13.2 Homework

1. Allies: France, Britain, and Russia(Italy joins later). Central Powers: Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Germany, and Austria-Hungary

2. Bloody and Brutal. Outside trenches, soldiers faced powerful weapons: machine guns, poison gas, and tanks

3. Weakness: undeveloped industrial economy and troops had inadequate supplies. Strength: Russia’s huge population provided millions of soldiers.

World War I

Strategies and Battles of WWI

The Schlieffen Plan• General Alfred von Schlieffen was the top officer in the

Germany army.• He was head of the German General Staff.• He knew Germany would have to fight both France and

Russia.• He did not want not want to fight them at the same

time.• He did not want Germany to be caught in a vise -

fighting France in the west and Russia in the east.• In 1905, he drew up a two-punch plan: Conquer France

first, then conquer Russia.• (If this sounds bold, this is what Hitler succeeded in

doing during World War II.)

The Western Front

• First, the General drew up a plan for Germany to invade France.

• Germany has a border with France. The French were expecting the Germans to come from the east.

• Instead, the German army rolled across the flat North European Plain and attacked France from the north.

• That meant marching from Germany - through Belgium - and into northern France.

• Since Belgium was neutral - not taking any side in the war - there would be little resistance.

The Western Front

• The German plan of attack was aimed at Paris.• The German army would surround Paris.• Once Paris was captured, all of France would fall.• The General estimated that it would take only six

weeks to capture Paris.• Once the Germans captured Paris, the Germany

army would send everybody quickly to the east.• To fight Russia.

The Eastern Front

• Six weeks was crucial: It would take the Russian army that long to mobilize fully for war.

• Germany did not want to fight a two-front war:– France on the west and Russia on the east.

What Went Wrong…

• The Germans moved fast, but not fast enough.• The Belgians did fight back and slowed the

Germans down.• This gave the British and French time to dig in in

northern France.• As a result, Germany faced a two-front war• On the Western Front, Germany fought France.• On the Eastern Front, Germany fought Russia.

Battles of WWI

• This was a dreadful war.• Use blue for the winners (England, France,

and the U.S.) and red for the losers (Germany, Austria).

Battles of WWI

• Everybody declared war on everybody else, but Germany was the first to go to war.

• Germany invaded France: Draw a red line from Germany to Belgium to northern France.

• The most famous battles took place in northern France.• The French defended Paris. Circle Paris.• Whenever the French and British tried to break through

German lines, they were defeated.• Whenever the Germans tried to break through to Paris,

they were defeated.• The result? Four years of deadlock.

Battle of the Marne

• The Marne is a river east of Paris that leads directly to Paris, the capital of France.

• The Germans thought taking Paris would be a piece of cake, but their advance was stopped here.

• Underline Marne. • Draw a red line from Chalons-sur-Marne to

Paris.

Battle of Verdun

• The Germans launched a surprise attack on this city, which lies just 50 miles from the German border.

• The French fought for 11 months to defend Paris. Each side suffered 350,000 casualties.

• For defending Paris, the French General Petain became a national hero.

• Write Verdun just west of the city of Metz.

Battle of the Somme• The Somme is a river that flows from Lille to the

English Channel. • The British attacked the Germans, using their

newly-invented tanks. • Underline Somme. • Draw a blue line from the city of Amiens to the

English Channel.• It was a disaster: From July to November 1916,

one million soldiers died on this battlefield - 415,000 British and 650,000 German troops were killed

Battle of Vimy Ridge

• This was a hill in northern France that the Germans held despite a series of Allied attacks.

• In a heroic effort, 100,000 Canadian troops took the ridge, but the French offensive to break through the German lines was a disaster.

• Afterward, the French troops mutinied! • Find the city of Arras and write Vimy near it.

Battle of Ypres

• Ypres was a city in Belgium. • The Germans controlled Belgium and

executed several thousand Belgian civilians.• When the British attacked the Germans here,

it was a disaster. • The battle took months and heavy rains

drowned the British soldiers. • Find Lille. Find a point northwest of Lille and

write Ypres.

Battle of the Argonne Forest• So far, all of this fighting took place on the Western Front.

On the Eastern Front, Germany was fighting the Russians. • Things were bad: The high-tech German army was

smashing the Russians to smithereens. • The Russian soldiers were deserting by the thousands. In

early 1917, the Russian Revolution began back home in St. Petersburg. All of a sudden, the Russians pulled out of the war.

• The Germans, who no longer had to fight on the Eastern Front, threw all of their force against the Western Front.

• The British and French were on the defensive and it looked like Germany was going to win the war.

• Underline Meuse and Ardennes.

Hooray for the Americans! They saved the day!

• In June 1917 (the third year of the war), the U.S. finally entered the war. The Americans poured into France.

• In the Argonne Forest, 900,000 Americans fought the Germans. The last battles of the war took place here.

• The Germans could not win, so they asked for a ceasefire.

• On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice (ceasefire) and World War I came to an end.

• It became a national holiday: Back then, folks called it Armistice Day. Today, on November 11th, we celebrate Veterans’ Day.