YEAR 10 HISTORYMODERN HISTORY

3. THE COURSE OF WORLD WAR ONE

SARAJEVO ASSASSINATIONAfter the murder of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The countries of Europe found that the alliances they had formed dragged them into war.

BIG BATTLESIn August 1914, Germany invaded France through Belgium, using its plan for war ‒ the Schlieffen Plan. The German attack was forced back at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. Both sides dug defensive trenches and the war ground to a halt.For the next four years, the war on the Western Front consisted of a deadly stalemate. The battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916 and Passchendaele in 1917 were key events where each side tried to wear the other side down.

USA ENTERING THE WARIn 1917, the Americans entered the war. Before they could arrive, the Germans made another attack in March 1918. It was successful at the start, but the Germans failed to break through. They were pushed back in August 1918.Two months later the Germans signed the Armistice.

THE THREAT OF GERMANYA number of different factors contributed to a situation where the First World War could break out.Germany had been made up of a number of separate states but became a united 'empire' in 1871 by defeating and humiliating France in the Franco-Prussian War. This gave Germany greater strength to develop.

GERMANY VS BRITAINAfter 1900, Germany built up its navy - this frightened the British.In 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II demanded an overseas empire for Germany – this frightened Britain and France.Germany wanted to build a railway through the Balkans to Baghdad – this alarmed the Russians, who said they were the protectors of the Balkans.Germany's military defence plan – the Schlieffen Plan – involved attacking and defeating France quickly and then turning its armies on Russia.

THE BALKANSThe Turkish Empire in the Balkans collapsed:Nationalist interests became clear when the new nation of Serbia clashed with Austria-Hungary.Austria-Hungary and Russia clashed because they both wanted more power in the Balkans.

THE SYSTEM OF ALLIANCESTwo opposing groups had grown up by 1914, believing that a 'balance of power' would prevent war:• The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy

(1882).• The Triple Entente of France, Russia and Great Britain

(1907).

5 PHASES OF WW1The War had five phases.

THE WAR OF MOVEMENTThe Germans invaded France, but were stopped at the Battle of the Marne (September 1914).The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) helped to stop the Germans at the Battle of Mons (23 August 1914).The Russians invaded Germany but were destroyed at the Battle of Tannenberg (August 1914).

German soldiers (wearing distinctive pickelhaube helmets with cloth covers) on the front at the First Battle of the Marne during World War I, taken in September 1914. Possibly staged for the camera due to the wearing of medals, which according to the source was not common practice in battle.

THE RACE TO THE SEAThe Race to the Sea happened between September and November 1914.On the Western Front, both sides dug a 400-mile line of trenches from Switzerland to the English Channel. Soldiers had to put up with constantly being wet, being pestered by rats, and illnesses.

STALEMATE 1915There was a stalemate (neither side could defeat the other).On the Western Front, attacks on the German trenches led to huge casualties.Britain's attempt to open up a 'Second Front' at Gallipoli in Turkey was a failure.

THE WAR OF ATTRITION 1916-1918The two sides simply tried to wear each other down:Huge battles, eg Verdun and the Somme in 1916, Passchendaele in 1917, lasted many months. Thousands of men died or were wounded. New weapons, eg poison gas, tanks and aeroplanes failed to make much effect.There were terrible conditions in the trenches and many casualties from machine gun and artillery fire.

Mud at the Battle of Passchendaele

THE WAR OF ATTRITION BLOCKADESThe British blockaded German ports to try to starve the Germans into surrender. In October 1918 there was a revolution in Germany.German U-boats tried to starve the British by sinking merchant ships – but this angered the Americans.German Zeppelins and Gotha planes bombed London.

THE END OF THE WARThe United States of America entered the war in 1917.On 21 March 1918, the Germans launched Operation Michael – a huge last-ditch attack.On 8 August 1918, the German Army's 'Black Day', when their attack was defeated.The Allies, with the Americans, began to push back the Germans. The Allies and Germany signed a ceasefire, or 'armistice', at 11am on 11 November 1918.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF WARIn some ways, humankind has never recovered from the horrors of the First World War.Eight million soldiers died and many more were damaged physically or mentally.Nine million civilians died.Twelve million tons of shipping was sunk.On the Western Front, the war destroyed 300,000 houses, 6,000 factories, 1,000 miles of railway and 112 coal mines.Remembrance Day began and poppies were used to symbolise those who had lost their lives fighting.

LONG TERM CONSEQUENCESGermany had not technically surrendered and was outraged by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles – this helped to cause:• The Second World War. Some historians suggest that there

were not two world wars, but only one, with a long ceasefire in between.• Hitler's rise to power.• The War helped make Britain more democratic. There was

an attitude that Britain needed to be 'a home fit for heroes.' A Labour government was elected in 1924. All men and women over 21 were given the vote in 1928.

HOMEWORK

QUESTION 1Did Germany really cause the war?

ANSWER 1The Treaty of Versailles which ended the war blamed Germany for the outbreak of war (Clause 231). During the 1920s, however, American historians such as Sydney Bradshaw Fay blamed forces such as nationalism and alliances. After the Second World War, historians such as the British historian AJP Taylor (1954) and the German historian Fritz Fischer (1961) blamed Germany – they said there was a 'will to war' in Germany.However, the debate goes on – recent historians have blamed Austria, Russia, and even Britain. What do you think caused the First World War? Who – or what – do you blame? Was war avoidable?

QUESTION 2Were there any critics of the war?

ANSWER 2In the 1930s, criticisms of the war became popular. The anti-war poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon became widely accepted as representing the typical feelings of men in the trenches. Poems such as Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen portrayed the war as a pointless waste of young men's lives.

QUESTION 3How have the traditional interpretations been revised?

ANSWER 3However, in 1963, the historian John Terraine set about correcting what he thought were the myths of the war. He argued that Haig was not incompetent, but a good commander who cared about his soldiers. Haig was faced with the problem that there did not exist at that time any weapon which could win the war without the loss of many lives. This is the view that most serious historians take of the war nowadays.What is your interpretation of the conduct of the First World War? Was Haig a butcher and bungler, or Britain's greatest general?

WHERE NEXT?When we think of the First World War, we often think of flooded trenches, artillery bombardments, suicidal rushes across No Man's Land, poison gas, mud and gangrene. However, there were other theatres of war, eg eastern Europe, Gallipoli, the Middle East, Africa and at sea.The First World War was one of history's epic conflicts, and you may wish to compare it to other major wars such as the Second World War.