World+War+I

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Jennyfer Galvez Germany during WW1

There were a few reasons for the start of WW1. First the was militarism the contributed greatly. This is important because the leaders loved to dress in military uniforms, such as Kaiser Wilhelm who had over 200 army uniforms. This is also important because the county would be proud of their large armies and believed in the Social Darwinism, which states that only the tough people in life survive and the weak die. In addition, alliances caused everyone to jump into the war to help each other out. The Triple alliance and the Triple Entente emerged during world war 1. All of the European countries formed alliances with each other and against each other. In conclusion, militarism and alliances were just two reasons as to why the war began.

There are a couple of reasons as to why the war started. For example, imperialism contributed more wood to the fire already burning there. There were economic rivalries among Britain, France, and Germany. Britain didn’t want Germany to gain land and more power, didn’t want competition for colonies. Also, nationalism played a key role in the war. For instance, the French wanted revenge against the Germans, they wanted Alsace and Lorraine back. Serbia wanted their own country and to be free of the Austria-Hungary empire. In conclusion, imperialism and nationalism played important roles in the making of the war.

Alliance means to make an agreement among nations to aid each other if attacked. One of the alliances that was formed was called the Triple Entente. This alliance was made of France, Britain, and Russia. They surrounded Germany and Austria-Hungary. They were pretty strong and were great allies towards each other. They were later joined by the Japanese, United States, and Italy. Italy was once part of the Triple Alliance but switched sides to the Triple Entente because they wanted stuff and saw that the Triple Entente were winning. In the end, the Triple Entente won the war and got the best part of the Treaty of Versailles.

Another alliance that was formed during the first World War was called the Triple Alliance. In this alliance was Germany and Austria-Hungary. They were surrounded on all sides by France, Britain, and Russia all the way around. Italy used to be their ally but soon left to join the Triple Entente. The Ottoman Turks later joined that alliance but it wasn’t enough to help Germany win the war that they started. In the end, the Triple Alliance lost the war that they had began.

Trench warfare was horrible for the soldiers living in the trenches. They lived in misery for the most part. They couldn’t get away from the mud, it was everywhere! They slept in mud, ate mud, washed in mud, and even dreamed about mud! They hardly slept, it was almost impossible. Fresh food didn’t exist in their world and were constantly swarmed by rats. The trenches didn’t ensure that they would be safe and were showered in bullets from the machine guns. They often had to climb over their dead comrades and were covered in each others blood. “The trenches disappeared, filled with earth… the air was unbreathable. Our blinded, wounded, crawling, and shouting soldiers kept falling on top of us and died splashing us with blood. It was a living hell.” The men described the trenches with disgust and hated the trenches.

The United States tried to stay out of the war for as long as possible. They were neutral and had no desire to enter yet another war. It all started when Germany started sinking American and neutral ships. One thousand one hundred ninety eight people were killed, including one hundred twenty eight U.S. citizens. This angered the people in the United States and the president at the time, Woodrow Wilson, sent strong protest to Germany. After attacking two more ships they agreed to stop attacking neutral and passenger ships. But in 1917 they returned to sinking ships and knew that it would anger the Americans. The Germans did another thing that really enraged the Americans and the president. The British intercepted a telegram from Germany to Mexico. The Zimmerman note to Mexico said they could regain the land it lost to the United States if they helped Germany in the war. The British gave the Zimmerman note to the U.S government, who entered the war on the Allies side. They felt closer and had better ties with the Allies than with the Triple Alliance. On April 2, 1917 the president asked congress to declare war!

There were new weapons involved in the war. For example, there was poison gas which was deadly if not wearing a mask. Some gases caused blinding or severe blisters while others caused death by choking. Another weapon that was improved by World War 1 was the machine gun. It automatically fired ammunition and could wipe out a ton of attackers. In addition, there was the mighty tank!!! It was armored and moved on chain tracks. At first they were slow and clumsy but eventually they were improved and helped the Allies win the war. Airplanes were also used, at first they were only used to take pictures of enemy lines. But they soon added guns to the airplanes and dropped bombs from them. Lastly, there is the submarine! The submarine’s most important weapon was the torpedo, a self-propelled underwater missile. The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty made by the winners of the war, which was the Triple Entente including the United States, Italy, Japan, and a few other countries. The Big Four were the ones to make the major decisions, they were Woodrow Wilson from the U.S., Georges Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of Great Britain, and Vittorio Orlando of Italy. Russia was in a civil war in its country therefore it didn’t have a representative and neither did Germany or its allies. On June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed, it was a treaty between Germany and the Allied powers. The allied powers gained land, France and Great Britain gained some land from Africa southwest Asia and some of Russia’s land. Japan and Italy were upset because they didn’t gain as much land as they hoped they would, that was their only reason for entering the war. Germany lost lands, got something known as “ war guilt” clause which placed sole responsibility on Germany and they had to pay reparations to the Allies. Russia was an outcast because they withdrew early in the war when the Allies needed them. They also lost land and were treated almost as badly as Germany. The treaty didn’t really build a lasting peace, it was also known as “A peace built on quicksand”. Peace didn’t last as long, there were many conflicts and another war would soon come along. That war will be known as World War 2, which will be just as terrible if not more!