World War One 1916

By 1916, the war was a stalemateWhat is a stalemate?

The Germans began to believe that they could win if they inflicted heavy casualties on the French

The Germans decided to select Verdun, which held a direct route to Paris

Battle of Verdun

The battle began on Feb. 21st 1916 A 9-hour bombardment of 1 million shells

preceded the assaultThe Germans wanted to wage a war of

attritionThe German commander wanted to “bleed

France white.”What does attrition mean?

By the time the fighting bogged down, the French lost 120,000 troops, Germans lost 100,000 (December 18th, 1916; longest)

Battle of Verdun

German skulls

This battle comprised the main allied attack on the Western Front during 1916July 1st 1916 – November 18th

58,000 British troops were killed on the first day alone

The Somme is a river in FranceThis battle was intended to take some

German troops away from VerdunAnother battle of attrition

The battle was preceded by a 5 day long artillery barrage

Battle of the Somme

Mine exploding near German trench

Following the barrage, the British expected there to be no resistance when they charged the German trenchesClearly they were wrong due to the casualties

(58,000)The Somme saw the first tank used in battleWhen the battle ends November 18th, the

French and British suffer 620,000 casualties; Germany suffers 434,000

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Cheshire_Regiment_trench_Somme_1916.jpg

Largest naval battle of World War IGermany wanted to stop the British blockade

in the North SeaEngland wanted to deal a decisive blow to the

German fleet

Battle of Jutland (Denmark)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jutland_campaign_map.png

England ends up losing more ships and menGermany does not challenge the British navy

ever again during the warThe Germans start their policy of unrestricted

submarine warfare

Shells splashing

View from a British ship