1. Word War I
A New Kind of War

2. World War 1 = The Great War  largest conflict in history up to that time
French = Mobilized 8.5 million men
British = Mobilized 9 million men
Russians = Mobilized 12 million men
Germans = Mobilized 11 Million men
1 In 4 who fought in the World War did not come back again.
That’s not counting the maimed, blind, and mad!

3. Stalemate on the Western Front
German forces fought their way through Belgium toward Paris = Belgians resisted more than German Generals expected  plan for quick defeat slowed.
Schlieffen Plan Failed = Russia mobilized more quickly than expected + Won small victories  German generals shifted troops to east weakening forces in west.

4. (September 1914) British + French troops pushed back German drive along Marne River = First Battle of the Marne  Germany’s hopes of quick victory on Western Front gone.

5. Both sides = dug deep trenches to protect armies from fierce enemy fire  turned into a long deadly stalemate
From 1914 – 1918 warring armies on the Western Front = faced one another  vast system of deep trenches.
Millions of soldiers lived out in the open + sharing food with rats + sharing bed with lice.

6. Between opposing trench lines = “no man’s land”  every house + tree long gone + many shell holes.
Soldiers = Go “over the top” charging into “no man’s land”  with luck soldiers overrun a few enemy trenches.
The enemy would counterattack = similar results  struggle continued back + forth for a few hundred yards of territory.

7. Stalemate = a deadlock in which neither side is able to defeat the other.
Battle lines in France would remain almost unchanged for four years.
To break the stalemate = Western Front  massive offensives from both sides in 1916.
German forces = tried to overwhelm the French at Verdun  French forces held firm: “They shall not pass”

8. 11 month struggle = half million casualties.
Allied offensive = Offensive at the Somme River  60,000 British soldiers killed or wounded in one day!
5 month battle = 1 million casualties  no side won an advantage

9. Technology of Modern Warfare
Enormous casualties = Western Front  destructive power of modern weapons.
Rapid Fire Machine Gun + Long Range Artillery gun = significantly improved weaponry.
Machine Guns = mowed down waves of soldiers.
Shrapnel = flying debris from Artillery shells  killed + wounded even more soldiers than guns.

10. Artillery allowed troops to shell the enemy from more than 10 miles away.
Trench Design = Front Line Trenches were dug in a Zig Zag pattern  prevents enemy from firing down the line.
Communications trenches = perpendicular to front line trenches  routes for mail + food + supplies + reinforcements + transport of wounded soldiers.

11. Poison Gas:
(1915) First Germany  then Allies = began using Poison Gas (New Weapon).
Poison Gas = blinded or choked its victims + caused agonizing burns + blisters.
Poison Gas could be fatal = one of most dreaded hazards of the war.
Poison Gas = Uncertain weapon  shifting winds could blow the gas back on the soldiers who launched it.

12. Tanks, Airplanes, and Submarines
WW1 = Advancements in technology  Gasoline powered engines led opposing forces to use tanks + airplanes + submarines against each other
(1916) Britain introduced the first armored Tank = Mounted with machine guns  rolled on sturdy tracks + navigated through barbed wire + over rough terrain of “no man’s land”.
The First Tanks Broke down often = failed to break the stalemate.

13. Messenger Dogs = trained to leap over barbed wire  carried vital information to the front lines.
Airplanes = first used to observe enemy troop movements.
(1915) Germany = Zeppelins  bombed English coast.
Zeppelins large gas filled balloons.
Both sides later equipped airplanes with Machine guns = Pilots known as “flying aces”  spectacular “dog fights”.
Fight in the sky had little effect on fighting on the ground.

14. Submarines = much more important than Airplanes  German U boats  did tremendous damage to Allied side.
U-Boats nicknamed from the German word for submarine; Unterseeboot.
German U Boats sunk vital merchant ships carrying supplies.
To defend against attack = Allies organized convoys  protected by warships.
Convoys Groups of merchant ships protected by warships.

15. Battle on Other European Fronts
Russian Losses on the Eastern Front:
(August 1914) Russian Armies Pushed into Eastern Germany = Suffered disastrous defeat at Tannenberg  causing Russia to retreat.
Russia = least industrialized  poorly equipped to fight a modern war.
Some Russian troops even lacked rifles.
Eastern Front = battle lines shifted back and forth  sometimes over large areas.
Eastern Front = not marred with Trench Warfare  Casualties even higher + results just as indecisive.

16. New Combatants in the Balkans and Southern Europe:
1915) Bulgaria joined Central Powers + helped defeat Balkan rival Serbia.
(1915) Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary + later on Germany.
(1916) Romania joined the Allies hoping to gain land in Hungary  Crushed by Central Powers.
Secret Treaty with Allies promised Italy some Austrian ruled lands inhabited by Italians.

17. Over next 2 years = Italians + Austrians fought eleven battles along Isonzo River.
(October 1917) Austrians + Germans = launched major offensive  Caporetto.
Italians retreated in disarray  Later British + French forces help stop the Central Powers from advancing into Italy.

18. War Around the World
World War 1 = Global Conflict  Japan allied w/ Britain + used War as excuse to seize German outposts in China + Pacific Islands.

19. The Ottoman Empire Joins the Central Powers:
Due to Strategic location = Ottoman Empire was a desirable ally  had the Ottoman Turks jointed the allies the Central Powers would have been almost completely encircled.
(October 1914) Ottoman Turks Joined the Central Powers = cut off crucial supply lines to Russia through the Dardanelles.
Dardanelles
a vital strait connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

20. (1915) Allies sent a massive force of British + Indian + Australian + New Zealander troops = attempt to open the strait  Battle of Gallipoli.
Turkish Troops trapped the Allies on the peninsula + Beaches = 10 months + 200,000 Casualties  Allies finally withdrew from Dardanelles.

21. Meanwhile = Turkey fought Russia in Caucus Mountains  Turkey’s northern border.
Region = home to ethnic Armenians  some lived under Ottoman rule + some lived under Russian rule.
Armenians = Christians  minority in Ottoman Empire + did not have same rights as Muslims.
As Russians advanced = some Turkish Armenians joined + helped Russian army against Turks.

22. As Russians advanced = some Turkish Armenians joined + helped Russian army against Turks.
Ottoman government used this cooperation as a reason to deport the entire Armenian Population to Syria + Mesopotamia.
During the deportation = between 600,000 and 1.5 Million Armenians died  planned massacres + starvation due to marching without food.

23. Many Armenians fled to other countries  United States = almost no Armenians in historic homeland in Turkey.
Turks = hit hard in Middle East  vast areas with Arab Nationalists who revolted against Ottoman rule.
(1916) Husayn ibn Ali = declared a revolt against Ottoman Rule.

24. British = Send T.E. Lawrence  Lawrence of Arabia.
Lawrence = supported Arab revolt  led guerrilla raids against Turks + dynamited bridges + supply trains.
Ottoman Empire = lost great deal of territory  including key city of Baghdad.

25. War and the Colonies:
European Colonies = drawn into war  Allies overran German colonies in Africa + Asia.
Nations also turned to colonies = troops + laborers + supplies.
Britain recruited = British India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand + France recruited = French West Africa.
Some colonists were reluctant to serve rulers who did not treat them fairly.
Others viewed service as a step toward citizenship or independence.