World

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World War 1
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• The image above is a bottle of chlorine gas.
• Chlorine gas was first used by the Germans at the
  Second battle of Ypres in 1915.
• This gas effected a soldiers vision, burned the
  skin and made it very difficult to breathe.
• Overall, it was not a effective as the Germans
  wanted.
• It could be easily beaten by a damp cloth over
  ones face.

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The war to end all wars

• World War 1 (WW1) began on June 28, 1914.
• It was given the name The war to end all wars
• Young men were happy to join their countries
  military.
• Many believed that with new technology the war
  would be over in a few months.
• No one expected the war to turn out as it did.

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• An armistice (cease fire) was signed and
  scheduled for November 11, 1918 at 1100 am.
• The last soldier killed was Canadian G.L. Price.
  He was shot by a German sniper and died Nov. 11,
  1918 at 1058 am.
• In total approximately 65 million men were
  deployed.
• Roughly 16 million were killed and an additional
  21 million were wounded.
• With a total cost in the hundreds of billions of
  dollars.

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Causes of World War 1

• After the colonization of Africa many European
  nations built up their armies and created new
  weapons.
• This boom in military was due to the tensions
  that were left in Europe after the division of
  Africa.
• Countries were preparing for war, all they needed
  was a reason.
• There were two main causes for the start of WW1.

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• Cause 1 Alliances
• Due to the tensions after the division of Africa,
  European nations formed alliances.
• The goal of these alliances was to offer
  protection and ensure peace.
• Leaders felt that these alliances would keep all
  countries in line, due to the alliances
  combined power.
• This idea failed. It was these alliances that
  brought the entire world into war.

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• There were two major alliances.
• Triple Alliance (Central Powers) Germany,
  Austria-Hungary, and Italy
• Triple Entente (Allied Powers) France, Russia,
  Great Britain
• By the start of the war 1914 Italy had left the
  Triple alliance and the Ottoman Empire took its
  place.
• Italy joined the Allied Powers
• Serbia a break off nation of Austria-Hungary
  had an alliance with Russia.

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• Cause 2 Assassination
• On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir
  to the Austrian throne, was assassinated in
  Sarajevo
• Ferdinands wife (Princess Sophie) was also
  assassinated.
• The killer was Gavrillo Princip a Serb and member
  of the Black Hand.
• The Black Hand was a terrorist group with a goal
  to unite all Slavs/ Serbs and claim their land
  from Austria.

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• Ferdinand and his wife were on their way to see
  those injured by a grenade in an earlier
  assassination attempt.
• Most of Ferdinands motorcade had continued out
  of the city.
• Despite warnings Ferdinand continued towards the
  hospital.
• The assassins were trained in Serbia.
• It was later discovered by Austrian officials
  that the Serbian government had supplied the
  Black Hand with money and weapons.

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The start of the Great War

• The death of Franz Ferdinand and his wife deeply
  upset Austrian officials.
• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July
  28, 1914.
• Due to its alliance Russia declared war on
  Austria one day later.
• On Aug. 1 Germany declares war on Russia and
  France declares war on Germany.

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• Aug. 3 Germany declares war on France.
• Aug. 4 Germany enters neutral Belgium. This
  forces Britain to declare war on Germany.
• It took 38 days from the assassination of
  Ferdinand for the world to go into total war.
• In total there were approximately 150 countries
  and colonies involved in WW1.

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Schlieffen Plan

• The Schlieffen Plan was a plan for war used by
  the Germans in WW1.
• This plan called for a quick defeat of France, 6
  weeks.
• This would be done by rushing all troops to
  France.
• Once victorious use the rail roads to ship all
  German soldiers into Russia.
• The purpose was not to separate German forces on
  two fronts.

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• The Germans relied on speed and surprise in order
  to insure victory over France.
• The Schlieffen Plan called for German forces to
  move through Belgium to get to France.
• This move brought Britain into the war.
• The Schlieffen Plan had major flaws it assumed
  that there would be little fight from Belgium and
  France.
• Also that it would take 6 weeks for Russia to
  mobilize.

