The Guns of August

1
The Guns of August 1914 The Decisions leading to
the Out Break of the Great World War 1914-1918
2
Military, Political, and Economic Situation of
Europe 1850

• The British Empire
• Controls almost one/fourth of the world
• Naval Power beyond challengers
• Industrial Giant of Europe
• Strong Central Government

• Germanic States
• A hodgepodge of separate kingdoms
• Separate economies
• Weak monarchies
• Common desire for a United German Nation

3
Wilhelm I King of Prussia 1797-1888Kaiser of
Germany 1871-1888
Royal Standard of Prussia 1862
4
Otto von Bismark becomes Prime Minister of
Prussia in 1862. Bismark has three goals I
Make Prussia the leading German State. II
Establish the ruling Prussian Royal House of
Hohenzollern as the dominant monarchy of all the
German States. III Create a United Deutschland.
5
Not by speeches and majority votes are the great
questions of the day decided, but by blood and
iron. Prime Minister, Otto von Bismark
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Three Wars of German Unification

• Prussias Opponents
• Denmark 1864
• Austria, Hanover 1866
• France 1870

• Results for Prussia
• Denmark loses two provinces on the Jutland
  Peninsula.
• Austria is defeated, Hanover is annexed to
  Prussia.
• France is humiliated, Emperor Napoleon III is
  forced to surrender. Germany annexes the
  provinces of Alsace Lorraine.

7
Land taken from Denmark, giving Prussia
access to the North Sea
Kingdoms allied with Prussia to form the
German Empire 1870
Provinces taken from France in 1870
The German Empire in 1871 Prussia is in Red
8
Wilhelm I is proclaimed Kaiser of a United
Germany in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of
Versailles on January 18,1871 as the city of
Paris is under Prussian bombardment.
9
The Second German Reich Begins 1871-1918
10
1871 Second German Reich

• The power of the industrial revolution is now
  merged with the iron and coal resources of
  various German States to forge a determined
  economic juggernaut with tremendous military
  potential.

11
At last the dream of a life time was made real, a
united Germany under Prussia with Wilhelm I as
Kaiser, and Prince Otto von Bismark the Iron
Chancellor
12
A system of alliances would now be created to
guarantee the safety of the new German State.
German Chancellor Otto von Bismarcks adage was
always to be in a majority of three in any
dispute among the five great European powers. His
aim was to preserve Germanys peaceful ties with
Russia. Never fight a two front war.
13
In 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm I, King of Prussia of the
House of Hohenzollern dies at age of 91, leaving
the empire to his already dying son Frederick III.
14
Kaiser Frederick III Kaiserin
Victoria1831-1888 Princess RoyalHe rules
just 99 days, of Great Britainbefore dying of
cancer. 1840-1901
Kaiser Wilhelm II, first born grandson of Queen
Victoria of Great Britain. Wilhelm was born with
a withered left arm.
15
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (left) King/Emperor
George V of Great Britain (right).
Kaiser Wilhelm II was a first cousin to both Tsar
Nicholas of Russia and to King George V of Great
Britain.
16
A new force enters the stage of world politics.
Wilhelm II now becomes the third Kaiser of a
united Germany. Wilhelm is determined to build a
place for Germany among the great empires of the
world. Driven by an inferiority complex related
to his own deformity and schooled by Bismark in
the concept of Pan-Germania, Wilhelm embarks on a
an arms race.
17
Dropping the Pilot In 1890 Kaiser Wilhelm
forces the resignation of his tutor, Chancellor
Prince Otto von Bismark. Wilhelm will now act on
his own as the designer of Imperial German
Foreign Policy.
18
German expenditures for the military expand
quickly to meet the demands of Kaiser Wilhelm II.
19
In 1898 Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz,
architect of the Kaiser dream of a navy to rival
that of the British Empire proposed building a
fleet of 11 Battleships, 8 Armored Cruisers and
Auxiliaries. In 1900 he proposed to double the
fleet the fleet by 1917.
20
Fokker DR.1 Triplane German
Fokker D.VIIII Monoplane German
The newest form of long range artillery, the
Airplane was developed.
Airco D.H2 Great Britain
21
Krupp Manufacturing Company was employed to
build bigger and more deadly guns. This is
the Railroad Gun known as Big Bertha.
22
The British Empire, ever weary of possible rivals
to its empire now begins to fear the growing
power of its rival.
The British Empire now determines that it must
out build the Germans in all areas. The Arms
Race for military domination now begins.
23
Kaiser Wilhelm II quickly upset Bismarks
delicate balance of power. Germany, by refusing
to renew its friendship with Russia, soon found
itself in a minority of two. Its only European
ally, was the weakest of the European powers,
Austria-Hungary.
24
Military Alliances of 1914

