Introduction

To begin, let's recall the belligerents who participated in World War I:

  • The Triple Entente or Allied Powers or Allies (and their colonies)
  • The Triple Alliance or Central Powers (see map below)

In the last lesson, you learned about the causes of World War I—the Great War, the War to End All Wars. All of the highly industrialized European nations were heavily armed, and once the ultimatums had been issued by Austria-Hungary against Serbia following the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Russian Czar, Nicholas II, in an effort to protect Serbia, was forced into war with his first cousin, German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Because of the cultural make-up of Serbia, Russia felt compelled to act as its protector against the aggression of Austria-Hungary. It was almost like a domino effect.

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Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • Explain causes and consequences of World War I, including imperialism, militarism, nationalism, and the alliance system.
  • Describing military technology used during World War I
  • Identifying alliances during World War I and boundary changes after World War I

The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: World History: 1500 to the Present Objective(s): 12, 12B2, 12B4.

This lesson incorporates the following Literacy Standard(s):

 

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