The Great War
1914-1918
APWH
2009
Bradley
Warm-Up

Think Pair Share For
what reasons are wars fought? What
causes them to begin?
1
minute Think
 2 minutes Pair
 3 minutes Share
4 MAIN Causes
Impacted by Industrialization,
Nationalism, and Imperialism- as
countries try to expand their wealth and
territories, they look for partners they could
turn to in case of war.
Militarism
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Massive arms race
Countries competing
to build up their
militaries
Alliances
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An attack on one country forces another to
join.
Triple Alliance (Central Powers)- Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Italy (later the Ottoman
Empire)
Triple Entente (Allied Powers)- Great Britain,
France, and Russia (later the US 1917)
Italy
Germany
AustriaHungary
Serbia
Russia
France
Britain
Belgium
Ottomans
Bulgaria
Japan
Imperialism
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Seeking to gain
new wealth and
new territory
Competing for
colonies in Asia
and Africa
Germany in
competition with
France and GB
Nationalism
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Strong feelings of loyalty, pride,
and patriotism for your country.
Leads to competition- “ours is the best”
People support their country going to war.
The Spark the Set it Off…
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Sarajevo, June 28, 1914
Assassination of the Archduke of AustriaHungary Franz Ferdinand
“Young Bosnians”- Serbian nationalist group,
supplied weapons by the Black Hand.
A-H declares war on Serbia…
Propaganda
Von Schlieffen Plan
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Germany’s plan to attack France quickly and then
turn and face the Russians (before they had a chance
to mobilize).
Goal was to capture
Paris in precisely 42
days, force the French
to surrender, then shift
forces to the eastern
front. Doesn’t work.
Weapons of the Great War
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Bolt action rifle- could fire 15 rounds a minute and hit a
target 1400 meters away. Used mainly by British.
Large artillery guns- long range, needed 12 men to work
them. Fired shells which exploded upon impact.
Bayonets- blade attached to front of rifle, for close
combat.
It’ll be over by ChrIstmas…
New Technologies
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Poison gas (chlorine)
Mustard gas
Zeppelin
Machine gun
Tank
Airplane
U-boats (submarines)
Hand Grenade
Flamethrower- flammenwerfen
SPRINGTIME
The sower
Published in 1918
Think Time!

Which weapon do you think had the greatest
impact on the war? Put a next to the weapon in your
notes.

Which one do you think had the greatest impact
on future wars? Put
next to the weapon in your
notes.
Changes in Warfare: Trench
warfare
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New technologies different ways of fighting
450 miles of trenches stretched from North Sea to
Swiss Border
Rats
Smell
Trench Foot/Trench Fever
Lice
No Man’ Land
In Flanders Fields
John McCrae, died 1918
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Suicide in the Trenches
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye.
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home at pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
~Siegfried Sassoon
If surviving the enemy wasn’t bad
enough…
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Over 1000 soldiers
were executed by their
own armies.
Germany- 48
 France- 600
 Britain- 346
 Italy 500+
 Canada- 25
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*Soldiers killed for
insubordination, desertion, and
refusing to fight.
*Symptoms of Shell Shock
included: tiredness, irritability,
lack of concentration,
headaches, disconnect.
*Mental breakdown often
occurred.
*Generals saw this as
cowardice.
Returning home
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War correspondent Philip Gibbs wrote:
“Something was wrong. They put on civilian clothes again
and looked to their mothers and wives very much like the
young men who had gone to business in the peaceful days
before August 1914. But they had not come back the same
men. Something had altered in them. They were subject to
sudden moods, and queer tempers, fits of profound
depression alternating with a restless desire for pleasure.
Many were easily moved to passion where they lost control of
themselves, many were bitter in their speech, violent in
opinion, frightening.”
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Experts think PTSD occurs today:
In about 30% of Vietnam veterans, or about 30 out
of 100 Vietnam veterans.
 In as many as 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm)
veterans, or in 10 veterans out of 100.9
 In about 6% to 11% of veterans of the Afghanistan
war (Enduring Freedom), or in 6 to 11 veterans out
of 100.
 In about 12% to 20% of veterans of the Iraq war
(Iraqi Freedom).
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Of the 65 million men who were mobilized, more than
10 million were killed and more than 20 million
wounded.
What if…

Create an “If… then…” statement in your notes
regarding the causes of the Great War.
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For example:
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IF Newton hadn’t been sitting under a tree and had
an apple fall on his head, THEN he might not have
come up with the law of gravity.
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