A New Kind of War
Huge Armies Mobilized million French - 9 million British -12 million Russians -11 million Germans War In The Trenches - Russian wins force German troops to the Eastern Front - British & French troops stop Germans on the Western Front - German advances halted - A stalemate quickly develops in the West - New weapons and tactics force armies into trenches
A. Technology of Modern Warfare – 1. Two significant weapons rapid-fire machine gun and long range artillery. A. Machine guns mowed down soldiers. B. Shrapnel from artillery killed or hurt more than guns.
B. Poison Gas – Both sides began using poison gas. – 2. Caused blindness, burning, choking, blisters and could be fatal. – 3. One of the most dreaded hazards of the war.
Planes, Tanks and Submarines 1916 Britain introduced first armored tank- mounted with machine guns, could move across no man’s land. Airplane “dogfights” were spectacular but had had little effect on course of the war. Submarines were more important, German Uboats did tremendous damage to allied side, sank merchant ships. Allies used convoys to protect ships
Planes, Tanks and Submarines
C. Russian losses on the Eastern Front – 1. August 1914, Russian defeated at Tannenburg, Germany A. Soldiers poorly equipped B. Commanders sent masses of soldiers into combat
D. The Balkans – 1. Bulgaria joined Central powers 1915 – 2. Romania joined allied 1916 – 3. Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and Germany A. Secret treaty gave Italy territory after Allied victory B. Italians suffered disastrous defeat at Caporetto
E. War around the World – 1. Japan seized German outposts in Asia – 2. Ottoman Empire joined Central Powers A. Cut off Russia at Dardanelles strait B. Battle of Gallipoli followed C. 10 months of fighting, allies withdrew
3. Turks fought Russia on Turkey’s northern border – A. Some Armenians helped Russians – B. Armenians were deported by Turks – C. Over 1 million Armenians killed
4. Third front-Turks fought in Middle East A Arab nationalists led revolts against Ottomans B. T.E. Lawrence from Britain helped Arab revolt. C. Ottomans lost great deal of territory.
5. European colonies drawn into war – A. Colonies were source of troops, laborers, and supplies – B. Many thought it was a step toward independence.