BELLRINGER List the 4 Causes of WWI 1

BELL-RINGER � List the 4 Causes of WWI 1

WORLD WAR I : A STALE MATE, TRENCH WARFARE, NEW TECHNOLOGY 2

BEGINNING OF THE WAR Many Europeans were excited about war › “Defend yourself against the aggressors” › Domestic differences were put aside 3

BEGINNING War would be over in a few weeks › Ignored the length and brutality of the American Civil War (prototype to World War I) 4

BEGINNING Belief that Modern industrial war could not be conducted for more than a few months “Home by Christmas” 5

BEGINNING “Fatal attraction of war” › Exhilarating release from every day life › A glorious adventure › War would rid the nations of selfishness › Spark a national rebirth based on heroism 6

RECRUITMENT POSTERS Propaganda simply put, 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. 7

RECRUITMENT POSTERS 8

RECRUITMENT POSTERS 9

THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN Invade western front 1 st After defeating France concentrate on the Eastern front Avoid fighting a 2 front war 10

THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN’S DESTRUCTIVE NATURE Germany made vast encircling movement through Belgium to enter Paris Underestimated speed of the British mobilization › Quickly sent troops to France 11

THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN’S DESTRUCTIVE NATURE Sept 6 -10, 1914 › Battle of Marne › Stopped the Germans but French troops were exhausted › Both sides dug trenches for shelter STALEMATE 12

THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN’S DESTRUCTIVE NATURE 13

THE TRENCHES Trenches dug from English Channel to Switzerland 6, 250 miles 6 to 8 feet deep Immobilized both sides for 4 years 14

THE TRENCHES 15

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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. 17

LIFE IN THE TRENCHES Boredom › Soldiers would read to help pass the time. 18

“DEATH IS EVERYWHERE” “We all had on us the stench of dead bodies. ” Death numbed the soldier’s minds. Shell shock Psychological devastation 19

Medical services were primitive and lifesaving 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. 20

LIFE IN THE TRENCHES Trench warfare baffled military leaders › Attempt a breakthrough › Then return to a war of movement › Millions of young men sacrificed attempting the breakthrough 21

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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

LIFE IN THE TRENCHES VIDEO http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Xiy WP 7 EM 0 tg 26

Technology: Chemical Weapons WWI was the first major war to use chemical weapons Mustard Gas Chlorine Gas The two most popular weapons: They caused suffocation, blindness, and death 27

Soldiers would protect themselves using Gas Masks “The special shells the men call “shells on wheels” (shells filled with poison gas) are whizzing by continuously. They explode silently and have no smell but can be deadly. They killed several men yesterday. One of my men refused to put his mask on because he couldn’t smell anything. All of a sudden, he was dizzy, foaming at the mouth and his skin went black, then he went rigid and died” -Paul Truffaut March 5, 28

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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 31

SUBMARINES U-boat: submarines used by Germans in WWI and WWII › developed by Germans unrestricted submarine warfare › any ship traveling in water around Great Britain 32 was subject to attack

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 33

AIRCRAFT Uses of aircraft: observe enemy positions armed with machine guns & bombs attacked battlefields & cities attacked enemy planes (“dogfights”) useful from beginning of war Red Baron German “ace” (a person who shoots down 5 or more enemy planes) 34

AIRCRAFT most countries had few planes at start of war production of planes increased rapidly planes had to be easy to fly › first, designed for stability › later, designed for maneuverability generals began including planes in planning France had 140 planes at the start of war ended with 4, 500 35

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The Germans also used Zeppelins and by 1918 had over 100 of these airships capable of bombing missions

TANKS aka: landships armored vehicles could cross rough battlefield terrain › such as no man’s land first tank, “Little Willie” › 14 tons (weight) with 12 -foot long track frames › space for three men (cramped) › maximum speed of 2 mph (on rough terrain) 39

TANKS first developed in Great Britain › France & the US soon became interested not very reliable or useful at first used later in the war http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Wdgn. Zy RX 5 F 0 › November 1917, Battle of Cambrai 40

Technology: Tanks 41

Technology: Tanks 42

GUNS rapid-fire machine guns were used early machine guns: were big & heavy needed a crew of four to six people to operate lacked cooling mechanisms shot 400 -600 small caliber rounds per minute 43

GUNS later machine guns were lighter & more portable lighter weight, but still too heavy 1918 guns for infantrymen now existed › lighter weight › lacked enough ammuntion by end of war, guns had been added to tanks, warships, & aircraft 44

Krupp’s “Big Bertha” Gun 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.

NEW WARFARE VIDEO http: //www. youtube. com/user/mrallsop #p/c/9 DBE 5 F 08 B 0 42293 F/20/VDkh. M n 911 ek 46

� Definition: › A situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible; "reached an impasse on the negotiations" › A situation in which further action is blocked; a deadlock. � New technologies allowed for both sides to have good defense but had not evolved their battle tactics to work with the new weapons. � The barbed wire in no mans land didn't help either. It made it impossible (along with the machine guns) to mount an attack on the other side's trenches to overpower them. � The war made it to where both sides had casualities and deaths everyday, but neither side were gaining any land, so there wasn't anybody really winning.