World War I Aim: How did World War I have devastating global effects?

Germany’s Problem Avoid a 2 front war – France to West and Russia to East Bismarck secret treaties prevented this Schlieffen Plan – quick defeat of France through Belgium can prevent 2 front war as well

New technology Machine guns Artillery (cannons) i.e. “Big Bertha” – heavily used Gas grenades Transportation (trains, automobiles) Communication (radios, telephones) Tanks – minor role until the end of the war then ends Trench Warfare Planes – minor role and usually 1 on 1 combat – death sentence for pilots Naval Units technology

War: Fantasy vs. Realilty The following slides are courtesy of: ars/firstwwlinks/worksheets/realityofwar.pp t#1War: Fantasy vs. Realiltyhttp:// ars/firstwwlinks/worksheets/realityofwar.pp t#1War: Fantasy vs. Realilty

Why fight? MANIAS Everybody thought the war would be quick because of new technologies – and that they would win Status quo was “unacceptable”

By Miss Boughey Trench Warfare – The Western Front

The British government wanted to encourage men to enlist for war. They said the war would be safe, hardly any fighting, a good lark and over by Christmas. They used advertising posters to encourage this idea! A picture of soldiers going ‘Over the Top’

The reality of ‘going over the top’ was very different!

Soldiers were expected to carry all of their equipment with them at all times. They were supposed to keep it clean and in good condition – they were British after all.

How the uniform and equipment changed after just three weeks in the trenches…

Posters always showed men ready and willing to fight. They never showed the boredom of the trenches or actual fighting taking place. Why do you think the government showed no fighting?

No smiling and relaxed faces… No clean uniforms… Their equipment is scattered everywhere… Boredom and sleep are obvious…

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.

Initially believed to be a symptom of poor morale by military authorities, 'trench foot' was in fact a fungal infection of the feet brought on by prolonged exposure to damp, cold conditions allied to poor environmental hygiene.

THE RATS Google images

A HOPELESS SITUATION

TRENCH WARFARE

ANATOMY OF A TRENCH

POETS OF THE GREAT WAR By Ms Stubbs Downloaded from

Poetry from the First World War was written by soldiers who served at the Western Front. They saw the horrors of War first hand. They wrote about what they really saw. Their poems were published just after the war, so they were not censored. They are first hand and often unbiased sources.

Why did the U.S. enter World War I? President Wilson had wanted the U.S. to remain neutral and not get pulled into World War I. Wilson's Declaration of Neutrality

Rising Tensions In 1915 a German U-Boat sank The Lusitania, a British passenger liner. 124 Americans were killed on board this ship. The Germans tried to prevent shipments from reaching the British and attacked U.S. merchant ships en route to Britain. This all shifted American opinion against Germany. Wilson's note to Germany

The Zimmerman Telegram The Zimmerman Note (Background and the telegram itself).The Zimmerman Note

The U.S. entered the War on April 2, 1917

USA affect on the war USA able to transport troops across the Atlantic despite use of German submarines USA has virtually “unlimited” resources (troops and Industrial production) so War of Attrition would continue on for years USA doesn’t have any great military victories – but shows ability to keep fighting German citizens blockaded and suffering leads to huge outcry to end the war

When it was all over… More than 8.5 million were dead 17 million wounded Famine and disease were widespread in many regions. The financial cost of the war is said to have amounted to almost $38 billion for Germany alone; Britain spent $35 billion, France $24 billion, Russia $22 billion, USA $22 billion and Austria-Hungary $20 billion. In total the war cost the Allies around $125 billion; the Central Powers $60 billion. (Firstworldwar.com)