1914-1918. why the german plan failed stalemate: why neither side could gain an advantage impact of...
TRANSCRIPT
1914-1918
• Why the German Plan Failed• Stalemate: why neither side
could gain an advantage• Impact of the new weapons of
war• Total War, propaganda, and
the Home Front• New Allies: 1917• Events of 1918: how the war
ended
The Great War: 1914-1918MAIN IDEAS:
• Russia stronger than expected
• Belgium resists
• Britain enters the war
• “Miracle of the Marne” halts German attack
Schlieffen Plan Fails
STALEMATE ON THE WESTERN FRONT
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
GERMANY
FRANCE
ITALY
RUSSIA
A major factor of the First World War was that on the battlefield, the defense had
the advantage over the offense.
Role of Technology: NEW WEAPONS OF WAR
Machine Gun
Heavy Artillery
Heavy Artillery Guns
Gas shells exploding in front of trenches
Mustard gas victim
U-Boats
Battles of Verdun and the Somme
Battle of the Some
Territory gained by Attacks at Verdun and the Somme
For the first time in history, propaganda plays a major
part in warfare.
The major theme was German brutality, especially in
Belgium.
THE EASTERN FRONT
1917: Allies Change• Revolutions in Russia
– March Revolution: Fall of the Czar
– Nov. Revolution: Communist (Bolshevik Revolution): Lenin
• US enters the War– U-boat warfare– Zimmermann Telegram– Ties to Allies
Events of 1918Woodrow Wilson: Fourteen PointsSpring German Offensive fails US troops arrive in large numbersFall Allied offensive gains groundGerman collapse at homeArmistice: Nov. 11, 1918
The Western Front in 1918
World War I Casualties
• U.S.-- 100,000 men
• Italy-- 500,000 men
• Austria-- 800,000 men
• Britain -- 1 million men
• France-- 1.5 million men
• Germany--1.5 million men
• Russia-- 2 million men
MILITARY DEATHS
• 10 MILLION SOLDIERS KILLED
• 10 MILLION CIVILIANS KILLED
• 20 MILLION SEVERLY INJURED
• SHELL SHOCK
• SPANISH INFLUENZA EPIDENIC KILLS ANOTHER 20 MILLION
DEVASTATION DURING AND AFTER THE WAR…
• Total War
• Industrial weapons of masskilling
• Extreme Nationalism
• Civilians targeted
• Genocide: Turks slaughter Armenians
• Communist Revolution
• Terrorism
New Horrors for a New Century
CONCLUSION•World War I has been called
a “War with many causes but no objectives.”• This profound sense of
waste and pointlessness will shape European politics in the post- war period.