War in the TrenchesWorld War I

Presentation created by Robert Martinez

Primary Content Source: Prentice Hall World History

Images as cited.www.allposters.com

As the war began, German forces swept through Belgium toward Paris. German generals soon violated the Schlieffen Plan. Russia mobilized

more quickly than expected. After Russian forces won a few small victories in eastern

Prussia, Germany hastily shifted some troops to the east. That move weakened German forces in

the west.

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In September 1914, when British troops

reached France, they joined the French along

the Marne River. The battle of the Marne pushed back the

German offensive and destroyed Germany’s

hopes for a quick victory on the Western

Front.

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Both sides then dug in for the

winter. They did not know that the

conflict would turn into a long,

deadly stalemate. Battle lines in France would remain almost unchanged for

four years. fineartamerica.com

On the Western Front, the warring armies burrowed into a vast system of trenches, stretching from the Swiss frontier to the

English Channel.

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An underground network linked bunkers, communications trenches, and gun

emplacements. There, millions of soldiers roasted under the broiling summer sun or froze

through the long winters. They shared their

food with rats and their beds with lice.

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Between the opposing trench lines lay “no man’s land.” In this empty tract, pocked with shell

holes, every house and tree had long since been destroyed. Through coils of barbed wire, soldiers

peered over the edges of their trenches, watching for the next attack. They themselves

would have to charge into this man-made desert

when officers gave the order.

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Sooner or later, soldiers would obey the order to go “over the top.” with no

protection but their rifles and helmets, they charged across no man’s land

toward the enemy lines. With luck, they

might overrun a few trenches.

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In time, the enemy would launch a counterattack, with similar results. Each side rushed in reinforcements to replace

the dead and wounded. The struggle continued, back and forth, over a few

hundred yards of territory.

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In 1916, both the Allies and Central Powers launched

massive offensives to break the stalemate. German

forces tried to overwhelm the French at Verdun. The French sent up the battle

cry. “They shall not pass.” The French defenders held

firm, but the 11-month struggle cost more than a half-million casualties on

both sides. pictureshistory.blogspot.com

An Allied offensive at the Somme River was even more costly. In a single day, 60,000

British soldiers were killed or wounded. In the five-month battle, over one million soldiers were killed, without either side winning an

advantage.

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Modern weapons added greatly to the destructiveness of the war. Rapid-fire machine guns mowed down waves of soldiers, making it nearly impossible to advance across no man’s

land. Artillery allowed troops to shell enemy

lines and cities from more than 10 miles away.

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In 1915, Germany began using poison gas that blinded or choked its victims or caused

agonizing burns and blisters. Later that year, the Allies also began to use gas. Though

soldiers were eventually given gas masks, poison gas remained one of the most dreaded

hazards of the war.

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Although poison gas could be fatal, it was an uncertain weapon. Shifting winds might blow the gas back on the side that

launched it.

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In 1916, Britain introduced a new weapon, the armored tank. Mounted with machine guns, the

tanks were designed to move across broken ground and through barbed wire. Still, the first

tanks moved slowly and broke down often. They did little to break the stalemate.

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Both sides also used aircraft. At first, planes simply observed enemy troop movements. In 1915, Germany used

zeppelins, large gas-filled balloons, to bomb the English coast.

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Later, both sides equipped airplanes with machine guns. Pilots known as “flying

aces” battled in the skies. These “dogfights” were spectacular, but had little effect on the course of the war.

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Submarines proved much more important. German submarines roamed the Atlantic.

These U-boats did tremendous damage to the Allied side, sinking merchant ships that carried

vital supplies to Britain.

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To counteract submarine warfare, the Allies organized convoys, or groups of merchant

ships protected by warships. Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare would

eventually help bring the United States into the war.

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In August 1914, Russian armies pushed into eastern Germany. Then, at the battle of

Tannenberg, the Russians suffered one of the worst defeats of the war, causing them to

retreat. After Tannenberg, armies in the east

fought on Russian soil.

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As the least industrialized of the great powers, Russia was poorly equipped to fight a modern war. Troops sometimes lacked even rifles. Still,

Russian commanders continued to throw

masses of peasant soldiers into combat.

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Southeastern Europe was another battleground. In 1915, Bulgaria joined the

Central Powers and helped crush its old Balkan rival Serbia. That same year, Italy declared war

on Austria-Hungary and, later on Germany. Italy had signed a secret treaty with the Allies

to gain Austrian-ruled lands inhabited by Italians.

In October 1917, the Austrians and Germans launched a major offensive against the Italian position at Caporetto. The Italians retreated in

disarray. British and French forces later helped stop the Central Powers’ advance into Italy.

Still, Caporetto proved as disastrous for Italy

as Tannenberg had been for Russia.

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Though most of the fighting took place in Europe. World War I was a global conflict. Japan, allied with Britain, used the war as

an excuse to seize German outposts in China and islands in the Pacific. It also

tried to impose a protectorate on China.

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The Ottoman empire joined the Central

Powers in 1914. The Turks then closed off Allied ships from the

Dardanelles, a vital strait connecting the Black

Sea and the Mediterranean. In 1915,

the Allies sent a massive force of British, Indian,

Australian, and New Zealander troops to

open up the strait. 24.media.tumblr.com

At the battle of Gallipoli, Turkish troops tied down the trapped Allies on the beaches. In

January 1916, after 10 months and more than 200,000 casualties, the Allies finally withdrew

from the Dandanelles.

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In turn, the Turks were hard hit in the Middle East.

The Ottoman empire included vast areas of

Arab land. In 1916, Arab nationalists led by Husayn

ibn Ali declared a revolt against Ottoman rule. The British sent Colonel T.E.

Lawrence – later known as Lawrence of Arabia – to

support the Arab revolt.

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Lawrence led guerrilla raids against the

Turks, dynamiting bridges and supply

trains. Eventually, the Ottoman empire lost a great deal of territory

to the Arabs, including the key city

of Baghdad.

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European colonies were drawn into the struggle. The Allies overran scattered German colonies in

Africa and Asia. They also turned to their own colonies and dominions for troops, laborers, and

supplies. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand sent troops to Britain’s aid. Colonial recruits

from British India and French West Africa fought

on European battlefields.

People in the colonies had mixed feelings about serving. Some were reluctant to serve the imperial powers. Other colonial troops

volunteered eagerly. They expected that their service would be a step toward citizenship or independence. Such hopes would be dashed

after the war.

en.wikipedia.org