WWI: The Great War1914-1918

The Two SidesThe Two Sides Allied Powers (was _____________)

England, France, Russia,

Italian becomes PART OF ALLIED in 1915

Central Powers (was _____________)

Germany, Austria-Hungary and TURKEY

Italy declares neutrality in 1914 WHEN WAR BREAKS OUT

How WWI become a WORLD war?How WWI become a WORLD war? Alliances

Dragged into it even if do not want to be

Colonialism/Imperialism Mother country at war,

so are you!

What about the USA?

US Joins 1917 to, “…Make the world safe for democracy.”

http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/maps/

Interactive war map

The War Begins • Both sides thought it would be quick &

easy• Germans, French, Russians, A-H all had offensive

strategies

• German Schlieffen Plan, “Paris for lunch, St. Petersburg for dinner”.

• Belgium to Paris in 42 days, force French surrender. Then move East and defeat the Russians before they were fully prepared to fight.

• Offensive Strategy – go in and get them!!!

• Great naval battle

Schlieffen Plan in Action Schlieffen Plan in Action • Aug 3, 1914 - Germany Invades

Belgium to get to Paris• Belgium is neutral!

• French launch attack in north east (Alsace Lorraine)• French lose 27,000 in one day• How is this possible???

• German plan starts to fall apart!• Tired & far from Germany

• 25 miles short of Paris• Cannot destroy French or

British resistance along Marne River

• Germans forced into a two front war

Things Get Bogged Down: Trench Warfare Trenches – dug intricate holes in the

ground for protection (what type of war now?)

September,1914: German’s first to employ trenches Allies followed suit

Germans had higher elevation, Allies dug through water-logged areas

Trenches Many lines - connected in zig zag shape

Front about 7 feet deep, 6 feet wide

Barbed wire, sandbags & machine gun posts in front

support trenches in the back

Rotation system for the front versus back lines of the trench (3 weeks)

Fighting in the Trenches http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N84Iq1PnEPQ

2 min. trenches War Horse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-3x2khwZ0 2 min no man’s land War Horse

Fighting In Trenches 50 yards – 1 mile between trenches

Area btwn trenches known as “No Man’s Land “

Plant mines

Night time = danger

Reconnaissance Patrols (eavesdrop & steal plans)

Raiding Parties to capture men & interrogate

The return had to worry about friendly fire

Very small advancements

What does this tell us?

I've a Little Wet Home in a Trench I've a little wet home in a trenchWhere the rainstorms continually drench,There's a dead cow close byWith her feet in towards the skyAnd she gives off a terrible stench. Underneath, in the place of a floor,There's a mass of wet mud and some straw,But with shells dropping there,There's no place to compare,With my little wet home in the trench.

Living in the Water

Trench Foot

The British Army treated 20,000 soldiers for trench foot during the winter of 1914-15.

Bad water Lice Rats

Back to the Fighting…..

February-Dec 1916: VerdunFebruary-Dec 1916: Verdun Germans wanted to - “Bleed France white”

Verdun had psychological significance in France

Germans attacked (flame throwers) June - 2.5 miles away & Germany

faltered Attention turns to Somme… Dec 1916: over 300,000 deaths &

750,00 wounded A War of Attrition*****

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/western_front/index_embed.shtml

July –Nov 1916: SommeJuly –Nov 1916: Somme French & British attack Germans to relieve French at Verdun

8 day bombardment – 1.6 million shells fired Try to walk across No Man’s Land (750,000 Brits)

German’s had taken cover, many duds

58,000 casualties first day (20,000 dead)

German transfer men from Verdun Brits and French take 12 km Casualties : 420,000 British;

200,000 French; 500,000 German Use of Tanks… http://www.history.com/videos/1916-battle-of-the-somme#1916-battle-of-the-somme

