World War I: The Start of War

Unit 5 Vocabulary: World War I U-boats: German submarines

An Assassination Leads to War Archduke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire He was going to visit Sarajevo, Bosnia, a province of Hungary Sarajevo wanted to be independent from Austria-Hungary Serbian nationalists and other terrorists planned to murder the Archduke upon his arrival to Sarajevo in order to gain independence During the visit Ferdinand and Sophie were riding in a car along a river when a terrorist threw a bomb at their car The archduke pushed it aside quickly, and the bomb went off under the following car causing serious injuries

The Assassination What happened to the assassins of the Archduke and his wife? (Discovery Education) Two are sent to jail and one is hanged After the bomb attempt, Archduke Ferdinand requested to be taken to the hospital to visit those injured by the bomb His driver took a wrong turn into a side street Gavrilo Princip, a young member of the Serbian nationalist group, was standing on the street As the car began to reverse onto the street, Princip stepped forward and shot both Archduke Ferdinand and Sophie, who both died minutes later

The Start of War Rulers of Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the assassination Germany joined with Austria-Hungary to support them Austria-Hungary sent harsh demands to Serbia Serbia refused to accept them Austria-Hungary declared war

A Domino of Alliances Russia, who agreed to protect Serbia, prepared for war Germany and Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia Germany knew France was an ally of Russia and declared war on France as well Germany invaded Belgium as a plan to sweep across the eastern and northern France By doing this, Germany violated a treaty guaranteeing Belgium’s neutrality Great Britain, who agreed to protect Belgium, declared war on Germany

The “Great War” Begins Allied Powers Central Powers Great Britain France Russia Italy joined in later (1915) Did not honor alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary and switched sides Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Japan joined in later (1914)

Battles Begin Germany hoped to defeat France quickly by going through Belgium This would allow Germany to then move troops east to Russia Plan almost did not succeed Belgians held out for nearly three weeks Gave the French and British time to mobilize their forces Germans marched into France French and British were able to stop the German advance at the Marne River

Battle of the Marne River British and French saved Paris from invasion by the Germans and boosted French morale Made it very clear that neither side was capable of winning the war quickly or easily

After the Battle… Fighting in Western Europe reached a stalemate Next three years, the opposing armies faced each other across an elaborate network of deep trenches Trenches along the front line provided some protection from flying bullets and artillery shells Support trenches behind the lines served as headquarters, first-aid stations, and storage areas

Trench Warfare When did trench warfare begin? Civil War How many men would you lose in three months in World War I? Half a million men What ended the stalemate of trenches? Technology Tanks and airplanes made trenches obsolete (WWII) Trench Warfare Bet You Didn't Know: Trench Warfare

Battle of Verdun 1916: both sides attempted to break the deadlock of trench warfare by launching major offensives At first the Germans made some gains but were lost to French counterattacks One of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war was the Battle of Verdun More than 750,000 French and German soldiers had lost their lives Who attacked who first in the Battle of Verdun? Germany attacked France What was the new weapon used by Germany during the war? The flamethrower (Discovery Education)

Battle of the Somme British and French launched their own offensive while the Battle of Verdun continued Number of casualties were high Allies only gained about 7 miles Who planned the offensive against who? French and British against the Germans When did most of the casualties occur? Within the first hour Battle of the Somme

Death and Technology World War I saw many casualties and brought a lot of technology Cannons and other artillery improved Larger shells allowed for greater distances and better accuracy Poison gas (chemical warfare) was introduced Used first by Germans and later by the Allies Armored tanks were created The airplane was the most dramatic new weapon Watched troop movements and bombed enemy targets Dog fights or aerial duels occurred in the skies Zeppelin, or blimp, were used by Germans to bomb cities

On the Seas Land armies were deadlocked in western Europe Both sides looked to the sea to gain an advantage Great Britain was able to blockade German ports Caused shortages for Germany Germany created an effective naval weapon U-boats: submarines Prevented supplies such as food from reaching Great Britain Attacks by U-boats on ships at sea will eventually affect the United States and changed the course of war