SOCIAL SCIENCE

THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN Kaiser is the German word for emperor. In 1904, the German Kaiser Wilhelm ll asked the Chief of the German General Staff, Alfred von Schlieffen, to compose a war plan for a two-front war. The plan was to throw nearly all German forces against France in a very overwhelming way that would force France to surrender by the forty-second day of the war. This was the predominant war strategy.

ITALY AND ROMANIA Italy was with the Central Powers, but when the war broke out, it became neutral due to the fact that they would’ve been obliriated by the navies of Britain and France, since Italy had a very long coastline. Italy joined the Entente on May 23,1915. Romania had alliance with the Centrals but on February 1914, decided to remain neutral.

BRITAIN! Britain prevented Germany from a quick victory once it joined the Entente. Did not have a well trained army. Britain did not have universal conscription. Conscription: Young men were made to serve in the military. BEF!: British Expeditionary Force. BEF started out small but gradually expanded as the war progressed.

THE WESTERN FRONT: STRATEGY! France’s great defense caused German’s offensive Schlieffen plan to send the German invasion through Belgium. In 1911, General Joseph-Jacques-Cesaire Joffre introduced Plan 17 for France. Plan 17 shifted troops towards west for an offensive towards Alsace-Lorraine. German’s plan was risky too, as it left it’s defense,about 15% of its forces, on the Western Front to defend against France and a small force on the Eastern Front to defend against Russia.

WESTERN FRONT!: GERMAN ATTACK German troops started to attack Belgium. Two main fortresses; Liege (August 4) and Namur (August 21) The heavy fortresses required Germany to advance its technology. The 420 mm “monster guns” were created to take down the fortresses. The Plan was to be efficient in time and resources, but was not. 8 divisions instead of 1. Joffre decided not to send any forces to help. He wanted to keep them all for his offensive.

BATTLE OF THE FRONTIERS! A series of engagements between Germany and France. Aug.14-Sep.6 Involved over two million soldiers. Largest battle in human history.

WESTERN FRONT Aug.14, France launched 4 simultaneous attacks towards Lorraine and Alsace. New defensive German innovations,like the camouflaged machine gun nest, inflicted massive damage against France. Germans launched a massive counteroffensive that resulted in huge casualties. Joffre realized that Plan 17 had failed and that the German invasion through Belgium was a dire threat. General Helmuth von Moltke the Younger made two fateful descisions. First, he diverted troops from the right flank to Lorraine, in order to surround French armies and Paris. Second, he sent forces to the Eastern front to prevent Russia from marching to Berlin Joffre decided to retreat instead of being offensive. BEF retreated all the way to the Marne River.

FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE Joffre went back on the offensive on Sep. 5. The battle included over three thousand heavy guns on each side. Heavy losses to both sides. German armies under Kluck on the far right flank were exhausted. Germans were forced to retreat towards the Aisne River. The Battle ended the Shlieffen Plan. “Race to the Seas” led to trench warfare. By mid November, movement stopped and the the entire front became locked in trench warfare. Germany suffered a huge strategic defeat, due to not being able to knock out France. STALEMATE emerged for the next 4 years!

THE EASTERN FRONT!!! Russia launched its offensive early on August 14. Russia deployed 46 divisions against Austria and 30 on East Prussia. Battle of Gumbinnen: First Russian victory against Germany. Afterwards, the German commander was replaced by retired general Paul von Hindenburg, who embarked on a risky strategy of going offensive. Result: Remarkable victories. Battle of Tannenberg: Destruction of the Russian 2 nd Army. Germans won. Result: Russian General Rennenkampf decided to retreat from German soil.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Was very messy at first. Shuttling troops between fronts instead of fighting. Conrad (Austrian commander) wanted a bigger offensive towards Serbia but FAILED. Lied to Germany. Austri underestimate Serbia. Briefly took over Belgrade (Capital of Serbia) but was soon recovered by Serbians. Battle of Lwow was the first major Entente victory in the war. Russia won against Austria. Conrad was forced to retreat against the Russians to the outskirts of Cracow. The great fortress at Przemysl was surrounded by Russians. When Russian artillery arrived, the Austro-Hungarians surrendered on March 22,1915. Another massive defeat for the Habsburg empire. This all forced German concentration to focus from the Western front to the Eastern Front.

BACK TO THE STALEMATE AT THE WEST! Neither side was able to break through the trenches for the remainder of the war. WHY?

STALEMATE! Machine Guns!: Could fire a heck of a lot more rounds than previous ones. Very efficient to produce and great against rushing infantry. Artilleries obtained brakes. Which held them back after firing. Deep Trench Systems with as few troops as possible equipped with machine gun nests. Concrete bunkers. Artillery