World Civilizations World War I

Terms to Know: Stalemate No Man’s Land Zeppelin U- Boat Convoy

Technology to Know: Airplanes Machine Gun Torpedo Tank Mustard Gas Barbed Wire Indirect Fire

People to Know: Lawrence of Arabia

Concepts to Know: Von Schlieffen Plan (Moltke’s modifications) Plan XVII Trench Warfare Trench Foot Amphibious Warfare

Stalemate When World War I began, everyone expected a quick victory. Instead, a stalemate raged for years across Europe. On the Western Front, a series of trenches was built, and for years, thousands of soldiers died from attempts to break the stalemate. In 1916, the battles of Verdun and Somme resulted in thousands of casualties for both the Allies and the Central Powers. Modern technology and antiquated tactics resulted in massive casualties, with 60,000 British soldiers losing their lives in one day at the Somme.

Eastern front

Verdun 1916

Somme 1916

Stalemate (cont) On the Eastern Front, things did not go much better. The Russians did have some victories in Germany, but the battle of Tannenberg ended the hopes of a Russian Offensive. To the south, a battle was fought over the Dardanelles, which the Ottomans had blocked off against the Allies. The battle of Gallipoli was an attempt to open them, but the British failed after ten months of fighting, and lost 200,000 soldiers.

Opening battles

Tannenburg

pursuit