The 4 causes of WWI — every history teacher asks this
Militarism, Alliance systems, Imperialism, Nationalism. These four long-term causes were the powder keg. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand (1914) was just the spark.
M
Militarism — European powers built massive armies and navies
A
Alliance systems — Triple Entente vs Triple Alliance
I
Imperialism — competition for colonies created tensions
N
Nationalism — ethnic groups sought self-determination
🏛️ World Wars
WWI: 1914–1918. WWII: 1939–1945.
World War Dates
The dates — locked in pairs
WWI: July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918 (Armistice Day, 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month). WWII: September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945 (V-J Day).
🏛️ World Wars
WWII Allies: USA, UK, USSR, France
WWII Allied Powers
The main Allied powers in WWII
United States (joined 1941), United Kingdom, Soviet Union (joined after Operation Barbarossa, 1941), and Free France. Despite being allies, the US/UK and USSR had fundamental ideological differences.
🏛️ World Wars
D-Day = June 6, 1944
Normandy Invasion
D-Day — the largest seaborne invasion in history
Operation Overlord. June 6, 1944. Allied forces (US, UK, Canada) stormed 5 beaches in Normandy, France. Beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword. Turned the tide on the Western Front.
🏛️ World Wars
Treaty of Versailles → German resentment → WWII
WWI to WWII Connection
How WWI directly caused WWII — the chain of events
The harsh Treaty of Versailles (1919) humiliated Germany: war guilt clause, reparations, territorial losses. Economic collapse + resentment enabled Hitler's rise. WWII was in many ways WWI continued.
WWI Key Dates
WWI timeline: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated June 28, 1914 → war declared → US joins 1917 → Armistice November 11, 1918
WWI Key Dates
The beginning, America's entry, and the end of the Great War
June 28 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Austria-Hungary) assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip. Alliance system pulled nations in like dominoes. US joined April 1917 after German submarine warfare. Armistice signed 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month of 1918.
June 28, 1914
Franz Ferdinand assassinated — war triggered
April 1917
USA enters WWI
Nov 11, 1918
Armistice — war ends
WWI Trench Warfare
WWI trench warfare: Western Front stalemate. New weapons: machine guns, poison gas, tanks, planes.
WWI Trench Warfare
Why WWI became a deadly stalemate on the Western Front
Machine guns made frontal assaults suicidal. Both sides dug trenches from Belgium to Switzerland. Millions died for yards of territory. New weapons: poison gas (first used by Germany 1915), tanks (Britain 1916), airplanes as scouts then fighters. Casualties: ~20 million dead.
Hitler's Rise to Power
Hitler's rise: Great Depression → Nazi Party → Chancellor 1933 → Führer 1934 → Nuremberg Laws 1935
Hitler's Rise to Power
The steps by which Hitler legally took control of Germany
Great Depression devastated Germany, already humiliated by Versailles. Hitler promised economic recovery and national restoration. Nazi Party won elections. Reichstag fire (1933) gave Hitler emergency powers. Enabling Act made him dictator. Nuremberg Laws (1935) stripped Jews of citizenship.
WWII Pacific Theater
WWII Pacific: Pearl Harbor (Dec 7, 1941) → Midway (1942, turning point) → Island hopping → Hiroshima/Nagasaki (Aug 1945)
WWII Pacific Theater
The Pacific war from Pearl Harbor to Japan's surrender
Pearl Harbor: Japan's surprise attack brought US into WWII. Battle of Midway (June 1942): US sank 4 Japanese aircraft carriers — turned the tide. Island hopping strategy bypassed heavily fortified islands. Atomic bombs on Hiroshima (Aug 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9) 1945 → Japanese surrender Sept 2.
Dec 7, 1941
Pearl Harbor — US enters war
June 1942
Midway — turning point
Aug 1945
Atomic bombs → surrender
The Holocaust
Holocaust: 6 million Jews + 5 million others systematically murdered by Nazi Germany
The Holocaust
The systematic genocide carried out by Nazi Germany 1941-1945
Nazi regime murdered 6 million Jews (~2/3 of European Jewish population) plus 5 million others (Roma, disabled, Soviet POWs, political prisoners, homosexuals). Concentration camps, death camps (Auschwitz, Treblinka). Nuremberg Trials (1945-46) established war crimes accountability.
Origins of the Cold War
Cold War origins: WWII ended → USSR occupied Eastern Europe → Iron Curtain → Truman Doctrine (1947)
Origins of the Cold War
How the WWII alliance between US and USSR collapsed into rivalry
USSR lost 27 million in WWII, wanted buffer states → occupied Eastern Europe. Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech (1946): Europe divided. Truman Doctrine (1947): US would support free peoples resisting communism. Marshall Plan: US rebuilt Western Europe to prevent communist takeover.
Causes of WWII
Causes of WWII: PARTT — Propaganda, Appeasement, Rise of fascism, Treaty of Versailles, Treaty failures of League of Nations
Causes of WWII
Five interconnected causes of the Second World War
Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany. Great Depression fueled extremism. Appeasement: Britain/France let Hitler take Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland hoping to avoid war. League of Nations had no power to enforce peace. Fascist ideology in Germany, Italy, Japan glorified war.