WWI Chapter 29.2 Europe Plunges into War!!!

The Great War Begins NATIONS TAKE SIDES: Serbia is helped by: 1.Russia 2.France 3.Britain (a few more than 18 countries helped this side) Austria-Hungary is helped by: 1. Germany 2. Italy 3. Bulgaria 4. Ottoman Empire (Nobody else joined these guys)

Words to know to understand the rest of this section: Compound-Word-Meaning-Related word 1.Stalemate- state of inaction -checkmate 2.Deadlock-standstill-deadbolt 3.Battlefields- areas of conflict - cornfield 4.Outskirts-perimeter-outlaw 5.Northeast- north and east - southeast 6.Taxicabs- hired cars -taxiway

A Bloody Stalemate 1.Germany faces a war on 2 fronts 2.Germany had developed a battle plan called the SCHLIEFFEN PLAN 3.The plan was to attack France, and quickly race to the East and defeat Russia. 4.The German leaders knew they had to have a QUICK victory over the French.

THE FIRST BATTLE OF MARNE 1.Early Sept. Germany plowed through BELGIUM, and was stopped on the outskirts of PARIS. 2.The Allies attacked Germany Northeast of Paris in the Valley of MARNE Taxicabs rushed French soldiers to the Frontline 4.After 4 days of fighting Germany retreated 5.This defeat left the Schlieffen Plan in ruins 6.In the east Russia had begun to attack Germany. 7.Germany was going to have to fight a war on 2 fronts!!!

THE 2 FRONT WAR Fighting between France and Germany was called the WESTERN FRONT. This part of the war called TRENCH WARFARE. Fighting between Germany and Russia was called the EASTERN FRONT. This part of the war was called THE FROZEN FRONT.

Trench Warfare In this type of warfare soldiers fought each other from trenches. There were huge losses of life, and very little gain. “The men slept in mud, washed in mud, ate mud, dreamed mud,” wrote one soldier The trenched swarmed with rats. Fresh food was nonexistent. Sleep was nearly impossible. The space between the trenches was called “NO MAN’S LAND” The Western Front became a “terrain of death”

One soldiers quote “The trenches disappeared, filled with earth….the air was unbreathable. Our blinded, wounded, crawling, and shouting soldiers kept falling on top of us and died splashing us with blood. It was a living hell.”

More about TRENCH WARFARE At the battle of SOMME in July, 1916, a soldier was expected to carry the following equipment: a rifle, a bayonet, grenades, 170 rounds of ammunition, a gas mask, a shovel and wire cutters, a full water bottle & food rations, extra clothing and medical supplies, and a portable cooking stove with fuel. Carrying about 66 pounds on his back, the soldier had to fight the enemy-assuming he lived while crossing “no man’s land.”

The New Weapons of War The New Weapons of War AND PICS: CLICK ABOVE 1.POISON GAS: Gas was first used by Germans, but used by both sides. The gases would blind, cause blisters, or cause death by choking. 2.MACHINE GUN: The gun could wipe out waves of soldiers. 3.TANK: It could cross many types of terrain was first use by the British at the Battle of Somme 4.SUBMARINE: Was used first by the Germans its primary weapon was the torpedo.

New tools were used to fight 1.New weapons were developed to fight the war. The new tools were suppose to cause a fast moving war. 2.All the new equipment did was kill people faster. 3.The slaughter reached its peak in In Feb. the Germans attacked France near VERDUN, each side lost more than 300,000 men. 5.In July the British attacked the Germans North of VERDUN at SOMME. It ended in November. 6.Each side lost more than ½ million men 7.WHAT WAS GAINED? Germans advanced 4 miles; In SOMME the British gained 5 miles.

The EASTERN FRONT These battles took place on the German and Russian borders. This was a more mobile war, but SLAUGHTER and STALEMATE were common.

THE FROZEN FRONT For soldiers on the Eastern Front the overall misery of warfare was compounded by deadly winters. “Everyday hundreds froze to death,” noted one Austro-Hungarian officer. Russian troops suffered too, mainly due to the lack of food and clothing. “I am at my post all the time….frozen and soaked,” said one soldier. “We walk barefooted or in rope-soled shoes. It’s incredible that soldiers of the Russian army are in rope-soled shoes!”

Early fighting on the eastern front 1. At the beginning Russia attacked Germany and Austria. 2. A 4 day battle at TANNEBURG took place & the Germans crushed the Russian. They went into full retreat 3. 30,000 Russian soldiers were killed.

Russia Struggles 1.By 1916, Russia’s war effort was near collapse. 2.Russia lacked INDUSTRY, thus The Russian army was short on food, guns ammunition, clothes, boots, blankets, ect. 3.Russia had only 1 asset – SOLDIERS 4.As a result Russians were able to tie up hundreds of thousands of Germans in the east.

More Worries for the CENTRAL POWERS Fighting spread beyond Europe and into AFRICA, as well as SOUTH and SOUTHEAST ASIA. This indeed became a WORLD WAR!!! CLICK ON THIE LINK BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RUSSIA: THE LINK THE GAME (SPANISH AMERICAN WAR &WWI)