WWI The Great War 1914 1918 What do

WWI: The Great War 1914 -1918

What do you notice? ?

The Two Sides § Central Powers (was _______) § Germany, Austria-Hungary and TURKEY Italy declared neutrality in 1914 WHEN WAR BROKE OUT (were part of Triple Alliance) § Allied Powers (was _______) § England, France, Russia, § Italian became PART OF ALLIED in 1915

What about the USA? § US Joins 1917 to, “…Make the world safe for democracy. ” § Never became part of an alliance, but fought alongside the Allied Powers

How does this map differ from the previous maps? ? ?

How WWI became a WORLD war? § Spread through Europe because of alliances § Dragged into it even if do not want to be § Spread out of Europe because of Colonialism/ Imperialism

The War Plans • Both sides thought it would be quick & easy • Germans, French, Russians, A-H all had offensive strategies (prior to WWI) • What is this an example of? ? • 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!!! • What is Germany’s objective with this strategy? • Anticipated a great naval battle

Schlieffen Plan in Action • Aug 3, 1914 - Germany Invades Belgium to get to Paris • Belgium is neutral! (impact of this) • French launch attack in northeast (Alsace Lorraine) • French lose 27, 000 in one day • How was that possible? ? ? • German plan started to fall apart! • Tired & far from Germany • 25 miles short of Paris • Could not destroy French or British resistance along Marne River • Germans forced into a two front war

Things Get Bogged Down: Trench Warfare § September, 1914: German’s first to employ trenches § Allies followed suit § Trenches –intricate holes in the ground for protection

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) § About 1 mile between enemy trenches – known as “No Man’s Land”

Fighting In Trenches § Night time = most danger § Reconnaissance Patrols (eavesdrop & steal plans) § No Man’s Land – plant mines § Most deadly area § Very small advancements § http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=N 84 Iq 1 Pn. EPQ § § 2 min. trenches War Horse http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Wo-3 x 2 khw. Z 0 § 2 min no man’s land War Horse

What does this tell us? § I've a Little Wet Home in a Trench I've a little wet home in a trench Where the rainstorms continually drench, There's a dead cow close by With her feet in towards the sky And 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

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: Verdun § Germans wanted to - “Bleed France white” § § § Verdun had psychological significance in France Germans attacked (flame throwers), 10, 000 prisoners June - 2. 5 miles away & Germany faltered Attention turns to Somme… Dec 1916: over 300, 000 deaths & 750, 00 wounded § Longest single battle WWI

July –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…

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 machinegun 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-thesomme

Why are these battles so deadly? ?

Machine Guns, Bolt Action Rifle, Artillery Zeppelin, Tank, Planes Read about each of these weapons & then make two lists 1. 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 mustardcolored 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 Russia Fatal Non-fatal 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, 627 Estimated 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=7 f. CIs. QT_j. Cg § 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_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 firingsquad 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