The Course of WWI Drawing What You Read

Looking Back  Enduring images are soldiers bogged down in Belgian and northern French trenches  Minimal gains, high casualties  Infantry running into machine gun and artillery fire  Many theaters of fighting though  Belgium, France, Austria- Italy border, Balkans, Ottoman Empire at Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Middle East, Africa

1914  Rapid movement characterized the early phases of war  German Schlieffen Plan seeking to knock out France quickly, trying to obliterate their left defensive flank  French Plan XVII seeking to retrieve Alsace-Lorraine, Britain and Russia mobilize immediately  Austria-Hungary focuses on Serbia

1914 – Western Front  German Commander Helmuth von Moltke had adapted Schlieffen Plan  Transferred more troops to Eastern Front to counter Russia’s faster mobilization capabilities  Many more troops on the left side of the right wing  August 1914, Germany invaded Luxembourg, France, Belgium  Slower than expected, due to British arrival (GER took heavy casualties at Mons), Belgian resistance and extension of supply lines  Opening weeks were disastrous for France under Plan XVII  Held up at the Battle of the Frontiers, lost 210,000 in the first month

1914 – Western Front  Early September, German forces neared Paris, swung east, exposed the flank to French and British at the Battle of the Marne, Sept. 5.  Germans forced to pull away from Paris  Von Moltke resigns, replaced by Erich von Falkenhayn  Now a series of attempted outflanking maneuvers by the Germans, French and British, became known as the ‘race to the sea’, ran out of room at the English Channel  First Battles of Ypres, British prevented the Germans from taking the town  Ypres becomes a salient  By end of the year, BEF lost 96,000, French 995,000 Germany 670,000  Germany occupied northern France though, its major industrial region

1914 – Eastern Front  Russians had mobilized by Aug. 17  Invaded Germany as two armies moved into East Prussia  Moltke must transfer 60,000 troops to the Eastern Front  Russians overwhelmed the Germans at Tannenberg in August and Masurian Lakes in September  Russian armies never connected and accidentally transmitted uncoded messages of movements to the Germans

1915 – Western Front  Falkenhayn decided to concentrate on Russia in the East  Only significant offenseive on Western Front was in April at the Second Battle of the Ypres  Germans used poison chlorine gas for the first time  Captured the high ground around the town, Allies kept the town  Number of French and British offensives, no real successes, only heavy casualties  From December 1914-March 1915, French attached the Champagne region  March, British Army broke through Germans at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle  German counter-attack though, 12,000 casualties  May-November, French repeatedly, unsuccessfully attempted to capture the Vinny Ridge  September, British failed attack on Loos, 50,000 casualties  September, French limited success in attacks on Champagne and Artois

1915 – Eastern Front  May, Germans launched a huge offensive against Russia’s Northwest Front  Russians driven out of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia  Russian General Brusilov decides to withdraw from Southwest as well  1 million Russians surrendered during this year  August Tsar Nicholas II took over military command, total mistake

Other 1915 Developments  Major debate among British and French politicians/commanders about whether to attack Germans in France and Belgium or knock out the weaker elements of the Central Powers  March, Gallipoli campaign as a way of weakening Central Powers at a time of stalemate  Continuing debate meant limited resources  Looking to seize control of the Straits of the Dardanelles, defeat Turkey  Pressure on Russia will be reduced  Four ships sank from mines  British and ANZAC forces land in April, failed to capture the high ground, bogged down, now a battle of attrition  All Allied forced evacuated in January 1916  May, Italy joined the Allies (had been promised Austrian territory)  Bulgaria joins the Central Powers in October  Britain and France landed troops in Greece to help Serbia but were pushed back into Greece by Bulgaria

1916 – Western Front  February, massive German attack on Verdun, trying to draw in as many French soldiers to a war of attrition  End of the battle in December, France had suffered 500,000 casualties  Next year saw large scale mutinies  German losses 400,000 though  Falkenhayn replaced by Paul von Hindenburg  British attack the Somme in July  Supposed to be French as well, tied up with Verdun  Seven day artillery barrage, mostly a failure though  First day of infantry attack the costliest in British history – 60,000  Attack continued until November  Tanks used by British for the first time in September  December, Germans began to withdraw to Hindenburg Line defenses

1916 – Eastern Front  Major Russian offensive against the Austrians in Galicia, August  September, Russians pushed back by Germans, huge losses and decline in morale

Other 1916 Developments  August, Romania joins the Allies, wanted Transylvania from Austria-Hungary  Withdrew after six months following a Central Powers attack

1917 German Strategy  Germany convinced Russia was on the verge of collapse  Thought they could then launch a major offensive in the West  January, announced unrestricted submarine warfare hoping to squeeze off British supplies  April, Allies lost 860,000 tons of shipping  Meant American ships as well  January, Zimmerman Telegram  April, US declares war on Germany

1917 – Eastern Front  By 1917, Russians 1.7 mil killed, 8 mil wounded, 2.5 mil prisoners, starting to break down  Really impacted civilians – food shortages, inflation, lack of transportation  February demonstrations led to abdication of Nicholas II, Russia became a republic  Launched a major offensive in June 1917, had totally failed by July  September, peasants are revolting  Lenin’s Bolshevik party comes to power in October  December, signs an armistice with Germany

1917 – Western Front  Several Allied offensives, mostly deadlock  April, British offensive at Arras, Canadians capture Vinny Ridge  April, major French offensive at St. Quentin, total disaster, halted in May, 100,000 casualties  Serious mutinies  Fell to the British to do something  May, British offensives in Flanders, designed to drive the Germans away from Ypres and break through to the Belgian coast  June, captured the Messines Ridge  End of July, heavy British losses at Third Battle of Yrpes  November, British captured Passchendale Ridge  Also took Cambrai, only a short-lived breakthrough

1917 – Austro-Italian Front  August, Italian offensive against the Austrians at Isonzo, no result  October, major Austro-German victory at Caporetto, Italians suffered 700,000 casualties  Italians were able to stabilize the front

1918  March, Operation Michael, massive German attack 100-km wide  Bolstered by Storm Battalions  Captured the Somme with the attack  Took only five days to go 65 km  April, second surprise German attack on Yrpes, broke through again, 40 miles from Paris  Germans had lost huge numbers though, 240,000 lost, others exhausted  Late May, US took the field with rested British and French  Huge counterattack at Amiens in August  By September, had retaken all the ground lost that Spring  Late September, penetrated Hindenburg Line  October, Germany asked for Allied Armistice Terms  November, Kaiser fled to Holland, Germany declared a republic  November 11, war ends