1. Europe Plunges Into War
What alliances form during World War I?

2. World War I Alliances
Aug 1914: Declarations of war issued (Russia on A-H, Germany on Russia & France)
Triple Alliance becomes Central Powers
Germany and A-H in Central Europe
Ottoman Empire joins to gain back lost territory,
1915: 4) Bulgaria joins to gain new territory
Triple Entente becomes Allied Powers
Russia, Serbia, France declared/had war declared on them
Britain Germany invades Belgium
Italy joins, claims CP started unjust war

3. The Western Front
Fought in France
Ger vs. GB & Fr
Known for bloody battles due to trench warfare
The Eastern Front
Fought on border of Russia/Germany/A-H & Balkans
Ger & A-H vs. Russia & Serbia
Known as frozen front due to cold weather & lack of supplies

4. Schlieffen Plan (Shlee-fun)
goal: avoid fighting on two fronts
1) attack/defeat France first on W front [had beat them in Franco-Prussian War]
2) Attack Russia later on the E front
- Russia not able to mobilize  less industrialized (few RRs and factories), A-H can hold them off
Ger enters neutral Belgium to get to Fr
British upset & enter war

5. Western Front – Battle of the Marne
Ger w/in few miles of Paris
Allies regroup and counterattack  Ger retreat 4 days later
- taxicabs rushed soldiers from Paris to the fighting front
significance: Ger must fight on two fronts
- Schlieffen Plan will not work – no quick/easy victory in Fr
German troops near Paris
Taxis rush soldiers to the front

6. The Western Front – Trench Warfare
new technology  new strategies
series of trenches dug by both sides in N France
Soldiers fought, lived & slept in trenches
- deal with artillery fire, rats, lice, disease, smell, boredom, contamination, mud AND trench foot

7. Arial View of Trenches

8. Occasional Forward Traverse
Trench Diagrams:
Dog Legs
Tenaille / Zig Zag
“T”s and “L”s
Occasional Forward Traverse

12. Trench Warfare: Side View
Sandbags
Barbed Wire
Rats
H2O
Firing Step
Boards

13. British cooking up a “trench meal”
Typical British Rations:
1lb frozen meat, or salt meat
1 lb bread/biscuit/flour
2 oz. bacon
3 oz. cheese
5/8 oz. tea
4 oz. jam
3 oz. sugar
1/2 oz salt
1/36 oz. pepper
1/20 oz. mustard
2 oz. dried vegetables
1/2oz lime juice (if no vegetables)
2 1/2oz rum or gin (at discretion of commander)
up to 2 oz. tobacco per week (at discretion of commander
British cooking up a “trench meal”

15. German troops firing Machine Guns
French troops using a periscope in a trench
German troops firing Machine Guns

16. French troops testing phone lines for communication

17. French Soldiers Killed on the Western Front

18. Water filled trench (usual cause of trench foot)
Soldier caught on the barbed wire

19. Big Problem in Trenches…
MUD!

21. Trench Foot

22. Bloody Stalemates
“No Man’s Land” space above and between trenches
- filled with barbed wire and land mines
battles on W. Front result in little territory gained and huge loss of life
Battle of the Somme, 20K killed in one day & overall 600K wounded/killed for the Allies and 450K for CP (4mos)
Christmas truce: December 1914 each side stopped fighting for one day and came out of the trenches to celebrate the holidays together

23. Trench Foot

24. The Eastern Front
Russia winning vs A-H  Ger & Ottomans cut off Russia’s supply lines (Black Sea)
- lack of supplies/clothing = high death toll [“frozen front”]
Russia’s only advantage was a large population allowing them to constantly “rebuild” their army