World War I

So…what started it all? Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was killed by a Bosnian Serb (of Serbia)

Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand

The War Begins…. July 28th, 1914 Austria declares war on Serbia Germany declares war on Russia (because of alliance with Austria-Hungary) Germany declares war on France

Because of the global empires of many European nations, and because of so many alliances among countries, the war soon spread worldwide.

Total War War in which countries use all their resources for the war.

The Role of Propaganda Definition of Propaganda: spreading of ideas to promote a cause or to damage an opposing cause In order to maintain a “total war”, needed to control public opinion Governments censored casualty (death) figures and criticism of war Goal: to encourage everyone to support the war effort.

Allied Propaganda focused on portraying the Germans as barbarians, telling stories of atrocities against innocent people.

French Propaganda

American Propaganda

The intention of propaganda used by Central Powers (Germany & Austria-Hungary) was to portray the Allies as inferior in many ways. Oftentimes racist to show weakness.

German Propaganda

German Propaganda

British Propaganda Many of the postcards issued by both sides in the two great conflicts were intended to belittle the enemy by poking fun at them in often quite simplistic and crude ways. "Negative propaganda", the misinformation of mockery, hatred and fear, was a powerful tool in the weaponry of forces on both the Allied and Central sides in World War One. http://warwitness.e2bn.org/resource_36.html

Schlieffen Plan German Plan Way to avoid a two-front war against France on West and Russia on East Germany must defeat France quickly then defeat Russia To defeat France, Germany had to march through the country of Belgium Belgium and Britain had a treaty Britain declares war on Germany

Fronts of the War Western Front – Germany V. France, Britain, and Belgium 475 miles Eastern Front - Russia V. Germans and Austrians Baltic Sea to Black Sea. Balkan Front - Ottoman Empire V. British and Russian Italian Front - Italy V. Austria- Hungary

contributed to the invention Modern Weapons of the War The Industrial Revolution contributed to the invention of new modern weapons

Machine Guns

Tanks

Flame Throwers guns that sprayed burning gas

Spy Planes Planes could not drop bombs yet

Submarines

Poison Gas chlorine gas burns throat and lungs (75 different types) Gas Masks Created as a defense from poison gas

Soldiers dug up lines of trenches that went for 475 miles across northern France.

The Trench War (along the Western Front) The Conditions: Water collected in the trench and soldiers drowned or died of diseases because of rats and flies. Soldiers who kept watch in trenches would fall asleep, endangering lives. Life could be very boring and scary. Could catch “Trench Foot” Rats would eat the dead and flies would swarm around open wounds.

Trench Foot

Over the Top “Over the top” meant to charge into “no man’s land” (the area between the trenches (had barbed wire and land mines)

No Man's Land

Stalemate High casualties Results of Trench War Stalemate High casualties Growing sense of disillusionment with war – letters home told of realities of war