WWI In the beginning, the armies on the western front became almost immobile. The basic soldier was a man on foot (motor transportation was still new) Machine gun most deadly weapon The result was a long military stalemate Hence, trench warfare intensifies

Overview of the War: Western Front A-H opened fire on Serbia Russia mobilized its troops Britain prepared its British Expeditionary Forces Germany puts its Schlieffen Plan to action

Failure of Schlieffen Plan Belgian resistance was unexpectedly strong The attack on Belgian brought Britain into the war The German delay in getting through Belgium German forces marching to Paris were weakened by the deployment of some of their troops to the east In Paris, reservists were sent out to meet Germans

Statlemate The Germans were driven back from Ypres in April nd battle of Ypres that poisonous gas was used by the Germans The attacks halt

1914 Schlieffen plan is stopped by a counterattack by the French and small British contingent Battle of Marne (September 5-12)-changed the whole character of war The hope of knocking France out in one blow was ended The Germans failed to gain control of the Channel Ports

1915 and 1916 The Germans and the Austro-Hungarians put their effort into knocking out Russia They pressed hard into Russia/tsarist Russia-2 million, captured and wounded in 1915 The British tried to open tried to open communications launched naval attack on Turkey- Battle of Gallipoli-the allies lose after a year

Gallipoli

1916 In 1916, both sides turned to the western front to end the deadlock The allies planned a great offensive along the Somme river in France, while the Germans planned an offensive in Verdun

Verdun The Germans attack Verdun in February General Petain holds troops for the upcoming offensive on Somme, so he is limited The battle of Verdun lasted 10 months and became a legend for determined French resistance Each side sustained 330, ,000 casualities

Somme While Verdun was taking place, the allies opened their offensive on the Somme in July During a week long bombardment, the Brits lost 60,000 men on the first day General Douglas Haig made bad decisions In a wk they had advanced only 1 mile on a 6 mile front. The battle lasted 4 months The battle cost the Germans about 500,000, the Brits 400,000, and the French 200,000

Results of the Battle of Somme and Verdun Nothing of real value was gained in these battles In one and half months the British advanced only two and half miles Huge causalities At the battle of Somme, the Brits fired more than 1.5 million shells in 5 days

War at Sea page 691 The land armies were helpless-they look to the sea The Brits imposed a strict naval blockade Contraband and noncontraband (make a T chart)

Page 692 Purpose was to prevent the Brits from starving out other countries The allies announced a new international law-NO MORE NICE GUY!=Total war

continued Germans counter with a blockade of England Germans rely on sub, but the sub is unrefined weapon

Total War A war in which a state uses all its human and material resources to fight

WWI is Total War Both sides fight for total victory Gov’ts used all weaponry that they had; they also developed new technology It involve all people in society. Civilians are targeted and they suffered from the economic warfare. The state becomes an efficient war-making machine

War at Sea Continued The Brits stop all goods in route for Germany-stop distinguishing between contraband and noncontraband At first the USA protested this action and defended the neutrality of the seas-they upheld “freedom of the seas” Then, the sinking of Lusitania in May 1915

Unrestricted sub warfare p.698 Germans announce unrestricted sub warfare to resume on Feb 1, 1917 Countermeasures were developed by the Brits to offset the blockade such as: mine barges, hydrophones, depth charges, airplane reconnaissance, and the convoy

Naval mine

hydrophone Water/ Sound Underwater microphone

Reasons for Germany’s defeat Schlieffen Plan failed Britain comes in the war Verdun was a failure High-risk strategy of unrestricted submarine warfare brought USA in the war Germany had weak allies Germany’s dire economic conditions