The Great War

Background to War The Naval Race Pan-slavism Triple Entente Triple Alliance Moroccan Crises Balkan Wars Shooting at Sarajevo

War Begins Austria wanted to punish Serbia for the shooting of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie On 28 July 1914 Austria attacked Serbia Russia mobilised the next day Germany got involved next and invaded France France and Belgium had to be protected so on 4 August the UK also declared war

Attitudes in the UK Most people were excited British army only numbered 150,000 men so Kitchener called for 100,000 volunteers Propaganda posters persuaded many to join up Soldiers earned the “king’s shilling” Some people even lied about their age “Pal’s Battalions”

Signing Up

The Schlieffen Plan General von Schlieffen had organised a plan to attack France and Russia many years before war broke out. The plan outlined that the German army should attack France, conquer Paris and then turn round to take on Russia The plan failed because the French and Belgians fought harder than anticipated and took longer than 6 weeks to defend

Types of Fighting Troops wore bright uniforms Pitched battles impossible German machine guns Thousands of men killed in the first few weeks Need for new defences Trench warfare

Into the trench

Trench life Needed for defence, but cause a stalemate Became the soldiers’ homes Were zig-zag shape Consisted of mud, sandbags, parapets, duckboards, dug outs and barbed wire Rats and lice flocked to the trench Boring, and dangerous

Weapons Trench mortars Machine guns Tanks Poison gas Hand grenades Rifles/bayonets Spotter planes (eventually)

Battle of the Somme: 1 July 1916 Tried to break the deadlock General Haig – “Butcher of the Somme” Artillery shells for 1 week “over the top” German trenches were well protected Barbed wire became tangled 20,000 British soldiers were killed

Total War DORA: censorship, alien registration, watering down beer Propaganda Women did men’s jobs Factories produced weapons, tanks uniforms etc Conscription (from 1916)

The beginning of the end Germany sunk many of the UK’s supply ships – rationing had to be introduced The U-boat attacks encouraged Britain to use a convoy system to protect her ships An allied blockade of German supply ships began to mean Germans were starving Many German soldiers were more interested in finding food than in fighting In April 1917 the USA joined the allies

Germany Surrenders German morale was very low Civilians were dying and there was hardly any food Germany was badly affected by the flu epidemic American soldiers were well equipped but the German munitions were running out The Kaiser went into exile in Holland

Punishment of the Guilty Germany surrendered on 11 Nov 1918 The allies decided to punish Germany for starting the war The “Big Three” Wilson, Clemenceau, Lloyd George Treaty of Versailles German people were punished – not the Kaiser

Treaty of Versailles Germany had to pay reparations Germany could not keep her navy Germany’s army was greatly reduced Germany lost land (mainly fertile land) French troops were stationed in Germany All Germany’s overseas colonies were taken away War guilt clause (231)

League of Nations Wilson’s idea Creation of a world organisation to keep peace, solve disputes and make the world a better place to live in Could not keep an army Communist countries not allowed to join USA chose not to join once Wilson retired Many countries refused to disarm

History Vocabulary ENSURE YOU KNOW THESE WORDS: Naval Race Balkans Pan-Slavism Archduke Franz Ferdinand Moroccan Crisis Kaiser King’s shilling

Vocabulary continued Treaty of London U-Boats Schlieffen Plan Deadlock Trenchfoot Kitchener Haig Versailles

More vocabulary Somme Cambrai Ypres Reparations League of Nations Disarmament Armistice