Europe Plunges Into War

1. Europe Plunges Into War The Start of the War to End All Wars…?

2. The Great War Begins • Austria declared war on Serbia, causing Russia to deploy forces to border • Believing Germany would join too, also mobilized troops on German border • German saw this as act of war, declared so on August 1 • Without waiting to see if France reacts to aid its Russian ally, Germany declared war on France two days later

3. The Great War Begins… • As result of this, England (France’s Ally) declares war on Germany • Germany and Austria called Central Powers • Great Britain, France, and Russia called the Allied Powers • Japan joined Allies a few weeks later, followed by Italy • Italy was allied with Germany/Austria, but felt that they unjustly started the war

4. The Great War Begins… • Western Front • Fighting that occurred along French/German border • Was a deadlock for most of the war • German developed Schlieffen Plan • Develop by General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen • Idea was to beat France first, then go after Russia • Plan worked in beginning

5. The Great War Begins… • By early September, Germany reached outskirts of Paris in Marne River Valley • Sept. 5, Allies regrouped and attacked Germany, which had to retreat • Left the battle in France a stalemate, Germany focused on Russia • In early 1915, western front was dug full of trenches, led to trench warfare • Huge loss of life for small amounts of land

6. The Great War Begins… • Space between the enemy trenches became known as “no man’s land” • Horrible conditions in trench like mud, bodies, shelling from other side • These trenches ended up spreading for nearly 500 miles • From North Sea to Swiss border

7. The Great War Begins… • New Weaponry appeared • Poison Gas • Machine Gun • Tank • Submarine • In Feb. of 1916 Germans attacked French near Verdun • Resulted in each side losing nearly 300,000 men • Weapons were more effective killing

8. The Great War Begins… • Battle on the Eastern front • Battles here were more mobile, but killing was just as bad • Russia had early success, reached Germany’s borders • 4-day battle by Germans pushed Russia back, resulting in full retreat • By 1916, Russia’s war effort was near collapse

9. The Great War Begins… • Hard for Russia to get supplies from Allies • German submarines controlled Baltic Sea • Only thing helping Russia was its size and population • This large force tied up much of Germany’s troops, making it hard to focus on west alone