1. World War I
Anatomy of a stalemate

2. Initial expectations v. realities:
A short war: belligerents would run out of men and materiel
Failure of initial offensives
Inadequacy of mass rushes
Shortages of supplies
Digging in on the western front: offence gives way
Trench warfare
Tunnelling
Movement on the eastern front

3. Reasons for stalemate Machine guns Trenches as only defence
Artillery
Trenches as only defence
Ease of filling gaps
Limits of known military tactics
Dense railway network
Industrial capabilities put to work
Supply of men…

4. Western Front, 1916

5. Battle of Somme-1

6. Battle of Somme-2

7. Costs in human life Total for WWI 9,000,000 Battle of the Somme
Allies: 600,000
July 1 alone: 60,000
Germans: 615,000

8. Casualties

9. Failure of peace initiatives
Desire of France and Germany to maintain buffer states on borders
Incorporation of new allies with demands on territory of belligerents

10. Determining factors: Supply of food and raw materials
Exhaustion of combatants
Success of British naval blockage
American entry (triggered by German submarine warfare)

11. Changes in government as result of the war
Need to plan and manage domestic economies
Intensive regulation
Incorporation of trade unions and business associations in Britain, Germany
Effective military takeover by 1917 in Germany
Growing indebtedness

12. Changes in societies Recourse to propaganda, demonization of the enemy
Extensive mobilization
Massive disillusionment, disaffection

13. Consequences: an initial view
Toppling of multinational empires
Revolution in Russia
Widespread disillusionment
Economic dislocation:
Shifts in trade patterns
Indebtedness of European countries to the United States