A NEW KIND OF CONFLICT BELL WORK # 3

THE GREAT WAR The great war, as the newspapers soon called it, was the largest war in history up to that time. The French mobilized almost 8.5 million men, the British 9 million, the Russians 12 million, and the Germans 11 million. The Western Front- As the war began, German forces swept through Belgium toward Paris. The Russians mobilized a lot quicker than expected, and the battle lines in France and Belgium would remain almost unchanged for four years.

Trench Warfare On the Western Front, the warring armies burrowed into a vast system of trenches, stretching from the Swiss frontier to the English Channel. An underground network linked bunkers, communications trenches, and gun emplacements. There millions of soldiers roasted under the broiling summer sun or froze through the long winters. They shared their food with rats and their beds with lice. Through coils of barbed wire, soldiers peered over the edge of their trenches, watching for the next attack. They themselves would have to charge into this man-made desert when officers gave the order. The struggle continued back and forth, over a few hundred yards of territory.

A WAR OF MACHINES TECHNOLOGY THAT CHANGED WARFARE Automatic machine gun Tank Submarine/U –boat Airplane Poison gas/Gas Mask

A WAR OF MACHINES In 1914, German artillery could shell enemy lines from a distance of 15 miles away. By 1918, they were shelling Paris form battle lines 70 miles away. World War I was truly the first mechanized war.

DISASTERS FOR RUSSIA In August 1914, Russian armies pushed into eastern Germany. Then, at the battle of Tannenberg, they suffered one of the worst defeats of the war. Troops sometimes lacked even rifles. Still, Russian commanders continued to fling masses of peasant soldiers into combat.

War in The South Southeastern Europe was another battleground. In 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and helped crush its old rival Serbia. Italy, mean while, joined the allies to gain Austrian-ruled lands inhabited by Italians. Caporetto, the major battle on the Italian front, was as disastrous for Italy as Tannenberg had been for Russia.

The War Beyond Europe Though most of the fighting took place in Europe, World War I was a global conflict. At sea, Britain blockaded Germany, while German U-boats sank ships crossing the Atlantic toward Allied ports. Such unrestricted submarine warfare outraged neutral countries, especially the United States. The Ottoman Empire would soon join the Central Powers in 1914.