Kyle Anderson
(Brooks 1).

 Causes




Imperial Movement
 Scramble for territory and power caused tension among the great powers:
Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, and Russia (Wilde 2).
Nationalist Movement
 The wishes of independence of small countries in the Balkans and the feelings of superiority of large powers created tension (Wilde 2).
The Assassination
 Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary is assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist and Austria-Hungary blames Serbia
(Wilde 2)
The Chain Reaction





June 28 – Archduke Ferdinand is Assassinated
July 28 – Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
July 29– Russia mobilizes to help Serbia
August 1 – Germany declares war on Russia
August 3 – Germany declares war on France
 August 4 – Germany invades Belgium; Britain declares war on Germany
(Wilde 3).

Erich Ludendorff
(Binder).




Germany
 Chiefs of Staff



Helmuth von Moltke ; until Sep, 1914 (“Who’s Who – Helmuth Von Moltke”).
Erich von Falkenhayn ; until Aug, 1916 (“Who’s Who – Erich Von Falkenhayn”).
Paul von Hindenburg (“Who’s Who – Paul Von Hindenburg”).
 Quartermaster General Erich Ludendorff (“Who’s Who – Erich Ludendorff”).
France
 Commander-in-Chiefs
 Joseph Joffre ; until Dec, 1916 (“Who’s Who – Joseph Joffre”).
 Robert Nivelle ; until May, 1917 (“Who’s Who – Robert Nivelle”).


Henri-Philippe Petain ; until May, 1918 (“Who’s Who – Henri-Philippe Petain”).
Ferdinand Foch (“Who’s Who – Ferdinand Foch”).
Ferdinand Foch (Simonds).
Britain
 Commander-in-Chiefs of B.E.F.
 Sir John French ; until Dec, 1915 (“Who’s Who – Sir Douglas Haig”).
 Sir Douglas Haig (“Who’s Who – Sir Douglas Haig”).
United States


Commander of AEF
 John Pershing (“Who’s Who – John Pershing”).
Chief of Staff of AEF
 James Harbord (“Who’s Who – James Harbord”).
John J. Pershing
(Harris & Erwing, Inc.).
Douglas Haig
(Douglas Haig).



Expectations



A short and decisive war was expected
All other wars before then had been conducted with short spurts of decisive victories
However, new technologies lade the groundwork for the power to be in the hands of the defense (“Weapons of War – Machine Guns”).
Christmas of 1914
 Soldiers had a truce for Christmas in 1914 but this level of chivalry would not be shown in the remaining years of the war
(RagLinen).





Initial German Push into
France and Belgium
(Stabilization of Western
Front).






The German Plan was to sweep through Belgium, round southward into France, and cut off the French Army
It was to be implemented by Chief of Staff Moltke
("Animated Map: The Western Front, 1914 - 1918”).


 French Plan to sweep through Belgium
 Plan is not implemented because the French government would not disrespect the Belgian Neutrality (Wilde 4).
 France ended up sending most of their troops South to recapture Alsace-Lorraine (Wilde 4).






(German Advance).







(Race to the Sea).


 The exhausted Germans entrenched themselves at the end of 1914 and the allies created temporary trenches



Battle of Neuve-Chapelle
 Teaches commanders that bombardments can break through enemy lines
Second Battle of Ypres
 Germans use Chlorine Gas which is the first of the War
(Wilde 4).
Battle of Neuve-Chapelle
(Indian Troops Charging German
Positions at Neuve-Chapelle).





 Believed that a breakthrough could be made on the Western
Front
 Believed that the allies should invade through the “Soft
Underbelly” of Southern Europe
(Wilde 4).





“Trench Cycle”


Two weeks on the front lines
One week in support lines


Two weeks in reserve
One week of rest
Routine Living


Went through inspection at dawn
 Mostly for the trench foot infection
Making repairs and digging fortifications
Death



Death by Artillery Shells
Death by a sniper
Death from battle
 Death from Disease
 Rats fed off of the rotting flesh and the troops supplies
 Lice caused men to itch always and caused Trench Fever
Smell



Rotting Flesh
Human Waste
Smell of Disinfectants
 Smell of battle smoke and poison-gas
(“LIFE IN THE TRENCHES”).
A British Trench
(Brooks 2).




1915


This second year of the war was indecisive and led the commanders to rethink their strategy
The new German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn began the war attrition which would force the soldiers to loose heart in their cause; Falkenhayn said of France “Bleed it Dry”
Battle of Verdun



Germans lead an attack on the French fortress region of
Verdun to inflict mass casualties
However, Germany cannot sustain the pressure when they are suddenly attacked at the Somme
Falkenhayn is replaced by Hindenburg after his failure at
Verdun
Battle of the Somme


Allies mass a huge assault near the river Somme
The battle begins with a huge artillery barrage which mangles up the barb wire and sets the stage for one of the bloodiest battles of the war
(Wilde 4).
Map of Battle of the Somme
(Battle of the Somme Progress).






 Nivelle concentrates a great deal of artillery on the
Hindenburg line but only creates a larger mess of the German
Lines
 There is early success but the troops loose heart and began to mutiny
(Wilde 4).



Battle of Arras
 Small gains tactics are used to large success here but the allied commanders want decisive victory
The Offensive
 Third Battle of Ypres

 Haig’s British forces attack the German lines but the conditions are stormy and the ground is muddy which leads to the deaths of 250,000 British for only 5 miles of land
First Battle of Cambrai
 Haig’s British forces use 400 tanks to attack in the North and are extremely successful but there were not enough reinforcements to hold the territory which is lost 10 days later
(Wilde 4).
British Mark IV Tank
(Mark IV Tank with Unditching
Beam).



Peace with Russia


Germans gain a peace treaty with Russia
This sends 1 Million men to the Western
Front
Ludendorff’s Plan
(Ludendorff was the real leader of the
German army).
 A new sense of desperation set over the
Germans when the United States declared war on Germany


The Plan
 Split French and British Lines
 Have a short bombardment and then send elite soldiers to attack the trenches with reinforcements behind them
The Spring Offensive
 Germans have rapid success but there was no plan to support the supply lines at Germans are halted just before Paris again
 The French Commander-in-Chief Petain is replaced by Foch
(Wilde 4).
German Spring Offensive
(German Offensives on Western
Front).

 The Hundred Days Offensive




The Allies counter attack
 New Tactics – Artillery is used to pin down forces instead of blowing holes in lines
Battle of Amiens


The first battle of the final offensive was a great victory where under 20,000 Germans were taken prisoner and only 6,500 Allies were lost
Ludendorff called it the “Blackest Day of the German
Army” – August 8 th
(“Hundred Days Offensive”).
Foch’s Pincer
 Supreme Allied Commander Foch leads a pincer movement which overruns the Hindenburg Line and leads to a huge German retreat to almost the Belgian border
(Wilde 4).
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive
 The Americans led the battle in an relentless attack on the German lines which only ended on November 11,
1918, the Armistice
(Hickman).
Battle of Amiens and Later Allied
Gains
(Thor).





Newspaper Article on the Armistice
(The Chicago Daily Tribune).



(Wounded or Killed)



France – 5.7 Million
Britain – 2.4 Million
Germany – 6 Million
 U.S.A. – 0.3 Million
(Wilde 1).
World War I Verdun Memorial
(Grandmont).


Fragmentation of Austria-Hungary into Czechoslovakia
Fragmentation of the Ottoman Empire into Yugoslavia and the Republic of Turkey
 Fall of Russian Empire into the Soviet Union
(“Socio-Political Changes Following World War I”).
 Fall of the German Empire into the Weimar Republic
(Adams).

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