WW1 Battle Notes

1. WW1 Battle Notes The Western Front

2. Alsace and Lorraine Franco-Prussian War of 1870 1871 France surrenders France paid 5 billion francs ($1 billion) and gave up the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine France burning for Revenge!

3. Schlieffen (SHLEE*fuhn) Plan 2 front war with France and Russia Germany army carry out rapid invasion of France by going through Belgium After France defeated, German army go east against Russian troops (6 million of them) Plan for France was to sweep around Paris and surround most of the French army

4. Battle of Marne (September 6—10) German attack slowed by Belgian resistance German army 30 miles from Paris

5. Parisian taxicabs French military leaders loaded over 2,000 taxis and sent troops to the front line at the Marne German flank exposed so they retreat

6. Trench Warfare Both French and Germans dig trenches Trenches run from English Channel to Switzerland Western Front becomes bogged down for remainder of war as no more outflanking Leads to permanent stalemate and a war of attrition= idea that the enemy must be worn down to the point of collapse by continuous losses Stalemate = a point where neither side can achieve victory

7. Life in trenches is miserable, mud, lice, trench foot, rats, et cetera

8. Ypres, Flanders, Belgium (1914)

9. First Battle at Ypres, Flanders, Belgium 1914 After the Battle of Marne Race to the North Sea 3 total battles in this region Known as the most damaged area in all of Europe during WW1 Great Britain lost 86,000 men One division lost 9,865 men(a division could have between 10-15,000 men) of which 372 were officers. Allied victory

10. Fields of Flanders became infamous for loss of life, associated with poppies

11. Battle of Somme (River in France)

12. Soldiers Prepare Each soldier carried 70 pounds of gear Rifle Ammunition Grenades A shovel A mess kit Water bottle Made it very difficult to move quickly

13. Great Britain launches attack on German troops, July 1, 1916

14. Great Britain Plan 15—25 miles of troops on Front Launch shells over towards German trenches in effort to wipe them out Germany had fortified the area with 3 rows of trenches, dugouts, shelters, and barbed wire stretched out across No Man’s Land When German guns fell silent, GB left safety of their own trenches and attacked

15. GB slaughtered: 21,000 dead on first day alone!

16. French join their GB allies under General Joffre After 4 months of fighting: Heavy and relentless rains brought an end to the offensive. Clouds prevented aerial reconssince Although Allies gain between 5—7 miles of territory there is no clear victory Loses: 1 million Allied and German soldiers lay dead or wounded: Great Britain: 400,000 France: 200,000 Germany: 400,000—500,000

17. Battle of Verdun (France) 1916Symbolic of the “new kind of war”

18. Kaiser Wilhelm (Germany) Key to victory was on the eastern front because the Russian Revolution was near. Believed that if he defeated France, Britain would seek reconciliation Verdun is an old fortress city and France’s “line in the sand” Germany attacks France at Verdun with 500,000 troops

19. French troops supplied by one truck every 14 seconds Day and Night!

20. War of Attrition 10 months of fighting Only a few miles of land changed hands Futile loss of life= Thousands of wounded soldiers left to die because not enough medical care French and German 700,000 deaths 460,000 were French

21. WW1 Battle Notes Eastern Front

22. Eastern Front Tannenberg (August 1915) Gallipoli (April 1915) Central Powers victory in the Balkans region • Russians defeated, no longer threat to Germans

23. United States Enters War April 1917

24. Lusitania & Zimmerman Telegram

25. “New Kind of War” (Thank you IR)