1. Trench Warfare / Western Front New Weapons Total war

2.  Both sides predicted the war would end quickly  German planned for their army to march through neutral Belgium to take Paris before Russia could enter the war (to avoid a 2 front war)… didn’t work  Germans advanced across Belgium into France, but they were stopped before reaching Paris  New weapons made it easier to DEFEND positions than to ATTACK  Trenches extended HUNDREDS of miles (along eastern France, on Germany’s Western Front.)

4. http://youtu.be/oeJkpsOqQgc

5.  Trench Warfare was new and had only briefly been seen in the American Civil War  Trenches were separated by fields of barbed wire and mines  Known as No Man’s Land  Soldiers spent years in the trenches  Neither side could advance so this left the fighting lines stationary  Rats infested the trenches by the millions  HORRID Smell  Rotting corpses  Overflowing restroom areas  No showers or baths for weeks or months at a time

6.  New form of weaponry  Casualty rates were VERY HIGH  Disabling chemicals: Tear Gas & Severe Mustard Gas)  lethal agents like: Phosgene & Chlorine. This chemical warfare was a major component of the first global war and first total war of the 20th century

7.  First introduced  Still a bit primitive to be to effective though  Called Tanks so if the Germans saw them on the rail carts they would think they were “Water Tanks”

8.  Used to see what was going on BEHIND Enemy Lines  Not weaponized until later SE-5 – Best Scout of the war

9.  In the Oceans, Submarines – known as German U-Boats were used to attack large ships  When a battleship would sink another battle ship, it would be used to rescue survivors – Not many though- space was limited

10.  In the Oceans, Submarines – known as German U-Boats were used to attack large ships  When a battleship would sink another battleship, it would be used to rescue survivors – Not many though- space was limited

11.  Britain placed a blockade around Germany & Austria-Hungary in an attempt to starve them into submission  Russia became cut off from the West and lacked ammunition & supplies  Each side tried to mobilize all its resources  When this happens it becomes something known as a TOTAL WAR