The Great War Chapter 8 Section 2

A : Illusions and Stalemate When war broke out, many Europeans were under the illusion that the war would be short and glorious Several things made people eager for war: 1)Propaganda- ideas spread to influence public opinion, for or against a cause -stirred up national hatred 2)Everyone believed it would be over in a few weeks

Germany wanted to invade France first and then take Russia Germans made it to the Marne River and France and were met by thousands of French troops The war turned into a stalemate as both sides dug into trenches The Western Front had become bogged down in Trench Warfare that kept both sides in virtually the same position for 4 years

The war on the Eastern Front was more mobile Russia attempted to invade Germany but was defeated Germany was able to defeat Serbia and put Russia out of the war

B The Great Slaughter The unexpected development of Trench Warfare baffled generals They decided that the only way to win was a war of attrition -this is a war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses At the Battle of Verdun, 700,000 French and Germans were slaughtered

: The Great Slaughter By the end of 1915, airplanes appeared on the battlefront for the first time in history Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) was the best known WWI ace with over 80 kills Germans used Zeppelins to bomb targets, but eventually found out they were easy to destroy

Widening of the War Both sides began to look for new allies to end the stalemate The Ottoman Empire joined Germany’s side in August 1914 A British officer known as Lawrence of Arabia led Arab princes to revolt against the Ottomans

The Entry of the United States At first, the United States tried to remain neutral in the war Britain had used its superior navy to blockade Germany, keeping goods from reaching them Germany reacted with the use of unrestricted submarine warfare -This meant that Germany would sink any ships, including passenger ships On May 7, 1915 German u- boats sunk the Lusitannia, a British passenger liner 1,100 were killed including 100 Americans William II suspended unrestricted submarine warfare for fear of angering Americans Soon, one of William’s generals convinced him that America was no threat and he resumed submarine warfare The U.S. joined the war in April, 1917

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War As WWI dragged on, it became a Total War involving complete mobilization of resources and people European nations set up planned economies – systems directed by government agencies U.S. President Woodrow Wilson stressed that every American was part of the army, whether or not they were overseas fighting As the war raged on, support and morale dropped Germany used forced to keep their people in line, but many western countries used propaganda Women took over jobs at home while men fought in the war After WWI, women gained the right to vote