861 and Germany in 1871. France was angry because the settlement at the end of the Franco-Prussian war had given Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. Large areas of both Austria-Hungary and Serbia were home to differing nationalist groups, all of whom wanted freedom from the states in which they lived.

Crises

The Moroccan Crisis - In 1904 Morocco had been given to France by Britain, but the Moroccans wanted independence and were supported by Germany. War was avoided, but in 1911, the Germans were again protesting against French possession of Morocco. Britain supported France and Germany was persuaded to back down for part of French Congo.

The Bosnian Crisis - In 1908, Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia. This angered Serbians who felt the province should be theirs. Serbia threatened Austria-Hungary with war, Russia, allied to Serbia, mobilised its forces. Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary, mobilised its forces and prepared to threaten Russia. War was avoided when Russia backed down. In 1911 and 1912 there was war in the Balkans when the Balkan states drove Turkey out of the area. The states then fought each other over which area should belong to which state. Austria-Hungary intervened and forced Serbia to give up land. Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungary was high.

Questions

What is meant by the term alliance?
List the countries that made up the Triple Entente
List the countries that made up the Triple Alliances
Why was Germany annoyed by Imperialism?
Which armies had increased in size between 1870 and 1914?
Describe the Von Schlieffen Plan.
What was the significance of the two crises in relation to the outbreak of World War I?
Which countries were bound to each other by which alliance?
How did imperialism contribute towards Germany’s increasing anger with Britain & France?
Why was nationalism an important factor?
Describe the part Germany played in increasing European militarism.

The ACRONYM you need to remember for the causes of World War 1 is M.A.I.N.

Militarism

Alliances

Imperialism

Nationalism

These were long-term causes of World War 1 that was building up before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. His assassination sparked the outbreak of World War 1

TASK 4: Review of M.A.I.N

Using your knowledge so far, complete the following activities to test your understanding about M.A.I.N.

Copy out each sentence below in your books and fill in the mission word with one of the M.A.I.N. causes

Germany wished to build up her Empire. This is known as ________. Germany also built up her armed forces - known as .
Britain had both the most powerful navy in the world and the largest Empire. Copy and complete: As Britain had the most powerful navy she was worried about other countries building up their armed forces. We could call this a worry about___________________. Germany, Britain and other countries were keen to have large Empires.
Countries in Europe were very proud of themselves, and would defend their country as well as they could. This is known as .

TASK 5: Cloze Passage

Write out the sentences below by using the words in column on the right

Europe was divided into two_______________. These were called the Triple_______________ and the Triple_______________ . Members of each alliance promised to fight for the other members if they were attacked. It would only take a small incident to spark a war that involved the whole of_______________ .

Germany had been trying to build up her navy and her empire. _______________ was_______________ about this. Both countries raced each other to build the best navy. There was tension between the two countries. This cause was _______________ .

The area south and south-east of_______________ -_______________ was known as the Balkans. This whole area was very unstable. The European Alliances had different ideas how to deal with the problems.

France was keen for_______________ on Germany. The French had been defeated in 1871 and wanted their land back! They said it had been_______________ from them by Germany.

Word Bank

stolen

worried

alliances

Europe

Entente

Alliance

Austro-Hungary

militarism

revenge

Britain

TASK 6: Essay

Now, answer the following question: Explain the long term causes of World War 1. To help you, look at the scaffold attached below. A sample introduction, body paragraph and conclusion are written for you. Use this to help you write your second, third and fourth body paragraphs. Submit your essay into the Google Classroom Dropbox when you're finished

Essay question.

Explain the long term causes of World War One.

For this question the main points will be

• Militarism

• Alliances

• Imperialism

• Nationalism

Introduction.

Refer to the question in your opening sentence, then write a sentence about each of your main points.

There are a variety of long term causes of World War One. Militarism, both the build-up of arms, and the influence of Military people, led to World War One. The Alliances between European nations helped to drag all the countries into the war. Imperialism, the desire to build or protect Empires was a cause of the War. Nationalism also helped to raise tensions between countries and caused the outbreak of World War One.

Body

For each of the four points you have written about in the introduction, you will need to write a PEEL paragraph.

Point 1: Militarism

P (main Point) : Militarism, in the years leading up to 1914, was a major cause of World War One.

E (Explanation) : Militarism happens when a country makes its focus the buying or creating of weapons, the increase of military numbers, and when the influence of military people grows in politics.

E (Evidence) : During the early 20th Century Britain and Germany were involved in a Naval Arms race, both building Dreadnoughts to compete with each other on the seas. All European nations increased their military spending by millions of dollars, the number of soldiers swelled. Furthermore, the Generals of countries such as Russia, Germany, and Serbia were becoming increasingly involved in the decision making of the governments.

L (Link back to the question) : This militarism would raise tensions and help to cause WW1.

Point 2: Alliances

P : The Alliances between European nations also helped to cause World War One.

E :

L :

Point 3 : Imperialism

P :

E :

L :

Point 4 : Nationalism

P :

E :

L :

Conclusion

This is where you will sum up what you’ve been saying in the body paragraphs.

Many factors caused World War One. Tensions in Europe had been growing for years leading up to 1914. The growing militarism in European societies due to Generals in politics, and huge spending on men and weapons helped to cause the war as did the alliance system. Britain and Austria-Hungary defending their Empires, and Germany wanting one, helped bring countries closer to war. Finally the nationalism that people felt made a war almost inevitable.

Some entertainment for you below. Watch these videos to get more of an understanding of how World War 1 started

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