World War 1

1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate Shattered Ideas War was not worth fighting Diplomats could prevent war Propaganda Idea spread to influence public opinion Stirred up national hatreds from before the war Helped convince if not already that war was just

1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate All wars since 1815 only lasted a few weeks. The thought was that the war was going to be over Christmas.

1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate Germany swept through Belgium and was stopped a short distance from Paris Western front turned into a stalemate neither side able to push the other out of trench warfare Trenches stretched from English Channel to Swiss border Stayed the same for nearly 4 years

1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate Russia moved into Germany but were defeated Soon after they were no longer a threat to invade. Russians defeated Austria-Hungary – removed them Serbia Italians flipped sides and attacked Austria-Hungray

1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate Germans come to aid of Austria-Hungary Defeat Russians in several battles 2.5 million captured, killed or wounded For all purposes knocks Russians out of war Germany then turned attention back to Western Front

1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter Western Front Trenches included Massive amount of barber wire Machine gun nests Heavy Artillery Soldiers lived in holes in the ground No-man’s-land - the land in the middle of the trenches

1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter Militaries didn’t know how to fight this type of war, used to mobile war Try to break through with massive numbers of soldiers Battles started with heavy artillery then sent in thousands of troops. Each side hoped the other would wear down was a WAR OF ATTRITION

1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter For first time planes were used First for spotting enemy positions then for ground attacks In time machine guns installed German used giant gas filled airships to bomb Britain. Easy to shoot down so stopped. Zeppelins

Widening the War Italy opened a front against Austria-Hungary with the allies 1918 British forces from Egypt fought the Ottoman Empire, Australian, Indian, and New Zealand troops used Allies seized German Colonies Japan allies with Britain seized German-held Pacific Islands

Entry of the United States US tried to remain neutral but became difficult Navel blockades keeping supplies from reaching enemies. German submarines sank both civilian and military ships Called unrestricted sub-marine warfare

Entry of the United States 1915- Germans sank the Lusitania Killing 1,100 American government strongly protested, Germans stopped warfare, then later continued Germans thought the US would not enter the war till after British were starved. US entered the war in April 1917 but troops didn’t arrive until 1918. Gave huge psychological boost as well as money and supplies

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War World War 1 became a TOTAL WAR. Complete mobilization of people and resources War impacted everyone’s life Governments over time increased their power because of manpower and resources needed to keep war effort going. Millions were drafted into the armed services

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War Governments set up planned economies Economic control food rationing regulated transportation Import and export controls

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War As casualties mounted public support waned. Some gov’t used force to keep people working Passed laws to control Increased control over news sources New propaganda to keep moral up Women in new roles Factory and trucking jobs Right to vote