World War I: 12.2 Part 1 Stalemate

Initial Expectations Many leaders thought the war would be over quickly & include quick, decisive victories 1 st Battle of Marne – stops German advance Germany – now fights on two fronts

Trench Warfare Style of fighting that developed primarily along the western front Western Front - ran from North Sea to Switzerland’s border Eastern Front – more mobile

No-Man’s Land Thin strip of land between the two trenches Contained barbed wire and land mines Charging no-man’s-land called going over the top and considered suicide during the day

Two Offensives To Break The Stalemate 1. Battle of Verdun 2. Battle of the Somme

Battle of Verdun Germany Offensive – Feb 1916 French city of Verdun targeted Surrounded by forts Symbolic French town – they would defend it German goal – bleed France white

Battle of Verdun German’s launched a 21 hour artillery barrage then 1 mil. man attack = French knew it was coming. = French knew it was coming. Battle raged for months with neither side winning Over 1 million casualties / ½ Dead

Two Offensives To Break The Stalemate 2. Battle of Somme

Battle of Somme Main Allied Offensive of 1916 Goal: drain Germany’s reserves Allies bombard Germans for 8 days then 750,000 men attack – “walk across no- man’s land” British forces lost 60,000 soldiers in one day - record Four month battle left 1 million dead and wounded – achieved nothing

Two Offensives To Break The Stalemate Results: –Neither the Battle of Verdun or the Battle of Somme could break the stalemate and trench warfare would continue

New Weapons of the War

Machine Guns Fired rounds per minute Much more effective than rifles – one worth 75 rifles Most are heavy Portable at end of war = Killing machine

Tanks Introduced by the Allies at Somme Countered the effectiveness of the machine gun and barbwire in trench warfare Broke down often Slow – 2-5 mph

Poison Gas Uncivilized before WWI Released as a cloud of mist to drift over trenches Launched in exploding shells also Without gas masks – certain death

Submarines Effectively sank many commercial and military ships with no warning Had little effect on outcome of the war

Airplanes Engaged in fights that became known as dogfights Had little effect on outcome of the war