1. Europe Marches Towards War
By 1914, Europe was divided into two camps: The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and The Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia)
Austria’s declaration of war set off a chain reaction, where the countries of Europe all pledged to support one another
Russia moves troops to its borders with Austria and Germany (since it was Austria’s ally – with the intention to help Serbia if it was attacked)
Germany declares war on Russia on August 1, 1914, then declared war on France
With two members of the Triple Entente at war, Great Britain declared war on Germany
August two sides at war throughout Europe:
Central Powers—Germany, Austria-Hungary (and other nations)
Allies—Britain, France, Russia (and other nations such as Japan and, later, Italy when it accused Germany of starting the war unfairly)
Millions of soldiers from both sides are going to war thinking it will be a short one with minimal casualties
Sir Edward Grey (Britain) – “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

2. A Bloody Stalemate
It did not take long for Sir Edward Grey’s prediction to become true:
By the fall of 1914, the war had turned into a long, bloody stalemate in France due to Germany’s war strategy and the method the war was being fought (trench warfare)
Schlieffen Plan—German plan to defeat France then fight Russia
Named after General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen – understood that Germany was fighting a war on two fronts (east and west)
France was still recovering from the Franco-Prussian war in the 1870s – weaker than Germany
Russia was strong but slow – would need time to set up supply lines from the interior to reach the frontlines
Western Front— Allies/Central Powers combat zone in France = heavy battle zone in northern France – battle zone because the aim of the Germans is to take the capital city
German army moved to outskirts of Paris - engaged the French in the First Battle of the Marne (1914)
Seemed like Germany would win, but the Allies regrouped after successive French retreats and attacked the Germans northeast of Paris
Every available soldier was thrown in the battle, more than 600 taxi cabs rushed soldiers from Paris to the Front
After 4 days of fighting, the German army had to retreat to prevent more casualties (500,000 from both sides)
Paris was not captured = Schlieffen Plan fails; Germany has to fight two-front war with France/Russia

5. War In The Trenches
By 1915, opposing armies in the Western Front dug parallel trenches from enemy fire – Trench Warfare
Soldiers fight each other from the trenches – sometimes time was spent retaking trenches that were taken previously
Battles result in many deaths and pitifully small land gains
Fighting could last days (months even) but land was only gained by moving into enemy trenches
Life in trenches is difficult/unsanitary:
Trenches were often swarmed with rats, fresh food was non existent, and almost impossible to get sleep (sounds of war)
Illnesses such as Trench fever - caused by body louse feces-, trench nephritis (swelling of kidney), Trench foot disease – caused by moisture/cold were commonplace in the trenches
Land between the trenches was called “no-man’s land” – when officers ordered their attacks, the soldiers jump out of the trenches, where they are met with bombs and machine gun fire
Artillery fire brought death to those waiting in the trenches – “Shells of all calibers kept raining on our sector.”

7. Weapons Of The Great War
Military strategists were at a loss – the new tools of war did not bring the short war they thought they were going to have
Arguably, the advancement of Artillery and military technology is what led to large numbers of casualties
Machine Gun – 450 to 600 rounds per minute – mow down enemy forces like wheat
Flamethrowers – Germans utilized at last 3,000 of them
Artillery – Big guns fire shells as far as 9.3 miles – responsible for most deaths
Poison Gas – Cylinders of mustard gas would incapacitate troops on both sides (not responsible for a lot of deaths)
Best example of this is the massive losses for both sides at 1916 Battle of Verdun – lasted 300 days (Feb – Dec. 1916)
Plan was for Germany to “bleed France white” and obliterate French military
130,000 French/120,000 German soldiers died in the conflict
Result – Germans advanced about 4 milies

8. “Big Bertha” Howitzer, Flamethrowers

9. The Battle of Verdun (Feb – Dec
The Battle of Verdun (Feb – Dec. 1916) “You eat beside the dead; you drink beside the dead, you relieve yourself beside the dead and you sleep beside the dead. ”People will read that the front line was Hell. How can people begin to know what that one word – Hell – means.”

10. Battle On The Eastern Front
Even though the Western front claimed thousands of lives, both sides were sending millions more to fight on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front—Site of main fighting along the German-Russian border
Here Russians and Serbs battled Germans and Austro-Hungarians – also a more mobile war than in the west – slaughter and stalemate were still common
Russians sent troops into Austria and Germany but were forced to retreat largely due to German artillery and efficiency with reinforcements and supplies
More than 30,000 soldiers were killed during the battle
Russia’s war effort suffering by 1916; many casualties and lacked supply infrastructure to relieve Russian soldiers
Dissatisfaction with Russian czar and war effort stirred the possibility of revolution
Large Russian army stayed formidable – its one asset was its huge population at the time
Strategy – Human wave attack
Kept Germany from sending troops to Western Front – allowed Allies to win battles in Marne and the like
As the war raged on, the fighting spread from Europe to Africa, Southeast and Southwest Asia

13. Physical Conditions/Aspects of the Trenches
Emotional Conditions/Aspects of the Trenches