WWI AND GERMANY Schlieffen Plan to Total War

WWI AND GERMANY Schlieffen Plan to Total War

WWI AND GERMANY • Schlieffen Plan Goal was to allow Germany to fight a two front war • Invade France through neutral Belgium • • Turn around and defeat an immobilized Russia after France falls quickly Use of a massive flank to destroy French troops • Concentration of force in eastern portion (around Luxembourg). • Failed use of Entscheidungschlacht • No “decisive battle” as Schlieffen planned • Belgians resisted long enough for France to mobilize •

WWI AND GERMANY • Battle of the Frontiers • Battle of Mulhouse first French offensive of the war: August 7 -10 Attempt to regain lost Alsace from Germany • French forced to retreat 25 miles • • • Belgian military put up good defense from August 7 -18, but govt retreats from Brussels on the 18 th “The Great Retreat” After the various battles within the “Battle of the Frontiers, ” French soldiers are forced to retreat • German soldiers progress towards Paris, get within 35 miles •

WWI AND GERMANY • Battle of the Marne • • • September 5 -12 th 1914 First major battle of the German offensive into France Stopped advancement into France Both sides commit over 1 million soldiers • About 500, 000 casualties total(killed, wounded, or MIA) Allied victory • Advance 40 miles Set stage for trench warfare.

GERMAN WAR PROPAGANDA-1914 1915

WWI AND GERMANY • Battle of Verdun Longest battle of the war • Defended by the French from February to December, 1916 • German military leaders believed France to be the lynchpin for victory • British would be hardest to defeat. • • France needed to be defeated first This battle is solely between French and Germans • German generals wanted to “bleed France to death. ” • Attack a location that France would defend to the end. •

WWI AND GERMANY • Battle of Verdun • Fortress of Verdun • Chosen by Germans to attack • Dangerous to German communication lines. French valued Verdun 10 million artillery shells fired in total • Each side commits 1. 2 million • About 400, 000 -500, 000 casualties each. (300, 000 died) • Surrounding towns were destroyed • Over 150, 000 bodies remain unidentified. • • Germany unsuccessful in capturing Verdun

WWI AND GERMANY • Battle of the Somme • Major battle with British colonies • French and British • British empire: Canada, India, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia German Empire • First battle with tanks • • British invent tanks, but not very useful Took place between July and Nov 1916. • Same time as Verdun • Meant to pull some German forces away from Verdun •

WWI AND GERMANY • Battle of the Somme Germans were dug in and well prepared • British bombard German lines with artillery • British soldiers “over the top. ” • 60, 000 British casualties on the first day (20 k die) • Largely unsuccessful Allied attack • 650, 000 German casualties, 450, 000 British casualties, 120, 000 French. • Futile battle: Allies only push 6 miles into German territory. •

TRENCH WARFARE

WWI AND GERMANY • Total War • Women • Women worked in factories regularly for the first time • Conscription in Germany rise in women in the workforce. • About 1. 6 million women joined German workforce between 1914 -1918 • Willingness to work for lower wages worried men • Same trend in US, France, and Britain • Women pushed for voting rights after war

WWI AND GERMANY • Total War • Preservation of German culture seen as a job for women • Establishment of the Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine (Federation of German Woman’s Associations) Guardians of German culture • Especially in the face of accusations against German soldiers and their treatment of Belgian and French soldiers. • • • Attempts to find a female “space” in a male oriented war Last possible “space” for women was protesting the war.

WWI AND GERMANY • Total War • Children played an important role as well • Boys worked in the factories with women Boys working in factories went up 225% during the war • Boys made most munitions during war • Also lied about their age to volunteer for military • Delivered newspapers • Girls cared for household while father, brother, and mother were away • • Girls also sewed winter clothes for soldiers