Jacqueline Hyslop

White Modern Euro B2

1/4/17
Assignment: Answer the essential questions and complete all journals.
Essential Questions:
1. What were the primary causes of WWI? How did the assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand ignite the powder keg of Europe?
1. One primary cause of WWI was mutual defense systems set up by countries which
were treaties that called them to battle if one of their alliances were attacked or declared war.
Imperialism eventually led to conflict because its human beings nature to desire grander
empires, thus resulting in war. Militarism led to WWI when Germany and Russias
established-military influenced public policy, and drove all countries involved into war. War also
began when each country wanted to defend their power and dominance, attributable to
nationalism. The protest-assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is a primary cause of World
War One because Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Due to mutual defense systems,
Russia mobilized in alliance with Serbia, and war was declared by Germany. His assassination
caused violent alliances, which pushed all of the involved countries to war.
2. Analyze the factors leading to the Russian Revolution and how it influenced the
outcome of WWI.
2. of the Russian population increased and gained independence from serfdom,
however most were stuck in debt to the government. The wealthy wanted to control the peasant
class, which drove them to relocate to cities in search of work. While in the cities, the proletariat
experienced overcrowded and dismal living conditions, along with low wages and brutal
working conditions. The population grew frustrated when their ruled failed to address Russias
impoverished conditions, and ignored their suggestions for reform. The educated middle class
became politicized and began protesting and forming unions. Russian resources were spent to
help aid the war, which led to an attack on the aristocracy. This affected the outcome of WWI
because the new regime no longer wanted to be involved, and despite efforts made by a mutual
defense system, Russian troops were pulled out of war and agreed to sign a treaty with the
Central Powers. Together, Russia and the Central Powers we able to fight further west, which
was not possible if Russia hadnt signed the treaty.

3. Analyze the factors that influenced the Versailles Treaty and how did it influence
future political, economic and military conflict in Europe?
3. After the war, the allies had to decide how to punish Germany for the damages caused
during WWI. Countries met in Versailles to create a peace treaty, and forced Germany to sign
and accept it. This agreement ordered for the German borders to be redrawn, and reparations
paid for damage to allies that had unintentionally taken the blame for the war starting. The main
causes for the Versailles Treaty were to end the war and for victors to claim damages they were
due. The Versailles Treaty impacted the start of WWII because Germany was blamed for WWI,
and soon enough, Hitler rose to power and stopped all the payments for reparation that were
being paid by Germany.

Journal Entries:

A Letter home, Life in the Trenches

To my family at home,
I am writing to you while resting against a muddy wall in my troops trench in Belgium.
In fact, the climate here is so humid that a few of our soldiers have gotten lost in the mud, and
were never seen again. As of right now, it is 9:00 p.m. and I am using a lantern to see; only a few
soldiers are sleeping. We are only supposed to sleep for an hour at a time, however my muscles
are too sore to stand, and Im afraid I will not be able to stay awake. This morning at 5:00 I was
up for stand-to-arms, which means I had to be on high alert for enemy attack, and back at this
again at 6:00 a.m. and p.m.
This trench is becoming too filthy for my liking. I am starting to catch the scent of dead
bodies, buried only a few meters away from our ditch, and latrines occasionally overflow.
Luckily, we have not experienced a lice problem, although I have received letters from old
friends who have not been as fortunate. If theres one thing I would call an infestation, it would
be rats. There are thousands of them here, and the population is increasing rapidly each day;
some have grown as large as cats. I suppose it is not the worst case, for there is an aggressive one
Ive named Wilhelm, after the current ruler of Germany.
So far, I have kept a positive attitude about this whole thing, after all, what do we have if
not hope? I am considered one of the wealthiest men in this trench; not so much in money, but in
luck. The medics are saying there has been a recent outpouring of shellshock in soldiers of war.
Occasionally, one or two of our men will react to war trauma by falling upset and confused. Ive
discovered you can detect shellshock by looking into the eyes of a disturbed serviceman.

I hope all is well at home and you all are as alive as I am. I have been receiving your
letters and I believe it is your constant remembrance and thought of me that is keeping me sane. I
will return sooner than later will tales of an epic human struggle.
Ik hou van jullie allemaal!
~JH

Jacqueline Hyslop
White Modern Euro B2

Works Cited

Favela, Karina. "How Did the Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War II." Google Docs. N.p.,
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Feb. 2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2017.
Kelly, Martin. "The Top 5 Causes That Led to World War I. Could It Happen
Again?"AboutEducation. N.p., 18 Dec. 2016. Web. 06 Jan. 2017.
"Life on the Front Line." BBC News. BBC, 31 Oct. 2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2017.
"What Cause the Treaty of Versailles?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, 2010. Web. 06 Jan. 2017.
"What Effect Did the Russian Revolution Have on World War I?" Yahoo! Answers. N.p., 2011.
Web.
06 Jan. 2017.
"What Were the Causes of the Russian Revolution?" Reference. EuropeanHistory, n.d. Web. 06
Jan. 2017.