golly batman…it sure has been a long time since we last talked about wwi…i mean, the gaps in my...
TRANSCRIPT
Golly Batman…it sure has been a
long time since we last talked about WWI…I mean, the
gaps in my memory are
almost this big!
Alarming alliances Batman! They could do a lot of damage!Didn’t anyone do
anything about this?
Alas, my young friend, this was a secret alliance…
nobody knew!
Crazy clandestinecompacts Batman!
It gets worse Robin!
Gee wilikers…there are so many
troublesome treaties Batman!
Yes my consummate companion…but a war, treaties do not
make…
But wait Batman…I’m spectacularly stupefied… how did the assassination of an Austrian monarch by
a bunch of Serbian radicals cause an entire
world war?
The answer is simple Robin:
The Alliance System!
Serbia and Russia were both Slavic nations…so Russia came to Serbia’s support when Austria-Hungary threatened war if the assassins were not turned over.
It all went down hill from there…Austria-Hungary bombarded Serbia. Russia declared war against Austria. Germany declared war on Russia, then France.
Gee, Batman.Europe is sure in
a big mess.
I know.This is the largest
war I’ve ever seen.
Do you think the Central Powers can
win, Batman?
Patience young friend…let’s take a
look at the map!
Golly!
This all just seems so complicated! I mean, who could really even
understand any of that?
I know! Their general must be both crazy and
brilliant!
I have a spectacular
plan.
The Schlieffen Plan
• Attack France first through Belgium
• France had mobilized quickly along the German border
• France’s northern border was unprotected
After defeating the French we will turn quickly and destroy the slow mobilizing
Russians
It would look something like this
The Schlieffen Plan
• After France’s defeat, crush Russia to the East
• Russia was not well prepared
• Russian troop movements were slow due to a lack of railroads
That sounds like a Schliefftacular
plan…it certainly couldn’t fail!
But Batman, I feel like I am remember
something from history which may cause a
problem…won’t attacking Belgium bring
Britain into the war?
So true Robin!Perhaps this
plan is flawed.Yes…not to mention it relies on
quick German victories…
Brilliant observation
Robin!Perhaps we should write it
down…
The Schlieffen Plan
• Plan relied upon swift German victories
• Successful at first
Look Batman!Up there!
It’s the German invasion of France!
I see it Robin… those Germans are an
impressive force to be sure…and they have cool
hats!
Batman…are you jealous of their
hats? I kind of am…
Maybe I am Robin…maybe I am…lets fly up there in the Batcopter and take a
look!
The French, with the support of the British, were able to delay the Germans at the Battle of the Marne (September 5th, 1914)
The Schlieffen Plan
• Came to a halt at the Battle of the Marne (Sept 5, 1914)
Holy holdups Batman…what will this mean for the future of the war?
I do not believe it will
be good Robin! This
could become a
bloody stalemate!
HELMETS!
A Bloody Stalemate
• Trench Warfare
• Armies dug miles of trenches to defend themselves
• Soldiers spent weeks in the filthy ditches
• Fighting consisted of going “over the top” into “no man’s land”
A Bloody Stalemate
• Front stretched from the sea to the Swiss border (500 miles)
• Many died fighting over mere yards
• The countryside was destroyed
Gee Batman…based on looking at those pictures on the Bat-Super Computer , being in the trenches doesn’t seem so bad…I mean, at
least you are safe! Their bullets can’t hit you. I mean, sure, there might be the occasional artillery shell strike, but at least they aren’t
marching in straight lines directly into enemy fire…
Sure Robin… trenches seem like a great idea at first… but there are some
problems…just look:
Gee Batman…that does look bad! Almost as bad as being stuck by my
Bat-Belt to a magnetic projector buoy…
Poor Robin…that is not even the worst of it…there are
torpedoes coming…terrible torpedoes…oh, and bad stuff
from the trenches too…
Holy nasty feet Batman!
This war is awful!
True Robin…but at least we escaped from that buoy…if we had been
out there any longer my little Bat-Toes might have rotted off too…
A Bloody Stalemate
• Life was difficult in the trenches
• Had to cross no man’s land to reach the enemy
• Soldiers plagued by rats, trench feet, flies, boredom, and shell shock
Gee Batman…with trenches it seems like this war could
go on forever…
It sure could Robin.
We call that a war of ATTRITION!
Troublesome terminology
Batman…what fiendish definition
does that word have?
The war of attrition on the Western Front ranged from the North Sea to the Swiss border in the South
Freaky 500 miles Batman! That is almost this far!
Yes Robin…and much of the fighting
was done with brand new
technologies…
That stuff doesn’t look so cool…I mean, the Batmobile is
way better than all of those!
Sure Robin…but remember, this was
1915 and those weapons did an
incredible amount of damage!
I heard the Battle of the Somme, the first in which the
tank was used, was particularly deadly…
True Robin!
It was a terrible battle…
Calamitous conflict Batman!
Could it get any worse?
Oh gentle Robin, I wish it could not…but I fear great peril
is in the world’s future… but before we move on, let’s write in the notes and then take a
quick five minute Bat-Stretch…
A Bloody Stalemate
• New weapons contributed to HUGE loss of life
• 1.2 million died in the Battle of the Somme alone
That was all just along the border of
France and Germany. The other half of the
German forces had to run off and fight
the Russians.
The Eastern Front
• Fighting stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea
• Russians and Serbs fought Germans, Austrians, and Turks
Limited Industrialization
U-Boats blocked shipping
Communists threatened domestic stability
The Russian army had only one asset—its numbers. Throughout the war the Russian army suffered enormous battlefield losses. More than 2 million Russian soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured in 1915 alone. And yet the army continually rebuilt its ranks from the country's enormous population. For more than three years, the battered Russian army managed to tie up hundreds of thousands of German troops in the east. Thus, Germany could not hurl its full fighting force at the west.
This looks bad for me…
Russia’s War Effort Weakens
• Country was not industrialized
• Ports were blocked, no shipping
• Czar Nicholas joined the troops, leaving the capital empty and unstable
• Communist revolution was gaining momentum
Brilliant analysis Robin…you see, fighting began to take place in
European colonies, and those that weren’t fighting began sending
troops!
Gee Batman…this is all taking place in Europe. Why do we call this a world war?
T.E. Lawrence(Lawrence of Arabia)
Japan joined the Allies to fight for Asian colonies
France and England wanted Germany’s
African colonies
Global Warfare
• Allies wanted Dardanelles in Turkey as a supply route to Russia (The Gallipoli Campaign)
• British helped Arabs revolt against Turkish rulers
• Japan joined the Allies and fought Germany for Asian outposts
• France and England wanted Germany’s African colonies
Back at home,
women had to keep the
world running
The Home Front
• Government encouraged people at home to contribute to the war effort
• People told to work in factories to produce war supplies
• Rationing = consumption of goods controlled
• War bonds were sold
The Home Front
• Propaganda used to encourage efforts on home front
• Manipulation of the media to promote sympathy for a cause
Wow! I’d love to see some original
European propaganda posters.
Come back tomorrow to hear more about theWar to End All Wars!