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Early Resistance

• The Schlieffen Plan called for the quick defeat
  of Belgium and France.
• However, quick mobilization of Russian and French
  forces posed a problem.
• The Battle of the Frontiers (1914) in Russia and
  Battle of Tannenberg (1914) in Belgium slowed
  down Germany.
• Numerous small battles in Belgium also slowed
  down Germany.
• German did not expect this type of resistance
  from Belgium.

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The first battle of the Marne (Sept. 7, 1914)

• German army advanced through northern France and
  were closing in on Paris.
• French launched a counterattack along the Marne
  River east of Paris.
• 2 million men fought on a battle-front that
  stretched over 100 km.
• The French managed to push back Germany.
• 250,000 French lives were lost.

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• It was this battle that caused the Schlieffen
  Plan to fail.

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A New kind of Warfare

• Word of Germanys invasion of Belgium quickly
  spread to France and other European nations.
• French troops mobilized to meet approaching
  German divisions.
• French wore bright red coats and heavy brass
  helmets.
• Many soldiers carried flags and played
  instruments.
• German troops wore gray uniforms as camouflage on
  the battlefield.

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• French war strategy was outdated
• Marched row by row onto the battlefield
• Prepared for close combat by mounting bayonets to
  their rifles.
• The Germans, however, had machine guns, and mowed
  down 15,000 French troops per day.

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The war reaches a stalemate

• The First Battle of the Marne ended in a
  stalemate.
• Both French and German soldiers dug trenches to
  defend their positions and seek protection.
• By late 1914, massive systems of trenches
  stretched across Western and Eastern Europe.
• The battle lines known as the Western Front
  extended from Switzerland to the North Sea.
• In the east the stretched from Riga, Latvia to
  Northern Romania.

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Trench Life

• Soldiers lived in the trenches.
• They ate, slept, and went to the bathroom in the
  same position all the time.
• The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and screams of
  pain were constant.
• Soldiers had to stay with their heads down at all
  times.
• A soldiers weapon was always at their side.

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• The smell in the trenches was a mixture of human
  waste, rotting bodies, ammunition, and mildew.
• Along with this the trenches were usually filled
  with water (between the soldiers ankle and knee).
• This water caused a very common problem trench
  foot.
• Trench foot was the result of a soldiers foot
  constantly being under cold, dirty water.
• Amputation was the only solution in severe cases
  

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• Soldiers had to share the trench with millions of
  insects and bacteria.
• Frogs and snakes were common as well.
• Lice became a huge problem. It was responsible
  for trench fever.
• Rats were very common. They fed on the flesh of
  dead bodies.
• Moreover, it was not uncommon for rats to bite or
  begin to feed on living soldiers as well.

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Trench Warfare

• Both Allied and German created a system of
  trenches.
• Constant bombardment and rifle fire hit the walls
  of the trenches.
• Machine guns were always standing guard to
  prevent enemy attacks.
• Territory was gained by opposing soldiers taking
  over enemy trenches.
• Soldiers went over the top into an area called
  no mans land.

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• No mans land was the area between two systems of
  trenches.
• It was usually filled with barbed wire, bodies,
  and bomb craters.
• Attacking soldiers were usually shot down by
  enemy machine guns and artillery.
• These attacks did not gain much territory for
  either side.
• Both sides lost and gained territory throughout
  the war.
• For this reason WW1 ended in a stalemate.

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New weapons of war

• Poisonous Gas
• German military scientists experimented with gas
  as a weapon.
• Gas in battle was risky Soldiers didnt know how
  much to use, and wind changes could backfire the
  gas.
• The first gas attack was in 1915 at Second battle
  of Ypres. Chlorine gas was used.
• This gas affected a soldiers lungs and vision.

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• Eventually Phosgene and Mustard gas began being
  used.
• Both of these gases affected the lungs and other
  internal organs.
• However, with these gases little could be done to
  save soldiers once the gas entered their bodies.
• Unlike chlorine gas, phosgene and mustard gas
  were colorless.
• Mustard gas had severe external symptoms such as
  blisters and burnt skin.