An example of modern war: Somme “It was too late to change course. At precisely 7:30 in the morning on July 1, whistles

blew along the British front lines, which stretched more than 12 miles. In unison, infantry soldiers loaded with more than 70 pounds of clothing and equipment clambered out of their trenches and set out at a walk across no-man's-land in neat, orderly lines. They were tangled in barbed wire or cut down by withering machine-gun fire before they could come close to the German trenches. The toll was devastating: 19,240 men died in a single day. The British officer corps, expected to lead their men "over the top," suffered especially high losses…

…The Battle of the Somme dragged on inconclusively for another five months. By the time winter set in, the British had gained two miles of ground - and lost 420,000 young men. Almost nothing was accomplished, and a total of about 1.5 million French, British and German soldiers were killed or wounded. The Somme defined the futility of trench warfare. It was the bloodiest single battle in history.”

http://www.history.com/videos/1916-battle-of-the-somme#1916-battle-of-the-somme

Why are these battles so deadly??

Machine Guns, Bolt Action Rifle, Artillery Zeppelin, Tank, Planes

Read about each of these weapons & then make two lists1. List the three weapons that you think made WWI the most “deadly”

2. List the three weapons that you think made this a “modern” war.

“The Chemists’ War” Tear Gas – French 1914 Chlorine Gas – Germans 1915

Yellow green cloud Slow death, asphyxiation Cover mouth with wet cloth (urine) Blow back on you Gas masks

White Star” Chlorine and Phosgene French) – 24 hours Mustard gas, German, 1917

Internal and external bleeding

"I wish those people who talk about going on with this war whatever it costs could see the soldiers suffering from mustard gas poisoning. Great mustard-colored blisters, blind eyes, all sticky and stuck together, always fighting for breath, with voices a mere whisper, saying that their throats are closing and they know they will choke."[

Nation Fatal Non-fatal

Russia 56,000 419,340

Germany 9,000 200,000

France 8,000 190,000

British Empire (includes Canada) 8,109 188,706

A-Hungary 3,000 100,000

USA 1,462 72,807

Italy 4,627Estimated gas casualties[35]

60,000

Total 88,498 1,240,853

]

The War in the East: Lots of Russian Casualties, Not too Much Success for Germany

The War on the Seas

The German’s were losing on land

No great naval battles Naval blockades – both sides – England advantage German U-boats (submarines) Feb 1915 – Germans used

Impact on “neutral” countries Could u-boats destroy Britain before American intervenes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCIsQT_jCg

1916 – Uboats destroyed 1/3 of a million tons per month then 1917 up to 400,000 plus, 500,000 plus, April 800,000 tons

By April 1917 – 6 weeks of food for British people

German’s lost bet - 6 April 1917 Americans arrive – anti sub devises – hydrophones, aircraft – sailed merchant ships with convoys

http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/maps/maps_gallipoli.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/western_front/index_embed.shtml

Interactive map of battles

How might this impact the USA?

http://www.realmilitaryflix.com/public/414.cfm

Each battalion had its own supply of rum that it distributed to its soldiers. Each division of 20,000 men received 300 gallons. Every soldier carried iron rations -- emergency food that consisted of a can of bully bee,

biscuits and a tin of tea and sugar. A single pair of rats could produced up to 880 offspring in a year A total of 3,894 men in the British Army were convicted of self-inflicted wounds. A firing-

squad offense -- none were executed, but all served prison terms. The British Army treated 20,000 soldiers for trench foot during the winter of 1914-15. One-third of all casualties on the Western Front may have been killed or wounded in a

trench. A lit candle was fairly effective in removing lice, but the skill of burning the lice without

setting yourself on fire was difficult to learn. Soldiers in the trenches often depended on impure water collected from shell-holes or

other cavities, causing dysentery.

"I had a peculiar passion for the navy. It sprang to no small extent from my English blood. When I was a little boy... I admired the proud British ships. There awoke in me the will to build ships of my own like these some day, and when I was grown up to possess a fine navy as the English."-- Kaiser Wilhelm II, autobiography My Early Life