Central Power Dbq

Kacie Lee
2/4/18
Tomasetti
AP World P.6
ID #22
1. 14 Points (575, 577, 600)
Created by Woodrow Wilson in 1918 as a after-war peace negotiation. It stated that there will be an unclosed agreements with regards to tranquility, equal access to the seas, withdrawal of economic obstacles, a cutback in federal arms, and the creation of a united group of nations from all the world.

2. Bolshevik Revolution (573-574)
A revolution from 1917 to 1918. It came after the February Revolution. After Lenin, a Marxist and ruler of the Bolshevik group, gained power and moved power to the soviets and supported inflexible resistance to the Great War. The Bolsheviks also gained jurisdiction and soon power over the Petrograd soviet. The government continued to assert the extension of the war, starve the people, and not assume land improvement. The lower class then began to believe that only the soviets could help. Lenin then convinced the Bolsheviks to conquer the jurisdiction for the All-Russian National Congress of Soviets. In October, laborers, soldiers, and seamen stomped through the Winter Palace and gave power to Lenin and the Bolsheviks from the government.

3.

Central Powers (566)
The Central Powers was also known as the Triple Alliance. Like it’s name suggests, it was a coalition between Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Germany in the 19th century.

4. Ferdinand, Francis (563-564)
The demise of Francis Ferdinand, the successor of the Austria-Hungary throne, started WWI. He was killed in Serbia and his death created strain between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

5. League of Nations (576)
A group that was made out of many nations and was made for world peace. This was part of every treaty and everyone was forced to accept it. However, it was not enough to prevent WWII, and it was ended in

1940.

6. Triple Entente (566)
The Triple Entente was a coalition between Russia, France, and Britain. Its purpose was to sustain the equilibrium for power in the Triple Alliance.

1. Explain and discuss the key causes behind the drift toward European war in the early twentieth century.
Key causes behind the drift towards European war in the early 20th century were factors such as nationalism, rivalries, and alliances. Nationalist ideologies such as “self-determination” was adopted by many Europeans, and lead to the establishment of nations such as Belgium and Germany. In Europe, nationalism was a threat to the Ottoman and Habsburg empires. Eventually, due to nationalist rebellions, the Ottoman empire withered. Austria-Hungary faced nationalism in the region with the Slavic people. Groups such as the Serbs advocated for unification with Serbia, and then Russia supported Serbia while Germany supported Austria-Hungary, leading to a drift towards European war. Nationalism lead to rivalries, which helped lead to war. Nations in Europe had economic competition. Great Britain and Germany had strife due to Germany’s industrialization which was catching up with Britain. A naval race also lead to more strain between these nations. Britain, who had control over the seas for a long time, felt threatened by Germany who was establishing a fleet of ships. There was also colonial strife. As different nations attempted to colonize more regions, they often overlapped. For example, Britain and Russia overlapped in Persia and Afghanistan, leading to strife. A French and German conflict in Morocco lead to a large strain. The Germans supported independence for Moroccans, the French stated its intention to start war. The Balkan wars also contributed to tension, which helped lead to WWI. As a result of mass communication, public opinion was a factor in the increase of rivalry. From the rise of nationalism and rivalries, alliances such as the Central Powers and the Triple Entente arose.

2. Compare and contrast the course of the war in Africa, southwest Asia, and east Asia.
The war in Africa was quite difficult and tedious. As the Allies attacked German colonies in Africa, they faced difficulties because it was fought on land and water. Geographic hurdles prevented the Allies from easily defeating Germany in Africa, and this frontier of battle would prove to be the longest lasting. This element of difficulty was extremely similar to the war in southwest Asia. Winston Churchill proposed attacking the Ottomans in southwest Asia, which would impact the Germans, who were allies. The British attempted to seize the Ottoman, but this failed and resulted in a stalemate with mass deaths for both Allies and Central Powers. The Allies refused to back off this pursuit until nine months of fighting proved to be fruitless. Finally, in contrast, the war in east Asia was more successful and smooth for the Allies. Millions of Asians were brought into the war, including nations like Japan. When Germany did not agree to Japan’s demand for Germany to give northeast China and removal of its battleships from Japanese and Chinese waters, Japan joined the allies. This greatly benefitted the Allied cause: Japan conquered German regions in China and then utilized the Allies fortification to proceed with personal business in China. Japan attempted to manipulate the Allies and take control of China in the infamous “twenty-one secret demands.” Japan conceived of this as a stepping stone for taking control over all of east Asia, however, its plot was foiled when China informed Britain of Japan’s deceptive intent. This caused Britain to prevent China from becoming Japan’s protectorate.

3. Identify and explain the reasons behind U.S. intervention in the Great War and the collapse of the Central Powers.
U.S. interventionism in the Great War had two primary causes. First was Germany’s submarine warfare against British ships. They had agreed to cease torpedoing ships earlier, but in February of 1917, they continued their submarine warfare against British ships. Britain had been blockading the Central Powers from accessing resources, and Germany was beginning to become desperate for new resources. However, the problem was that these British ships sometimes carried American passengers, which infuriated the U.S.’ public and politicians, turning America’s neutrality into support for the allies. Second, Russia leaving the war set the stage for America to join. Riots over food and mass protests had toppled the Romanov dynasty and lead to a provisional government, which was then toppled by the Bolshevik revolutionaries who pulled Russia out of the war. With this gap in Allied strength, America’s anger towards Germany compelled them to help fill the Allies’ weakness resulting from Russia’s absence. The collapse of the Central Powers also had several causes. First was the U.S.’ power and resources. America joined the war in 1917, and the war ended in 1918 - the Central Powers were no longer able to keep up with the Allies’ newfound strength. The introduction of fresh U.S. military power halted Germany’s final efforts in the western front. Second, the blockades were largely successful - without a stable supply of resources, the Central Powers’ position was fundamentally unsustainable. The Central Powers suffered from internal distress as their people protested and rioted due to a lack of food and resources. This pressured their political leadership to end the war. Capitulations came in waves in 1918: first Bulgaria on September 30st, then the Ottomans one month later, then Austria-Hungary five days later, then finally Germany’s agreement to the armistice on November 11th. All of this set the stage for formal proceedings at the Paris Peace Conference.