Chapter 27 – World War I and Its Aftermath

Section 3 – A New Kind of Conflict

The AlliesThe Central Powers

Kaiser Wilhelm II Enver Pasha Franz Joseph

Setting the Scene The “Great War” as newspapers soon called it,

was the largest conflict in history up to that time. The French mobilized almost 8.5 million men, the British 9 million, the Russians 12 million, and the

Germans 11 million. But for those who fought, the statistics were more personal. "One out of every four men who went out to the World War did not come back again," recalled a survivor,

"and of those who came back, many are maimed and blind and some are mad."

The early enthusiasm for the war soon faded. There were no stirring cavalry charges, no quick

and glorious victories. This was a new kind of war, far deadlier than any ever fought before.

I. The Western FrontThe Germans followed the Schlieffen Plan and swept through Belgium toward Paris

I. The Western FrontRussia mobilized quicker than expected and Germany had to shift troops to the Eastern Front

The Tsar, Head of the Russian Army

I. The Western Front

September 1914 - British and French troops halted the German offensive in the battle of the Marne

I. The Western FrontBoth sides dug in for the winter, creating a system of trenches from Switzerland to the English Channel

I. The Western FrontBattle lines in France remained almost unchanged for four years during the “trench warfare”

I. The Western FrontBetween the opposing trench lines lay "no man's land”

I. The Western Front

Soldiers would go "over the top" and charge across no man's land toward the enemy lines

I. The Western FrontThe enemy would counterattack and the fighting went back and forth, gaining little territory

I. The Western FrontIn 1916, German forces attacked the French at Verdun – there were more than a half-million casualties

Massacre at Verdun

I. The Western Front

In 1916, the Allies launched an offensive at the Somme River - in the 5 month battle, over 1 million soldiers were killed

II. Technology of Modern WarfareModern weapons - machine guns, larger artillery, and poison gas - added to the destructiveness of the war

II. Technology of Modern Warfare

In 1916, Britain introduced the armored tank, but it did little to break the stalemate

II. Technology of Modern Warfare

Both sides used airplanes and Germany used zeppelins to bomb the English coast

II. Technology of Modern WarfareGerman U-boats sank Allied merchant ships carrying supplies to Britain

III. A Global ConflictIn August 1914, the Russians opened the Eastern Front but were defeated at the Battle of Tannenburg

Russian Troops Fleeing after the Battle of Tannenberg

III. A Global Conflict

In 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and Germany

WWI Italian postcard represents Serbia fighting with Austria and Germany, while Bulgaria tries to kill Serbia with a knife and Greece watches from the sideline.

III. A Global ConflictJapan allied with Britain and seized German outposts in China and islands in the Pacific

III. A Global Conflict

The Turks closed off the Dardanelles and in 1915, the Allies attacked and lost at Gallipoli

III. A Global ConflictIn 1916, Arabs led by Husayn ibn Ali revolted against the Ottoman Empire

Sharif Hussein bin Ali, King of the Arabs and

King of the Hijaz

The Great Arab Revolt, Wadi Rum, 1917

III. A Global Conflict

The British sent Colonel T. E. Lawrence - aka Lawrence of Arabia - to support the Arab revolt

III. A Global ConflictEuropean colonies provided troops, laborers, and supplies

A day for the African army and the Colonial troops.

French soldiers with black soldiers from Africa and the

colonies