World War I and the Russian Revolution 1914

World War I and the Russian Revolution (1914– 1924) II. Fighting the Great War

World War I and the Russian Revolution (1914– 1924) II. Fighting the Great War Learning Objectives • • Understand how trench warfare led to a stalemate on the Western Front. Identify and describe the impact of modern military technology on the fighting. Outline the course of the war on multiple European fronts. Explain how World War I was a global conflict.

World War I and the Russian Revolution (1914– 1924) II. Fighting the Great War A. A New Kind of War 1. 2. 3. 4. Germany’s battle plan, the Schlieffen plan, says to hold off Russia and knock out France. Germany gets to within 40 miles of Paris, but is stopped at the First Battle of the Marne. Both sides dig trenches and settle in for a long, bloody war of attrition. Trenches stretch from the English Channel all the way down to Switzerland. The Western Front is a stalemate. During the Battle of Verdun, over 700, 000 men died over 10 months. The Battle of the Somme was the bloodiest battle, with over a million dead in 4 months.

B. Modern Military Technology 1. Machine guns and artillery shells were very deadly. Shrapnel wounded thousands of soldiers, sometimes shells were launched from over 10 miles away. 2. Poison gas was a very scary weapon because that if the winds changed, you were gassing your own troops. Gas masks were clunky and ineffective. 3. Zeppelins were used to bomb cities because of the new total war strategy. Airplanes were used, mainly for spying but did have dogfights with each other. 4. Germany used U-boats (submarines) to combat the superior British Navy.

C. Other Fronts & Global Conflict 1. Germany easily defeats Russia at the battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes. 2. Italy joined the Allies in 1915 and began attacking Austria. Not much happened on this front because it was in the Alps. 3. The Battle of Gallipoli saw a Central Powers victory with the Allies failing to open up a Mideast Front. The allies were trying to capture the Dardanelles. 4. Colonies were fighting each other all over the world and genocide was committed in Turkey against the Armenians.

A New Kind of War Analyze Maps Who do you think was in a better strategic position at the start of the war, the Allies or the Central Powers? Why?

A New Kind of War This German soldier was one of the many casualties of the fighting during World War I. Massive offenses and new military technology combined to produce extremely high casualty rates.

Modern Military Technology Poison gas and machine guns are two examples of the military technology that killed and wounded so many. These British machine gunners wear gas masks during the Battle of the Somme, in July 1916.

Other European Fronts Austrian soldiers advance into Russian Poland during the winter of 1915.

A Global Conflict Analyze Maps How did the Arab revolt against the Ottoman empire affect the Allied cause?

A Global Conflict These Armenian refugee children were forced from their homes by the Ottoman government’s deportation campaign. They are waiting to receive their daily ration of food, provided by American relief workers.