World War I

1. World War I The Great War Continues…

2. Quick Recap… • Allied Powers: Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, Romania, and Greece • Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria • Germany’s Von Schlieffen plan has collapsed due to: • a loss at the Battle of the Marne on the Western Front • quick Russian mobilization on the Eastern Front

3. The Eastern Front: The Battle of Tannenberg • August 26-30,1914 • Russians kept their word to France and attacked before they were fully ready • Disastrous defeat for the Russians. • Germany’s greatest victory in the war. • Russia never fully recovers.

4. The War Continues… • Italy remains neutral until May of 1915 • The Allies promise Italy land in return for support, and the Italians become part of the Allied powers • Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, Romania, and Greece

5. Trench Warfare • After the Battle of the Marne, both sides settle into their trenches, and the war becomes a stalemate • 2 main trenches, 500 miles long, each protected by barbed wire and land mines • Men were in trenches for weeks • Attacks were made in the middle, which was “no man’s land”

6. Trench Warfare

7. War of Attrition • The war becomes a war of attrition, both sides continually try to wear the other side down through constant attack • WW I is now a TOTAL WAR- the countries are putting ALL of their resources into the war effort • Women take the place of men in factories, farms, shops, etc • Propaganda is used to elicit harsh feelings against the enemy. Rumors, posters, and ideas are spread that portray the enemy as a beast.

8. Battle at Gallipoli • The Allies wanted the Ottomans out of the war • Churchill opens 3rd front • Allies wanted control of Constantinople and the Dardanelles to supply Serbia and Russia

9. British Defeat at Gallipoli • Allies attack the Gallipoli peninsula • Turks outnumber the Allies ( mostly Aussies) • Turks win one of the bloodiest battles of World War I • Campaign is a disaster for the Allies and they withdrew in Jan. 1916 (Actual trenches in Gallipoli)

10. Battle of Verdun: February 1916 • Germans make a surprise attack on the French Fortress Verdun • Attack lasts for 5 months, each side loses 300,000 men • The French are led by General Henri-Philippe Petain: “They shall not pass.” • Germany gained 4 miles, and then abandoned the attack.

11. Battle of the Somme: July 1916 • British attack Germans • 400,000 British die, 500,000 Germans, and 200,000 French • Britain gained 5 miles • Introduced tanks into warfare • Tanks were slow and clumsy; make very little difference • Generals did not know how to best use this new weapon

12. American Entrance into WWI • American opinion was divided • Wilson urges neutrality (isolationism) • Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare; attack civilian ships • Remember:1915-Germans attacked Lusitania, a British trade ship, 128 Americans die

13. “The Yanks are coming…” • The Zimmerman Note • Feb. of 1917- Britain intercepts a telegram from Germany to Mexico • Germans promise to help Mexico regain territory in the U.S. if Mexico helps the Germans • Result: April 2, 1917- Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war

14. Why US entered into the War on the Allied side • Public outrage from the very beginning against Germany for violating Belgian neutrality • The sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania • Propaganda campaign by Allied sympathizers showing the “Horrible Hun”, “Poor little Belgium” etc. • Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare • The Zimmerman Telegram Allied Propaganda from WWI

15. Significance of American Entrance into WW I • Turned the tide of battle in favor of the Allies • Broke traditional isolationist policy • America emerged as a world power