What started the War?
Direct Cause: See next slide!!!!
Indirect Causes:
Nationalism – Germany unites itself
under their love of the fatherland
Imperialism – Britain’s empire is
causing other emperors to think of
expanding their own countries
Alliances – Everyone had agreed to
help someone
Militarism – Due to new tech in
weaponry, everyone was creating
huge armies
AustriaHungary
declares war
on Serbia
US declares
war on
Germany after
Zimmerman
Note
Russia
promises to
help Serbia
Archduke
Ferdinand is
assassinated by a
Serbian teenager!
Germany joins
AH and
declares war
on France
German Uboats sink the
Lusitania
Germany
invades
Belgium who
is friends with
Britain

Flamethrowers

M1903 Springfield

M1917 Browning

MK 1 Grenade

Stokes Mortar
BL Howitzer (8 inch)
Range: 5 miles


Mark V

Renault FT

Fokker DR 1 Triplane

Scout C

U boat

Aircraft Carriers

Destroyer





Mark I Trench Knife
50% of the men who went into the
trenches made it out unscathed
World War I soldiers were more likely to die
from artillery shell explosions than gunfire
99% of abdominal wounds were fatal
No antibiotics yet: so disease killed just as
many as weapons
56% of soldiers became casualties in the war!
 10% of soldiers died in the trenches
 Many went crazy in the trenches
 Many just sat and stared
 “Thousand yard stare”
 Now it is called:
Combat Stress Reaction
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

2nd Battle of the Marne
When: July-August, 1918
Where: Marne River
Why: Germany’s last big offensive
push
Who: 58 Allied divisions vs. 52
Central divisions
Losses: 270,000 soldiers
Winner: Allied troops hold and then
start their offensive which leads to
the end of the war
Notables: Four countries came
together to beat back the Germans
They used superior scouting and
planning
Central
Allied
Austria-Hungary
Germany
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
France
Russia
Serbia
Britain
Italy
US
The Reason the US joined WWI:
On May 1, 1915 she left New York for
England
She was loaded with regular
passengers and … ammunition for
the war!
German citizens had been warned in
the US not to sail on it
A U-boat torpedoed it on May 7th 11
miles off the coast of Ireland
It sank in 18 minutes killing 1,198
people
US citizens were outraged since
Germany did not follow the rules
Germany didn’t care because they
claimed it was a war ship since it had
ammunition
1st Battle of the Marne
When: September, 1914
Where: Marne River in France near
Paris
Why: Germany was trying to conquer
France
Who: 2.5 million soldiers
Losses: 483,000 soldiers
Winner: Allied troops held off the
Germans from taking over France
and stalled their offensive
Notables: Taxis brought the French
troops to the front lines
Caused the Germans to end their
dreams of a quick war
Airplanes played a vital role in
surveillance and counter attacking
Battle of Argonne Forest (Grand
Offensive)
When: September – November, 1918
Where: The entire western front into
Germany
Why: Germany was on its heels and
the Allied troops pushed them back
into submission
Who: Almost 750,000 soldiers
Losses: Almost 300,000 soldiers
Notables: It was very costly in US
lives (117,000 men)
Finished the war with the Allied
forces winning
The new ways to kill in WWI:
Aircraft – Red Baron and others
would fight in air and bombard
soldiers on ground
Artillery – Guns had such range that
you didn’t need to see them to blow
them up
Artillery Shells – They were more
powerful and could be filled with
poisonous gases
Complete/Total War – With
Airplanes and Artillery battles were
not fought on just battlefields but
now in cities and throughout entire
country
Submarines – German U-boats sank
everything that floated
Tanks – To beat trenches, they
created armored vehicles that could
destroy without being hurt by
soldiers
A Soldier’s Heart
Quickness of Victory:
Illusion of Honor in War:
Preparation for War:
First Glimpse of Battle:
Starvation and Lack of Everything:
Madness of Killing:
The Closeness of Killing:
The Constant Danger:
Going Crazy:
The Impossibility of the Future for the
Soldiers:
Watching a friend die:
The similarity of the enemy:
The end and nature:
All Quiet on the Western Front
Total
Allied
Central
Military Deaths:
9.7 million
5.7 million
4 million
Civilian Deaths:
6.7 million
3.6 million
3.1 million
Wounded:
21.2 million
12.8 million
8.4 million
Total Casualties:
37.6 million
22.1 million
15.5 million
% of population
killed:
2%
1%
5%
% of population
hurt or killed:
5%
3%
11%
American Stats:
116,708 deaths
205,690 wounded