1. World War 1

2. 1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate
Shattered Ideas
War was not worth fighting
Diplomats could prevent war
Propaganda
Idea spread to influence public opinion
Stirred up national hatreds from before the war
Helped convince if not already that war was just

3. 1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate
All wars since 1815 only lasted a few weeks.
The thought was that the war was going to be over Christmas.

4. 1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate
Germany swept through Belgium and was stopped a short distance from Paris
Western front turned into a stalemate neither side able to push the other out of trench warfare
Trenches stretched from English Channel to Swiss border
Stayed the same for nearly 4 years

5. 1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate
Russia moved into Germany but were defeated
Soon after they were no longer a threat to invade.
Russians defeated Austria-Hungary – removed them Serbia
Italians flipped sides and attacked
Austria-Hungray

6. 1914-1915 Illusions and Stalemate
Germans come to aid of Austria-Hungary
Defeat Russians in several battles
2.5 million captured, killed or wounded
For all purposes knocks Russians out of war
Germany then turned attention back to Western Front

7. 1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter
Western Front Trenches included
Massive amount of barber wire
Machine gun nests
Heavy Artillery
Soldiers lived in holes in the ground
No-man’s-land - the land in the middle of the trenches

8. 1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter
Militaries didn’t know how to fight this type of war, used to mobile war
Try to break through with massive numbers of soldiers
Battles started with heavy artillery then sent in thousands of troops.
Each side hoped the other would wear down was a WAR OF ATTRITION

9. 1916 to 1917: The Great Slaughter
For first time planes were used
First for spotting enemy positions then for ground attacks
In time machine guns installed
German used giant gas filled airships to bomb Britain. Easy to shoot down so stopped.
Zeppelins

10. Widening the War
Italy opened a front against Austria-Hungary with the allies
1918 British forces from Egypt fought the Ottoman Empire, Australian, Indian, and New Zealand troops used
Allies seized German Colonies
Japan allies with Britain seized German-held Pacific Islands

11. Entry of the United States
US tried to remain neutral but became difficult
Navel blockades keeping supplies from reaching enemies.
German submarines sank both civilian and military ships
Called unrestricted sub-marine warfare

12. Entry of the United States
1915- Germans sank the Lusitania Killing 1,100
American government strongly protested, Germans stopped warfare, then later continued
Germans thought the US would not enter the war till after British were starved.
US entered the war in April 1917 but troops didn’t arrive until 1918.
Gave huge psychological boost as well as money and supplies

13. The Home Front: The Impact of Total War
World War 1 became a TOTAL WAR.
Complete mobilization of people and resources
War impacted everyone’s life
Governments over time increased their power because of manpower and resources needed to keep war effort going.
Millions were drafted into the armed services

14. The Home Front: The Impact of Total War
Governments set up planned economies
Economic control
food rationing
regulated
transportation
Import and export controls

15. The Home Front: The Impact of Total War
As casualties mounted public support waned.
Some gov’t used force to keep people working
Passed laws to control
Increased control over news sources
New propaganda to keep moral up
Women in new roles
Factory and trucking jobs
Right to vote