“The Great War” Frank Buckles was last surviving WWI veteran. He died in February of 2011 at the age of 110. He was born in 1901 and lied about his age to enlist in WWI.

 Text Europe before the war The Allied Powers The Central Powers Europe at the outbreak of World War I

The conflict between Serbia & Austria- Hungary triggered alliances and started World War I

 Germany becomes empire in 1871 began to build up its navy in  Central Powers Alliances: ◦ Germany & Austria- Hungary: 1879 ◦ Italy joins – 1882 ◦ Ottoman Empire joins ◦ Berlin Conference to colonize Africa – 1884 ◦ Balkan Wars –  Triple Entente Alliances: ◦ France and Russia ◦ Britain and France – 1904 ◦ Britain and Russia – 1907 ◦ Spanish Flu Epidemic Begins in the U.S. – January 1918

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Czech Countess Sophie Chotek in Their marriage was a scandal and not approved by the King because Sophie was not of royalty. They married in 1900.

 While visiting Sarajevo, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, are shot are June 28, 1914.

 War erupted in 1914 as a result of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, of Austria-Hungary.  A 2-front war had been raging with the Western Front at a stalemate in France and the Eastern Front in decline since Russia pulled out of the war as a result of the Russian Revolution.  Trench warfare created a new type of war where every mile gained by forces was seen as an enormous victory.

New weapons were invented to try to gain an advantage & win the war Machine guns

New weapons were invented to try to gain an advantage & win the war Long-range artillery

New weapons were invented to try to gain an advantage & win the war Poison gas

New weapons were invented to try to gain an advantage & win the war Submarines

Soldiers going “over the top”

The soldiers had very little decent food, and what food they had was often attacked by rats. These rats were the size of small rabbits and badgers because they had fed on the decomposing bodies of dead soldiers. Trench Foot

Fighting on the Western Front slowed to a stalemate as neither side could gain an advantage During the 10 month Battle of Verdun in 1916, 1 million soldiers were killed or wounded Another 1 million soldiers were killed or wounded at the Battle of Somme Despite the deaths, neither the Allies nor Central Powers gained an advantage after these battles

New weapons killed soldiers more effectively; During World War I, 8.5 million soldiers died & 21 million were wounded. Most also suffered from shell shock.shell shock

 Unrestricted Submarine Warfare  Zimmerman Telegram Woodrow Wilson & Prime Minister David Lloyd George

 Sinking of the Lusitania ◦ 1,959 people were aboard this ocean liner for its 202 nd trip across the ocean to Liverpool from New York on May 1, ◦ 159 were Americans ◦ On May 7, 1915, the ship had to slow down due to fog, not knowing that the German submarine, U20, was waiting close by. ◦ 14 miles off the coast of Ireland, a torpedo struck the Lusitania at 1:40 pm, causing 2 explosions. ◦ The ship sank in 18 minutes without enough time allowed to dispatch the lifeboats. ◦ Of the 1,959 people, 1,198 died.

To keep Germany from trading with other nations, Britain used its navy to blockade Europe Germany responded by using unrestricted submarine warfare to attack the British Navy & any merchant ships supplying the Allies German u-boat attacks played a role in bringing the USA into World War I

 In 1917, Germany broke its Sussex pledge to limit restricted submarine warfare in response to the effective British blockade that was leading to the starvation of the German people.  America cut off all diplomatic relations at this point with Germany, led by President Woodrow Wilson in his 2 nd term.  A telegram from German Ambassador Arthur Zimmerman was intercepted by the British in January, 1917, on its way to Mexico.  Germany offered US territory to be returned to Mexico if they would join the cause with Germany.  The British waited until February 24, 1917 to present info to President Wilson and it was published in the newspaper March 1.  On April 6, 1917, the US Congress formally declares war on Germany.

On April 2, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany & entered the war

 In late May 1918, the Germans pushed through the Western Front within 45 miles of Paris.  U.S. forces under General John J. Pershing helped halt the German advance, and on June 6 Pershing ordered a counteroffensive to drive the Germans out of Belleau Wood.  U.S. Marines under General James Harbord led the attack against the four German divisions positioned in the woods and by the end of the first day suffered more than 1,000 casualties.  For 3 weeks, the Germans attacked the U.S. forces with machine guns, artillery, and gas.  Finally, on June 26, the Americans prevailed but at the cost of nearly 10,000 dead, wounded, or missing in action.  Because of the voracity of the fighting by the Marines, the Germans called them “Teufrel Hunden” meaning “Devil Dogs”.

 Once the Americans arrive in 1917, they will only fight in the war for 1 year before Germany and the Central Powers surrender on Nov. 11, 1918 at 11am.  The last massive offensive undertaken by the Allied Powers leads to the end of the war  The 3-pronged attack on Germany would take place by the British, French and many newly arrived American forces.  26,227 AEF troops killed in this offensive.

 The attack began September 26, 1918 at 5:30pm  The American 1 st Army commanded by General Pershing runs forward into the Argonne Forest to break through the German lines.  The French were at their flanks but retreat back to the trenches, leaving the American forces in the forest surrounded by Germans by October 4 th.  The Germans encounter a new kind of enemy in the Americans they aren’t prepared for. In 2 months, the Americans do what couldn’t be done in 4 years by the British and the French.

 Major Charles White Whittlesey is ordered to lead his 500 man battalion on a suicide mission through the Argonne Forest as part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that eventually ends the war.  This is the true story of the 5 day siege that Whittlesey and his men went through when they become surrounded by Germans and communications with headquarters were cut off.