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World War One

The Great War

1914 - 1918

Bell Work

Take a map and follow the directions to

complete it. We will have a map quiz on

Friday.

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Objectives

Describe the course and character of the

war

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The Beginning On 28th June 1914

Archduke Franz

Ferdinand was

assassinated in

Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Franz Ferdinand was

heir to the Austrian

throne.

He was killed by a

Slav nationalist and

student called

Gavrillo Princip.

Domino Effect

Austria blamed Serbia for Ferdinand’s death and declared war on Serbia.

Germany pledged their support for Austria -Hungary.

Russia pledged their support for Serbia.

Domino Effect

Germany declares war on Russia.

France pledges their support for Russia.

Germany declares war on France.

Germany invades Belgium on the way to France.

Great Britain supports Belgium and declares war on Germany.

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Schlieffen Plan

This German plan assumed it would face two enemies when war broke out.

Russia in the east.

France in the west.

The plan was to quickly defeat France before Russia could mobilise its army. With France defeated it could concentrate on fighting Russia.

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Things went badly for Germany

This plan failed for a number of reasons.

Russia moved their troops more quickly than

expected.

Belgium refused to allow Germany access

and put up fierce resistance to German

invasion.

The invasion of neutral Belgium enraged

Britain who joined the war.

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The Stalemate

Both sides raced to secure the ports on the British Channel.

When winter started, they literally dug in and created trenches stretching from Switzerland to the English Channel.

This was the Western Front and its position changed very little for the duration of the war.

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The Western Front

What new weapons were used in WWI?

Why these weapons? Why now? INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION!!

Deadly Technology of World War I

Machine guns Improved machine guns could fire 600

bullets a minute

Artillery field guns These long-range cannons caused more

casualties than any other type of weapon.

Poison gas Chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas

could kill, blind, or burn their victims.

Submarines German U-boats used torpedoes as well

as on-deck guns to sink ships

Tanks and armored cars Both sides tried to develop vehicles that

could go over the rough ground and

barbed-wire barricades of no man’s land.

Airplanes Used for reconnaissance, bombing, and

fighting

Trench Warfare

• Machine gun and artillery make it difficult to attack a trench

• Huge artillery preps make “No Man’s Land” virtually impassable

• Huge casualties for attackers

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Trench warfare

Barbed wire: to make running at the trench difficult.

Sandbagged parapet: to stop the trench collapsing. Fire step: to shoot from.

Duck Boards: stopped the bottom of the trench getting very muddy and

slippery.

Parados: to stop ‘shrapnel’ getting into the trench.

Trench Warfare

Trench warfare allowed

little advance from

either side creating a

stalemate.

By 1916 the Germans lost

850,000 men, the French

700,000 and the British

410,000 with neither side

advancing.

Horrors of the Trench

What conditions and hardships do you think

the soldiers had to endure?

Trenches were filled with dead bodies, rodents,

lice, water, poison gas, and boredom which

resulted in trench fever and trench foot.

Trench Foot!

Trench Warfare

“No Man’s Land”

RUTHLESS TACTICS

Chemical warfare

made trench warfare

more horrible

Mustard/Blister agents

deployed

First used on French in

1915

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Activity

Working with your table partner, list –

1. Three advantages to using trenches like

this.

2. Three disadvantages to using trenches like

this.

Homework

Write a letter home to your family as if you

are an Allied soldier. Include information

about your life in the trenches.

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Bell Work

Re-write History:

Pretend that the Archduke Ferdinand was

never assassinated. Would a world war

eventually have broken out anyway? If so,

decide what else could have been a spark.

(Be creative, but try to stick to what was

taking place in Europe at the time.) If not,

explain why.

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Objectives

Explain why the United States entered the

war on the side of the Allies.

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The United States enters the war

When the war started the USA declared it was neutral. Unless the war affected us directly, we did not want a part in it.

Divided loyalties dependent on where you were from.

Three ways of thinking: Isolationist: war is not our business and we should isolate

ourselves from the hostilities

Interventionist: war affects our interest and we should intervene on the side of the allies

Internationalists: we should be active in world affairs and work towards peace, but not enter the war

Germany sank the Lusitania in May 1915 and Americans were among the 1,200 passengers killed.

Germany avoided war at the time by promising not to sink any more passenger ships. Germany changed their U-Boat tactics.

Came to the surface and warned ships before sinking them.

Changed back to surprise attacks in January 1917.

Germany sent a telegram to Mexico encouraging them to try an invasion of the USA. (Zimmermann telegram) If U.S. declared war on Germany, Mexico should declare war on

U.S. Mexico would get Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona back when Germany won the war. Mexico was not interested.

America finally declared war on Germany in April 1917.

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Mobilizing for War

When the U.S. entered WWI, the army

was only a fraction of the size of European

armies…

Selective Service Act- passed in May 1917,

authorized a draft of young men for military

service in Europe from ages 21 to 31

24 million registered… 2 million drafted, another

2.8 million volunteered

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Mobilizing for War

Shift from a peacetime economy to a

wartime economy

War Industries Board (WIB)- regulated all

industries engaged in the war effort…

determined what products industries

made, where those products went, and

how much they would cost.

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Shaping Public Opinion

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

educated the public about the causes and

nature of the war…

Meant to convince the American people that

the war was a just cause.

CPI used lectures, posters, and speeches

to gain support for the war effort.

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Propaganda Posters

In an age before widespread radio,

television or internet Governments used

posters to spread important messages to

the public.

These are an excellent resource to

understand attitudes and needs at the

time.

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Propaganda Posters

Main types

Recruitment

War funding

Anti the other side.

Practical advice

Moral boosting

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England:

Recruitment

and

Conscription

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England:

War Funding

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England:

Anti-German

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England:

Practical

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German: War

Funding

That's how

your money

helps you to

fight!

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Germany: Anti-

British

This is who is

guilty

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Germany: Morale Boosting

England needs.

Poster explaining how

England cannot use

the artillery is it making.

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Australia:

Recruitment

and

Conscription

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Australia: War Funding

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Australia: Anti-German

http://cas.awm.gov.au/art/ARTV03277

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The End of the War

8 August 1918: In a series of military

advances the Germans were driven back

to the Hindenberg Line.

The German Reichstag sought peace.

An armistice was agreed for November 11.

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Peace Conference

The Paris Peace Conference started in Paris in January 1919. This was a conference of winning nations.

Germany was not represented.

One aim was to allow ethnic people to have their own homelands but this was not simple or always successful.

There was a fear of the spread of communism from Russia.

There was a fear of a strong Germany.

There was a strong feeling that Germany should pay for starting the war.

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Versailles

The Versailles Treaty was hard on Germany. “War Guilt” – Germany to accept full responsibility for

starting the war.

Germany lost 13% of its European land.

The economically valuable Rhineland was occupied for a further 15 years.

German colonies were given to other countries.

The Allies took over the German fleet.

The German army was limited to 100,000 men.

Germany and Austria were not allowed to unite.

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Post War Europe