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• Tanks
• British forces developed armored tanks to move
  into no-mans-land.
• Tanks were able to move over barbed wire and bomb
  craters with ease.
• They could also withstand machine gun fire.
• These tanks had limited success because many got
  stuck in the mud.
• Germans soon found ways to destroy the tanks with
  artillery fire.

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• Airplanes
• Planes were used to map and to attack trenches.
• Planes first dropped heavy objects on the enemy.
• Soon guns and bombs were mounted on planes.
• Skilled pilots fought in air battles called
  dogfights.
• The most famous fighter pilot of all time was the
  Red Baron.

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• U-Boats (undersea boats)
• Germany developed small submarines called U-boats
  to strike to attack allied ships.
• In February 1915 the German government declared
  the waters around Great Britain a war zone,
  threatening to destroy all enemy ships.
• This was in response to a British blockade near
  the German coast.
• Many nations were angry that the Germans used
  u-boats. They felt it violated the rules of war

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• Germany specifically warned the U.S. that neutral
  ships will be attacked.
• This angered the Americans, and President Wilson
  believed it violated the laws of neutrality.
• On May 7, 1915 the Germans sank the RMS
  Lusitania. Although this was a British ship it
  had nearly 200 Americans on board
• President Woodrow Wilson held Germany accountable
  for American losses.
• This was one of the main reasons why the United
  States entered WW1.

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• Torpedoes
• Were used by German submarines to sink ships.
• Torpedoes were very similar to artillery shells
  but had a larger explosive charge.

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• Zeppelins
• These were large balloons otherwise known as
  blimps.
• They were primarily used for surveillance.
• They were eventually fitted with bombs and
  machine guns.
• These were very slow and could be shot out of the
  sky very easily.
• They were also filled with a highly flammable
  gas.

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• Machine guns and Rifles
• Machine guns and rifles were much more powerful
  then earlier guns.
• Machine guns had the ability to fire up to 500
  bullets per minute.
• These guns had enough power to cut down full
  sized trees and go through cement walls.
• Furthermore, these weapons were very easy to
  reload, which ultimately meant more casualties.

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The US Enters the War

• Wilson kept the US neutral as long as possible.
• However, after the Lusitania and other German
  atrocities the US declared war on April 6, 1917.
• With the participation of the United States, it
  gave the allies a much needed boost in manpower
  and resources.
• This was a key event in ending the war

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The End of the Great War

• The involvement of the Americans proved too much
  for Germany and its allies.
• The Germans made one last major offensive on July
  15, 1918.
• The battle has been dubbed the Second Battle of
  the Marne.
• The Germans were defeated, suffering nearly 150
  000 casualties.

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Second Battle of the Marne Statistics
ALLIES 44 French divisions,8 American
divisions,4 British divisions,2 Italian
divisions,408 heavy guns,360 field batteries
GERMANY 52 divisions,609 heavy guns,1,047
field batteries
95,165 French dead or wounded,16,552 British
dead or wounded,12,000 American dead or wounded
139,000 dead or wounded,29,367 captured,793
guns lost
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• The allies continued their advance and pushed the
  Germans to Sedan. A small town on the Belgian
  border.
• The German army would not recover from the 2nd
  Battle of the Marne.
• With major military loses, failing economy, and
  food shortages, Germany asks for an armistice.
• Armistice Not a surrender but a cease fire.

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The Paris Peace Conference

• Woodrow Wilson (USA), David Lloyd George (Brit),
  Georges Clemenceau (Fra), and Vittorio Orlando
  (Ita), wanted peace.
• These men (leaders of the allies) came to be
  known as the Big Four
• They invited 32 nations to this meeting.
• Germany and its allies were not invited.

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The Treaty of Versailles

• Shortly after the Paris Conference a treaty was
  signed between the Allies and Germany.
• Germany and its allies had to
• Disarm
• Pay 33 billion dollars in war reparations to the
  Allies
• Take sole responsibility for the start of the war
• Lost all colonies

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• This treaty also created the League of Nations.
• This was an organization of countries to prevent
  another global war and promote peace.