The Great War The War to End All Wars

The Terrible BeautyWWI

• 1914-1918• Machine guns made advancing on the enemy terrifying and impossible • All nations “dug in” on the areas known as the Front (especially the Western

Front and to a lesser extent the Eastern Front)

Birth of Cynicism and Irony

• Atrocities of the war and the experience of the soldiers gave rise to the concept of cynicism and irony

• Stories and poems took on very dark and troubling themes• Soldiers suffered shell shock and depression• Art changed radically – no longer was war always presented as “noble”,

“glorious” and “necessary”• Amputations were common, leaving young boys who went to war to

“become a man” broken and suicidal

• Gas Attacks – first initiated by German forces but quickly copied by all major forces during The Great War

• Artist Otto Dix creates lasting images of the terrible conditions soldiers faced

• WWI sometimes referred to as “the writers war” as journals and letters and artwork from the soldiers became widely viewed

Nationalism, Empires and Alliances

Triple Entente (Allies) France, Britain, RussiaVS

The Triple Alliance (Central Powers) Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottomans

• Serbia’s alliance with Russia would bring all of these nations into the war• Italy originally allied with the Central Powers, but convinced to join the Allies with the

promise of land from Austria (Trent)

• Trench warfare on the Western Front• Conditions of trenches were brutal• Massive system of trenches and underground bunkers• Often filled with water• Living conditions appalling for soldiers – rats, lice and fleas everywhere• “Games” played by soldiers – killing rats and lice• Soldiers sick constantly with a variety of flus and ailments• Attacking out of the trenches known as going “over the top”

• Perhaps the greatest fear of the soldier – artillery• Shellings would go on for days at a time• Imagine suffering through 48 hours straight of bombs falling all around you• Millions of shells would fall over a period of 2-3 days

• Planes developed in WWI• Mass produced for the first time• Dogfights overhead• Planes shown above are known as biplanes• Single machine gun mounted on the front• Literally dropped bombs over the edge of the plane• DID NOT have a huge impact on outcome of war as the design and fighting

range for planes was very limited• Primarily used for reconnaissance

• This new type of warfare fascinated and horrified the people of Europe

• WWI became known as the “Terrible Beauty”

• Radio hosts in England would broadcast the fights overhead and provided enthusiastic commentary

• The first tanks – called “Landships” – are invented by the British, but are little more than deathtraps for soldiers

• All nations desperately tried to figure out how to overcome the trenches of the enemy

• This was a time when tanks were invented and built for war, but farmers still built windmills out of stone and wood to use for grinding grain

• WWI gave the incentive to develop countless technologies – most were used for war, killing and death.

• Britain has largest navy in the world• Germany has largest standing army• Navies used mostly to blockade nations (block all ships from moving

through areas) especially to Germany in the North Sea• Germany quickly adapts to the use of U-Boats (submarines) and adopts a

policy of unrestricted submarine warfare• Sinking of the American ship Lusitania pushes America towards war• **Germany also is caught trying to convince Mexico to go to war with the

USA – this is too much to stand so America joins the Allies

Gavrilo PrincipArchduke Franz Ferdinand

• The rough looking fellow (right) assassinated the dapper fellow to the left• Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria-Hungary• Gavrilo Princip was a Serbian terrorist• Ferdinand was assassinated in Bosnia• This event was the trigger event for WWI – Austria-Hungary invades Serbia,

triggering the complex network of alliances in Europe

Changing Roles of Women

• Working during WWI changes women’s roles• Volunteering for the war effort as nurses• Men returning home emotionally defeated/depressed changes

perception of women - women finally recognized by men as strong (as they obviously had been forever)