z

Europe Plunges into

War

Section 2 (The Great War)

zVocabulary to Know§ Central Powers — the nations of Germany and Austria-Hungary, along with the other

nations that fought on their side.

§ Allied Powers — the nations of Great Britain, France and Russia along with other

nations that fought on their side

§ Western Front — the region of northern France where the forces of the Allies and the

Central Powers battled each other

§ Eastern Front — the region along the German-Russian border Where Russians and

Serbs battled Germans, Austrians and Turks

§ Schlieffen Plan — Germany’s military plan at the outbreak of WWI, according to

which German troops would rapidly defeat France and then move east to attack

Russia

§ trench warfare — a form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from

trenches dug in the battlefield

zThe Great War Begins§ Each member of the two rival alliances

followed through on their pledges to support one another.

§ Serbia’s ally, Russia, began moving its army toward the Russian-Austrian border

§ Germany mobilized along the German border

§ On August 1, the German government declared war on Russia

§ On August 3, Germany declared war on France

§ Soon afterward, Great Britain declared war on Germany.

z

Nations Take Sides§ Central Powers

§ Germany and Austria-Hungary – due to their location in the heart of Europe.

§ Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire also joined (in hopes of regaining lost territories)

§ Allied Powers (Allies)

§ Great Britain, France and Russia

§ Japan joined, then Italy

§ Italy joined due to accusing the former partners of unjustly starting the war

§ In late summer of 1914, soldiers marched happily to battle, convinced the war would be short.

z

A Bloody Stalemate§ Fall 1914 – deadlock along the battlefields of northern France – known as the Western Front

§ German’s Schlieffen Plan

§ Confident it would work because Russia lagged behind the rest of Europe in its railroad system and

thus would take longer to supply its front lines

§ Germany sought a quick victory over France

§ Initially, it looked promising

§ Swept into outskirts of Paris, early September

§ However, on September 5, allied forces regrouped and attacked the Germans NE of Paris, in the

valley of the Marne River

§ Read this article - - http://www.history.com/news/the-first-battle-of-the-marne-100-years-ago)

z

zThe First Battle of the Marne

§ The first major clash on the Western Front

§ Perhaps the single most important event of the war

§ WHY?

§ The defeat of the Schlieffen Plan was left in ruins

§ A quick victory in the west no longer seemed possible

§ In the east, Russia had already invaded Germany

§ Germany was going to have to fight a long war on both fronts (west and east)

§ Germany shifted thousands of troops from France to the east, leave the

Western Front in a stalemate

z War in the Trenches

z

War in the Trenches§ By early 1915, opposing armies on the Western Front had dug miles of parallel

trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire, enabling Trench Warfare.

§ Huge losses of life were given for small land gains.

§ Life in the trenches — pure misery

§ Slept in mud – sleep was nearly impossible

§ Washed in mud

§ Trenches swarmed with rats

§ Fresh food not existent

§ The space between the trenches was named “No Man’s Land”

§ Western Front stretched nearly 500 miles from the North Sea to the Swiss border

z New Tools for War§ New Tools:

§ Machine Guns

§ Poison Gas

§ Armored Tanks

§ Larger Artillery

§ Submarine

§ Desired Effects:§ A fast-moving war, which was what was expected.

§ Actual Effects:§ Killed greater numbers of people more effectively

• Peak of Slaughter – 1916• German’s launched a massive attack on the French near

Verdun (British soon tried to help the French).• Each side lost more than 300,000 men

• Battle of Somme followed, ending in November• each side suffered more than a half million casualties

• What was gained?• The Germans advanced four miles – near Verdun• The British gained about five miles – Somme valley

z

Battle on the Eastern Front§ Stretch of battlefield along the German and Russian border

§ Russians and Serbs battled against the Germans and Austro-Hungarians

§ More mobile than the west; however, slaughter and stalemate was common.

§ Eventually, Austria defeated the Russians and pushed them out of Austria-Hungary

(December 1914)

§ Russia’s war effort nearly collapsed by 1916.

§ WHY? It had yet to become industrialized like the nations of western Europe.

§ The one asset: numbers

§ Russia, due to its rebuilding of troops, kept Germany busy which limited their

ability (Germany’s) to fight well in the west.

z ASSIGNMENT, Section 2:

1. What was the western front? Explain the type of battle and who fought there.2. What was the eastern front? Explain the type of battle and who fought there.3. Explain the Schlieffen plan.4. What is trench warfare?5. What was Russia’s asset?6. What was Russia’s weakness?7. List 4 new inventions of war, and write a short bulleted description.8. From the French point of view why was it important to defend the Marne River in

The Battle of the Marne?