Some key Ideas \ ‘The lamps are going out all over Europe: we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime’

 LIMITED WAR v TOTAL WAR  ‘Limited wars’ of the 18 th / 19 th century- largely the business of rulers and their armies  Armies small in size- manoeuvre to avoid battle rather than engaging in it  Societies largely untouched by war- trade continued  TOTAL WAR- envelops the whole of society  Total mobilization of the nation’s resources for victory (war economy)  Social, economic (cultural) and political structure affected / undermined by involvement in war.  Psychological trauma (‘The lost generation’)  Wars had increased in intensity and impact in the 18 th and 19 th century

 STAGE 1- The battle for a quick victory 1914  The breakdown of the war of movement / manoeuvre  The race to the sea  The development of the Western Front- trench warfare  Defeats for Russia- Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes

 Attrition  Battle of the Somme  Battle of Verdun

 Importance of US entry into the war  The Russian Revolution

 Failure of the German offensive  Failure of Germany’s allies  Wilson’s Fourteen Points for Peace  The armistice

 To what extent did the Allies’ initial resources surpass those of the Central Powers?  How did the aims of the two sides change after the beginning of the war?  Why did Germany’s success depend on a short war and how did its aims and those of its enemies make this unlikely?

 /menus/GCSE/The_Great_War_Course.htm /menus/GCSE/The_Great_War_Course.htm  Fordie  guardian

 What does ‘Exposure’ tell us about life on the Western Front?

 What factors enabled most soldiers to carry on fighting in spite of the appalling conditions they faced?

 Schlieffen Plan ‘six week’ strategy- use of railway to return the German soldiers to the Eastern Front A) Belgian fortifications. B) Russia attack began sooner than expected. C) German army was unable to capture Paris.  French govt. retreated to Bordeaux.  General Joffre ordered a counter attack- 1st battle of the Marne (Sept. 1914).  Germany forced to retreat- ‘digging in’ – creating the Western Front- Channel to the Swiss Border.

 War of defence and the instruments of defence- trench, artillery, barbed wire and machine gun- proved more successful than instruments of attack- artillery, rifle and bayonet.  Surprise attack almost impossible- due to artillery barrage before an attack, aerial observation  War of attrition developed as no one side would succeed in attack- wear the other side down- exhaust supplies / will to continue- this transformed the conflict in TOTAL war. 

 Chlorine gas  Phosgene gas  Mustard gas  The tank  Creeping barrage

 August Battle of Tannenberg- surrender of Russian soldiers.  September- Battle of Masurian Lakes.  Poorly trained and equipped Russian soldiers ‘ten shots a day’.  Massive impact on internal stability of Russia.  Tsar takes over personal command of the army.  Russia kept in the war by the allies by the offer of Constantinople and control of the Straits.  The existence of the ‘second’ front was important to keep Austria / Germany tied down.  Impact of the Brusilov Offensive

 Internal economic problems.  The Tsarist system  Revolutionary movements  Soldier desertions in  Abdication of the Tsar.

 A front to relieve pressure on other fronts.  Also a way of ‘breaking the deadlock’ on the the Western Front.  Russians had appealed for support against Turkey.  Strategic importance of the Ottoman Empire (Black Sea). Seizure of the Dardanelles to open up supply routes to Russia / close the supply route to Central Europe.

 Entente tactic of offering ‘everything to everybody’ in order to gain allies- e.g. Bulgaria offered land in Macedonia.  Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in pressure on Serbia.  Greece tried to remain independent- British forces in Greece.

 Treaty of London May  Irredenta.  Caporetto 1917

 Why were the Central Powers defeated in World War One? (Higher Level style question- May 2008)  (20 Marks)

 Concept of Total war needs to be emphasised here. War was about economic strength which produced military strength.  Military- Failure of the Schlieffen plan produced a war on two fronts. Failure of Germany’s allies-  Political- the response and nature of political systems- e.g. DORA in Britain helped mobilize the entire resources of the country. Were democratic nations better able to respond to events?  Economic- the combined economic resources of the Entente Powers were greater. USA / Britain’s Empire