A Struggle for World Domination

The Schlieffen Plan “Paris for lunch - St. Petersburg for dinner!”

The German Plan A major offensive to capture Paris in 42 days Avoid France’s fortifications by sweeping west through neutral Belgium and then turning in an arc south into Paris The French army would be destroyed defending Paris

The Idea If successful the French would be forced to surrender Germany could then shift forces to the Eastern front to defeat the Russians before they could fully mobilize Like many others, the Germans thought the war would be short lived

Attempts to respond offensively As the German army moved through Belgium, France thinking it was a diversion sent most of there army northeast to attack Germany through Alsace and Lorraine The French lost 27,000 men due to the defensive power of “new” machine gun and long range rifle technology

Failure of the Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan fell apart when the Germans got too tired and too far ahead of their supply lines Part of their army got separated and vulnerable- the Germans had to retreat

France tried to attack By this time the Germans were also fighting on the Eastern front With the German army divided, France was able to protect Paris

Quest for Victory Immediately both sides tried to out-flank each other to swing around the others’ defensives This was called the “Race to the Sea” The result was a long line of trenches that stretched from Switzerland to the English Channel

A picture of soldiers going The Canadian government wanted to encourage men to enlist for war. They said the war would be safe, hardly any fighting, a glorious adventure and over by Christmas A picture of soldiers going ‘Over the Top’

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.

Example “The water in the trenches through which we waded was alive with a multitude of swimming frogs. Red slugs crawled up the side of the trenches and strange beetles with dangerous looking horns wriggled along dry ledges and invaded the dugouts, in search of the lice that infested them”

Trench Foot

Example If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two or three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to loose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and scream with pain and many have had to have their feet and legs amputated I was one of the lucky ones, but one more day in that trench and it may have been too late…

Gas was often a double-edged sword capable of blowing back to its point of origin.