Allies and Adversaries: Understanding World War I

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• History
• 6th,7th Grade

Allies and Adversaries: Understanding World War I

Learning objective

Understanding the alliances of WW1

Key events of WW1

Identify Allies and enemies

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will understand the alliances of World War I, identify key allies and enemies, and know major dates.

What do you already know about the alliances in World War I?

Overview of World War I

World War I lasted from 1914 to 1918. It involved many global powers divided into two main groups: the Allies and the Central Powers.

Where did World War I begin

World War I began on July 28th, 1914. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Allies

Key Allies: United Kingdom, France, Russia, Italy, and later the United States (joined in 1917).

The Central Powers

Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

US Entry into the War

The US joined the Allies in April 1917, influenced by unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram.

Key Events Timeline

1914: War begins.

1915: Lusitania sunk.

1916: Battle of Verdun.

1917: US enters.

1918: Armistice signed.

Impact of US Involvement

The US provided fresh troops and resources, significantly boosting Allied morale and contributing to victory.

Why was U.S. involvement a crucial part of WW1?

The entry of the United States was the turning point of the war, because it made the eventual defeat of Germany possible. It had been foreseen in 1916 that if the United States went to war, the Allies’ military effort against Germany would be upheld by U.S. supplies and by enormous extensions of credit. These expectations were amply and decisively fulfilled. The United States’ production of armaments was to meet not only its own needs but also France’s and Great Britain’s. In this sense, the American economic contribution alone was decisive. By April 1, 1917, the Allies had exhausted their means of paying for essential supplies from the United States, and it is difficult to see how they could have maintained the war effort if the United States had remained neutral. American loans to the Allies worth $7,000,000,000 between 1917 and the end of the war maintained the flow of U.S. arms and food across the Atlantic.

Review and Reflection

Consider how alliances shaped the war's outcome. How might history differ without these alliances?

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