• Triple Entente
• France
• Russia
• Great Britain

• Triple Alliance
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Italy

25
Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of
Austria-Hungary and the Duchess Sophie were
assassinated in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo on
June 14, 1914 by Gavrilo Princip. Princip
was a member of the Black Hand Society, a Serbian
terrorist group seeking unification of all Serbs
into one nation. Serbia seeks to gain the
provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina from Austrian
control.
26
While the lying is state of the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his wife the Duchess Sophie
takes place, Austria-Hungary demands satisfaction.
27
Franz Joseph I of Austria King Alexander I of
Serbia
Germany gives its support to her ally.
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia on July
28, 1914.
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1. The tripwire that set off the centurys first
global conflict was Austria's declaration of war
against Serbia on July 28, 1914. 2. A war
between Austria and Serbia meant a war between
Austria and Russia, Serbia's traditional ally.
3. That meant war between Russia and Germany.
4. And that meant war between Germany and
France. And that meant war between Germany and
Great Britain. 5. In a flash, the whole
continent was at war.
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August 1, 1914 Germany declares war on Russia
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
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August 3, 1914 Germany declares war on France.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Primer Georges Clemenceau of the Republic of
France
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August 4, 1914 Germany invades neutral Belgium
Kaiser Wilhelm II
King Albert of the Belgians
32
August 4, 1914 the British Empire declares war on
the German Empire.
King/Emperor George V
Kaiser Wilhelm II
33
Germany must now fight a two-front war. All of
Bismarks fears have come true!
34
German Army Chief of Staff, was given
instructions to devise a strategy that would be
able to counter a joint attack. In December,
1905, he began circulating what later became
known as the Schlieffen Plan. Schlieffen argued
that if war took place it was vital that France
was speedily defeated. If this happened, Britain
and Russia would be unwilling to carry on
fighting. Schlieffen calculated that it would
take Russia six weeks to organize its large army
for an attack on Germany. Therefore, it was
vitally important to force France to surrender
before Russia was ready to use all its forces.
Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen
35
Schlieffen's plan involved using 90 of Germany's
armed forces to attack France. Fearing the French
forts on the border with Germany, Schlieffen
suggested a scythe-like attack through Holland,
Belgium and Luxembourg. The rest of the German
Army would be sent to defensive positions in the
east to stop the expected Russian advance. When
Helmuth von Moltke replaced Alfred von Schlieffen
as German Army Chief of Staff in 1906, he
modified the plan by proposing that Holland was
not invaded. The main route would now be through
the flat plains of Flanders. Moltke argued that
Belgium's small army would be unable to stop
German forces from quickly entering France.
Moltke suggested that 34 divisions should invade
Belgium whereas 8 divisions would be enough to
stop Russia advancing in the east. On 2nd
August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into
operation when the German Army invaded Luxembourg
and Belgium. However, the Germans were held up by
the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian
Army's advance into East Prussia. The Germans
were also surprised by how quickly the British
Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium.
36
Believing that Germany's advance into Belgium was
a diversion, most of the French army moved
northeast to attack Germany through the lost
provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.
37
German plans for the Western Front soon began
unraveling. As the German right flank drove
deeper, it separated from the rest of the
invading force. Recognizing their vulnerability,
the Germans pulled up twenty-five miles short of
Paris. Now, it was Frances chance to attack.
What followed was the Battle of the Marne where
the German advance was stopped. The war now
became one of trenches and stalemate.
38
The Trenches would stretch from the North Sea to
the border of Switzerland
39
April 26, 1915 the Kingdom of Italy reverses Its
position as a neutral power and declares war on
the German Empire.
King Victor Emmanuel III
Kaiser Wilhelm II
40
The Belligerent Powers of the Great World War

• German Empire
• Austria-Hungarian Empire

• Russian Empire
• Republic of France
• Kingdom of Belgium
• British Empire
• Kingdom of Serbia
• Kingdom of Italy

41
We have loosed the Dogs of War
Soldiers blinded by Mustard Gas