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WORLD WAR I : A STALE MATE, TRENCH WARFARE, NEW TECHNOLOGY

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BELL-RINGER

List the 4 Causes of WWI

The Alliance System Breaks Down!

July 28, 1914 – Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

Russia Austria-Hungary

Germany Russia France Germany What would Great

Britain do?

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BEGINNING OF THE WAR

Many Europeans were excited about war› “Defend yourself

against the aggressors”› Domestic differences

were put aside and nations pulled together to fight the Great War

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS! The belief was that

modern, industrial war could not be conducted for more than a few months without a winner

“Home by Christmas” was the thinking on both sides

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RECRUITMENT POSTERS

It is the manipulation of public opinion. It is generally carried out through media that is capable of reaching a large amount of people and effectively persuading them for or against a cause.

Propaganda

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RECRUITMENT POSTERS

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RECRUITMENT POSTERS

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THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN “Breakfast in Paris and

dinner in St. Petersburg

After defeating France, get Russia

A two-front war would not be in Germany’s best interests

This plan was supposed to prevent it

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THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN: WHY DID IT FAIL? Germany made an encircling

movement through Belgium to surround Paris

They by-passed French forts built after 1871

Britain joined Allies when Belgium was invaded› Belgium fought back and

delayed the Germans› Britain quickly sent troops to

France› The French rushed their

army to front lines

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PARIS IS SAVED AND STALEMATE RESULTS

First Battle of the Marne (Sept. 5-10, 1914; Germany was driven back from Paris

Russian forces had indeed invaded Germany

Both sides dug trenches along the Western Front

Germany now had to fight on two fronts

A 4-year stalemate resulted

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THE TRENCHES

By 1915 both sides had built trenches from the English Channel to Switzerland

The Western Front spanned 415 miles!

6,250 miles of trenches total!

6 to 8 feet deep Millions died and little land

was won It was really insane!

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LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

Elaborate systems of defense› barbed wire› Concrete machine

gun nests› Mortar batteries› Troops lived in holes

underground “No Man’s Land”

› Land between trenches where soldiers were often mowed down.

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LIFE IN THE TRENCHES Boredom

› Soldiers would read, write letters, gamble, play games to help pass the time.

› Rats (corpse rats) also kept them busy as did fighting to be rid of lice.

› Many soldiers went crazy from “shell shock” due to constant artillery bombardments

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“DEATH IS EVERYWHERE”

“We all had on us the stench of dead bodies.” Death numbed the soldier’s minds.

Shell shock Psychological

devastation

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Medical services were primitive and life-saving antibiotics had not yet been discovered. Relatively minor injuries could prove fatal through onset of infection and gangrene. The Germans recorded that 12% of leg wounds and 23% of arm wounds resulted in death, mainly through infection.

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LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

Trench warfare baffled military leaders› Attempt a

breakthrough = Over the top!

› Then return to a war of movement

› Millions of young men sacrificed attempting the breakthrough

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Rat Tales “The rats were huge. They were so big they would eat a wounded

man if he couldn't defend himself.“ “ If you left your food the rats would soon grab it. Those rats were

fearless. Sometimes we would shoot the filthy swines. But you would be put on a charge for wasting ammo, if the sergeant caught you.”

“I can't sleep in my dugout, as it is over-run with rats. Pullman slept here one morning and woke up to find one sitting on his face. I can't face that, so I share Newbery's dug-out.”

“Rats. There are millions!! Some are huge fellows, nearly as big as cats. Several of our men were awakened to find a rat snuggling down under the blanket alongside them!”

“Rats came up from the canal, fed on the plentiful corpses, and multiplied exceedingly. While I stayed here with the Welch. a new officer joined the company and, in token of welcome, was given a dug-out containing a spring-bed. When he turned in that night he heard a scuffling, shone his torch on the bed, and found two rats on his blanket tussling for the possession of a severed hand.”

German soldiers after rat hunting in their trenches

Bell Ringer: World War I Begins

Write a short diary entry (5-7 sentences) describing your life in a World War I combat trench.

Beginning Review: WW I Alliances and the Schlieffen Plan

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LIFE IN THE TRENCHES VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiyWP7EM0tg

The Eastern Front German-Russian Border –

Ger. & A-H vs. Russia & Serbia

The Frozen Front – lack of food and clothing; 100’s froze to death daily

Russia not industrialized was always short on food, clothing, weapons, and ammo

Russia’s asset was its numbers

Germany blockaded the Baltic Sea and the Ottoman Empire controlled the Black Sea

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Chemical Weapons

WWI was the first major war to use chemical weapons

Mustard Gas and Chlorine Gas

The two most popular weapons: They caused suffocation, blindness, skin disorders, and usually death!

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“DEATH IS EVERYWHERE” Mustard gas

› Carried by the wind› Burned out soldier’s lungs› Deadly in the trenches

where it would sit at the bottom

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SUBMARINES

U-boats submarines used by Germans in WWI and WWII› developed by Germans

Unrestricted submarine warfare› any ship traveling in water around Great

Britain was subject to attack

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SUBMARINES easy to attack

without being seen

attack merchant ships› cut off (British)

supply lines

Great Britain developed convoys› helped against

threat of attack Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats

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AIRCRAFTUses of aircraft: observe enemy positions armed with machine guns

& bombs attacked battlefields &

cities attacked enemy planes

(“dogfights”) useful from beginning of

warManfred von Richthofen –

Germany’s Red Baron had 80

killsAce = a person who shoots down 5 or more enemy planes

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AIRCRAFT Most countries had few

planes at start of war 18’ – 23’ long X 28’ – 30’

wide 120 MPH; 23,000’ altitude; 2

HR flight times Planes had to be easy to fly

› first, designed for stability› later, designed for

maneuverability Generals began including

planes in planning France had had 140 planes

at the start of war ended with 4,500. 10,000 existed among all combatants at end of war

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• The Germans also used Zeppelins and by 1918 had over 100 of these airships capable of bombing missions on London and Paris.

• 60 – 70 MPH tops• Could fly at high altitude but it took longer to

climb• 28-man crew • 4 machine gun pods for defense

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TANKS aka: Landships 1st armored vehicles First tank; “Little

Willie” built by Britain, but soon all nations built their own› 14 tons (weight) with

12-foot long track frames

› space for three men (cramped)

› maximum speed of 2 mph (on rough terrain)

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TANKS These early tanks

were very slow and not really effective

Invented in Great Britain, but all powers eventually built them

It was thought they would break the stalemate on Western Front

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdgnZyRX5F0

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British Mark I Battle Tank

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MACHINE GUNS rapid-fire machine guns were used

early were big & heavy needed a crew of four to six people to

operate lacked cooling

mechanisms shot 400-600 small

caliber rounds perminute

Germany’s “Big Bertha” -43 ton howitzer could fire a 2,200 lb shell over 9 miles! It took its 200-man crew, over six hours to re-assemble it on the site.

Improved and Deadlier Artillery

Flamethrowers

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NEW WARFARE VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/user/mrallsop#p/c/9DBE5F08B042293F/20/VDkhMn911ek