1. WWI Begins

2. A Europe Divided 1914 – 2 Rival Groups Triple Entente Triple Alliance
Great Britain, France, Russia
Triple Alliance
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

3. The Great War Begins Chain Reaction A-H declares war on Serbia
Russia moves army toward border w/A-H
Mobilizes toward Germany in anticipation of declaration of war
Germans view this as declaration of war
Aug 1 – Germany declares war on Russia
Aug 3 – Germany declares war on France
Aug 4 - GB declares war on Germany

4. Nations Take Sides Mid-August 1914, battle lines were drawn
Central Powers
At first, Germany and A-H
Later, Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire
Hoped to gain land

5. Allies GB, France, Russia, Japan Italy
Accuses Germany and A-H of unjustly starting war
Joins the allies

8. The Conflict Begins The Schlieffen Plan
Gen. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen
German army would race west to defeat France
Then fight Russia in the east
Speed vital
Quickest route through Belgium
Refuse to allow them to pass
Germany invades

9. Schlieffen Plan works at first
Aug 1914
Germans overran Belgium and moved into France
Sept. 3 – Germans on edge of Paris

10. Battle of the Marne Sept 5 Allies attack Germans northeast of Paris
2000 taxis used to transport troops from Paris
Sept. 9 – Germans order retreat

11. Single-most important event of the war
Defeat of Germans left Schlieffen Plan in ruins
Quick victory no longer possible
Russians had invaded Germany
2-Front war

12. Bloody Stalemate Along the Western Front
Fall 1914
War turned into long and bloody stalemate
Western Front
Deadlocked region in Northern France

13. War in the Trenches 1915 – Trench Warfare
Miles of parallel trenches along Western Front
Offer protection
Huge losses for small land gains
Miserable life
Men slept in mud
rats
No fresh food
Sleep nearly impossible

20. “No Man’s Land” Space between trenches Men go “over the top” to cross
Met by machine-gun fire
Many die
Bombed trenches

22. New tools of war kill thousands
Machine guns
Poison gas
Armored tanks
Larger artillery

23. Feb. 1916 – German attack at Verdun
300,000 die on both sides
Germans advance 4 miles
July Battle of the Somme
20,000 British die in
one day
500,000 on both sides by November
British gain 5 miles

24. Battle on the Eastern Front
German and Russian Border
Russians and Serbs vs. Germans, Austro-Hungarians, Turks
More mobile than Western Front

25. Early Fighting Central Powers gain the advantage
Aug – Germans force Russian retreat
30,000 Russians killed
Sept 1914 – Russians defeat Austrians
Drive deep into Austria
Dec 1914 – Austria turns the tide
17-day battle near Limanowa
Defeat Russians and drive east
Jan – push Russians out of Austria

26. Russia Struggles 1916 - Russia’s war effort near collapse
Russia not industrialized
Short on food, guns, ammo, clothes, boots, blankets
Allies unable to ship supplies to Russia
Russia had only one asset
Huge numbers
prevent Germans from focusing on Western Front