World War I

The Courses and Costs of War, 1914-1918

War in the West

• “Rape” of Belgium (Leuven, Aug. 26, 1914) (Much propaganda: Kadaververwertungsanstalt

• Miracle of the Marne—September 5-14, 1914 (500,000 casualties)

• Christmas Truce• Stalemate• Trench warfare in Myth and Memory• Gallipoli—failed attempt at breaking stalemate.

(April 1915-Jan. 1916)

“Dulce et Decorum Est”• Bent double, like old beggars under

sacks,  Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,  Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs  And towards our distant rest began to trudge.  Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots  But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;  Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

• Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! –  An ecstasy of fumbling,  Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;  But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,  And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . ..  Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,  As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,  He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

• If in some smothering dreams you too could pace  Behind the wagon that we flung him in,  And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,  His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;  If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood  Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,  Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud  Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,  My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory,  The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est  Pro patria mori.

--Winfred Owen, 1917

Christmas Truce Video

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,Alles schläft; einsam wachtNur das traute hochheilige Paar.Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Der Krieg in Osten

• Russia invaded East Prussia and Galicia.• Defeated at Tanneberg (Aug. 23-30, 1914)• Russians hold Galicia; forced Germany to

commit more troops to bail out Austrian ally.• February 1915, Russians forced to retreat along

Eastern Front following Second Battle of the Mausurian Lakes.

• Russia still in war, but attrition helped bring on 1917 Revolution.

• Unified Central Powers Command in East, but can’t knock Russia out of the War.

Tannenberg Memorial—dedicated in August 1924

Italy’s War

• Joins the Allies with promises of receiving the Irrendenta, if Allies are successful.

• 11 Battles fought along the Isonzo River between 1915 and September 1917

• Battle at Caporetto (24 Oct.-19 Nov., 1917) 31,000 Italian Casualties and 265,000 Italian Pows.

• Italians hold at Battle of Paive River, June 1918. (’99 boys)

• Italians counter attack at Battle of Vittorio Vento (Oct. 1918) and Austria sues for peace.

• Italy suffered 650,000 military deaths and 1.2 million war related deaths overall.

The Grisly War (1916-1917)

• Verdun (Feb. 21-Dec. 16 1917) over 1 million casualties—300,000 dead

• Voie Sacrée; tranchee des baionnettes

• The Somme (July 1-November 18, 1916) over 1 million casualties—300,000 dead

• Tanks

• Societal Mobilization—Defense of the Real Act.

1917 Year of Changes

• French Army Mutiny

• Russian Revolution

• Germany’s Gamble—unrestricted Sub-Warfare and Zimmermann Telegram

• U. S. enters war, 1917

Unterseebooten

U-20, sank Lusitania, May 7, 1915

U-Boats at Kiel in 1914

Das Ende

• Friedensturm• 2d Battle of Marne (15 July-6 August, 1918)• German home front suffering• Kiel Mutiny (Nov. 1918)• Woodrow Wilson and the 14 points• Allied counteroffensive• Generals decide to preserve the army rather than the

state.• Kaiser abdicates—Philipp Schneidemann proclaims

republic—9 Nov. 1918• Origen of dolchstasse.• Armistice—Nov. 11, 1918.

Schneidemann proclaimsDeutche Republik

Ludendorff

Balance Sheet

• The total number of casualties in World War I, both military and civilian, were about 37 million: 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded. The total number of deaths includes 9.7 million military personnel and about 6.8 million civilians.

• 750,000 Germans died of starvation.• $337,980,579,657 – calculated cost of

World War 1