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Front stretched for almost a 1000 miles. Due
to this, trenches never developed.
Site of main fighting along the GermanRussian border.
War began in Aug. 1914 with Russian
invasion of East Prussia.
Russia began war with 1.2 million troops
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Russia Struggles:
◦ Russia suffered due to the geography of the
region which consisted of marshland and
small lakes making it difficult to move forces
◦ In addition, Germans were picking up radio
communication by Russian commanders
◦ Russia’s war effort was suffering by 1916;
many casualties and few supplies (including
food, guns, ammunition, clothing)
◦ Despite this, the huge size of Russian army
keeps it a formidable force and prevents
Germany from sending more troops to the
Western Front.
Defenses were rudimenta
Digging trenches was part of daily
Life for the soldier
Makeshift hideouts for resting Russian soldiers
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Italy refused to participate with Triple
Alliance, arguing that it was a defensive
treaty.
Secretly wanted the Tyrol region from Austria
(now part of Northern Italy)
Declared war on Austria Hungary on May 23,
1915
War quickly bogged down to Trench Warfare
in the Alps
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The Strategy: Campaign to capture the
Turkish Dardanelles Straits allowing the
Entente powers to link the Mediterranean Sea
with the Black Sea
This would give a supply route to their
Eastern ally in Russia
Idea was pushed by Sir Winston Churchill
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The natural geography in and of itself made
is easy to defend (and it was heavily
defended)
Fortresses sat on top of cliffs guarding the
straits
Initial attacks launched in 1915 were stalled
due to poor weather conditions
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The ground forces landed on the peninsula in
April, but progress was slow
By Sept., British generals called for
abandonment of the campaign, which was
completed by Jan 1916
The Gallipoli Campaign ended in a victory for
the Central Powers. The operation caused
severe damage to both sides. While the Allies
recorded over 220,000 casualties the Central
troops lost 253,000 soldiers.
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Out of this campaign, Turkish, Australian,
Indian, and New Zealand’s troops who took
part in the campaign as part of the British
Empire experienced the initial upsurge of
nationalism.
This eventually led to the demand for
independent states, free from the dominion
of the British rule.