Off to War

Goal of Today

• Today we will be looking at the beginning stages of the war and the excitement surrounding it.

• Terms to Know– Schlieffen Plan

• This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.”-- All Quiet on the Western Front

Numbers of Troops at Start of War• Germany- 2 million

• France- 1.3 million

• Austria/ Hungry- 450,000

• Russia- 1.4 million

• Great Britain- 120,000

• None of the men nor their officers had any experience in European warfare.

Von Schlieffen's plan • German plans for the war were based upon the

work of Germany Army Chief of Staff, Alfred von Schlieffen

• He was asked to plan a way of preventing a war on two fronts.   

• He believed that it was a priority to defeat France quickly, forcing them to surrender before Russia had a chance to mobilize her armed forces.

• Von Schlieffen planned to take advantage of the much slower mobilization capabilities of the Russian military.

• The plan called for pushing the bulk of the entire German army against France in a massive six-week campaign. Once France had been defeated, the German army would then quickly move to the Eastern front and face the Russians.

Assumptions of the Plan • Russia would take at

least 6 weeks to mobilize.

• France would be easily defeated in 6 weeks.

• Belgium would not resist any German attack.

• Britain would remain neutral.

• The Kaiser's war order is read on 1-Aug-1914

“””You will be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees!!” - Wilhelm

• On 2nd August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into operation

• The German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium.

• The Germans were held up by the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian Army's advance into East Prussia. The Germans were also surprised by how quickly the British Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium.

• King Albert I of Belgium denied permission

“Belgium is a country, not a road”

• Who are the two figures in the cartoon?’

• No Thoroughfare' means 'No Way Through'. What does the cartoonist mean by this?

• Compare the way the two figures are drawn.

• Which one has the support of the cartoonist?

• Is it possible to say whether this cartoon reflects public opinion in Britain at the time?

• Do you think the cartoon might have influenced public opinion or government policy?

The Reality • On 2nd August 1914, the German army invaded

Luxembourg and Belgium according to the Schlieffen Plan.

• The Germans were held up by the Belgium army, backed up by the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) which arrived extremely quickly.

• Russia mobilized in just 10 days and Germany was forced to withdraw troops from the Schlieffen Plan to defend her eastern border.

• Germany did not take the chance to take Paris, instead decided to attack east of the capital.  They were met by French at the battle of the Marne (5-11 Sept) which halted the German advance.

The Schlieffen Plan’s Destructive Nature

• Sept 6-10, 1914– Battle of Marne– Stopped the Germans but French troops were

exhausted– Both sides dug trenches for shelter

STALEMATE

What an Adventure…

• Civilians join German soldiers on their first mile's march towards Paris.

• Heinrich Beutow- German Schoolboy“My memories of those of a child of course. I was in

a small German garrison town in 1914 and I remember very well the tremendous enthusiasm. Of course, we schoolboys were all indoctrinated with great patriotism when war broke out. My father was an active infantry officer and I shall never forget the day when they marched out to the trains. All the soldiers were decorated with flowers, there was no gun which did not show a flower. Even the horses I think were decorated. And of course all the people followed them. Bands playing, flags flying, a terrific sort of overwhelming conviction that Germany now would go into war and win it very quickly.”

“I suddenly realised that the ambition of my life

has been - since I was two - to go on a military

expedition against the Turks.“

Rupert Brooke, 1915

• German soldiers on the "Paris Express". The graffiti reads "on to Paris".

• Berlin students on their way to enlist.

A German Boy Pretends to Be a Soldier

A German Boy Pretends to Be a Soldier

Recruits of the Central PowersRecruits of the Central Powers

A German Soldier Says A German Soldier Says Farewell to His Farewell to His

MotherMother

A German Soldier Says A German Soldier Says Farewell to His Farewell to His

MotherMother

Austro-Austro-HungariansHungarians

Austro-Austro-HungariansHungarians

• These care-free French troops would soon learn the realities of war in the industrial age.

• French soldiers, also joined by civilians, on their way to Berlin.

Soldiers Mobilized

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

France Germany Russia Britain

Millions

Was War the Adventure they thought it was?