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Overview of WWI

This overview provides a summary of the key events and major battles that took place during World War I from 1914 to 1917, including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the German von Schlieffen Plan, trench warfare, the battles of Ypres, Verdun, and the Somme, and the entry of the United States into the war in 1917.

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Overview of WWI

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  1. Overview of WWI • 1914 • June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austrian throne shot by Serbian nationalist

  2. 1914 • European alliances click in when Austria invades Serbia on July 29

  3. 1914 • Germany declares war on Russia August 1, on France August 3, invades Belgium August 4, Britain declares war on Germany August 4, Canada automatically at war

  4. German ”von Schlieffen Plan" strategy was to strike quickly against France, destroy her armies, then turn against more slowly mobilizing Russians on east

  5. von Shlieffen Plan

  6. French Plan 17 ignored German advance and depended entirely on vigorous French offensive through Alsace and Lorraine, counted on substantial Russian advance early in conflict

  7. Plan 17

  8. Battle of Mons, August sees the first contact between Germans and British, BEF forced to retreat, • but First Battle of Marne, in September, invasion was checked, Germans driven back to a line along the Aisne River • Schlieffen Plan failed

  9. Battle of Marne

  10. Oct 10 - Nov 10, 1914 in the "Race for the Sea" the Germans try to outflank the Allies but in the First Battle of Ypres (in Flanders) BEF held and ports were saved, preventing Germany from reaching the sea

  11. Trench Warfare • By the end of 1914 the western front had become fairly fixed and the war settled into trench warfare.

  12. War Moves to Stalemate • 1915 • Stalemate on all fronts, but terrible loss of lives on all sides The Static Front: Why there was no breakthrough

  13. Second Battle of Ypres

  14. Second Battle of Ypres • 160 tons of chlorine gas are released into a light northeast wind, German troops threaten to sweep behind Canadian trenches and put 50,000 Canadian and British troops in deadly jeopardy,

  15. Second Battle of Ypres • however Germans advance only 2 miles and then dig in, lacking adequate reserves to exploit the gap gas created; Canadians mount counter-attack to drive enemy out, little ground is gained,

  16. casualties extremely heavy, but time is gained to close flank. In these 48 hours 6,035 Canadians, 1 in every 3 men, were lost. It is the first use of a frightening new weapon-- gas in World War I. Second Battle of Ypres

  17. At the end of 1915 • Canadians settle down to the dismal winter of trench warfare, fighting not only the enemy, but also "trench feet", colds, influenza and lice

  18. The War of Attrition • 1916 • On the western front, the basic strategic idea was to use head-on infantry assaults to break through and win the war quickly.

  19. But a ghastly pattern developed of attacking troops being cut down by enemy machine-gun fire, while the commanders only answer was to throw more men, guns and ammunition at the defenses. All to no avail.

  20. Battle of Verdun (Feb. - Dec. 1916) • Result of a German plan to "bleed the French white" using almost half a million men Germany had transferred from the east to attack the fortress-ringed city. General Erich von Falkenhayn

  21. Battle of Verdun (Feb. - Dec. 1916)

  22. This lured French forces into the defense of Verdun, • making the French contribution to the Somme offensive less:

  23. only 16 divisions from 40 (20,000 men per division) and 10 miles instead of 25 miles of front. • By Christmas when the Battle of Verdun finally ended, both sides endured a total of 800,000 casualties.

  24. Battle of Somme(July1 - Nov. 18)

  25. Battle of Somme(July1 - Nov. 18) • was a "Big Push" by mainly British troops that would destroy the enemy lines and allow the cavalry to ride through. The Germans were prepared and well dug in, however,

  26. when on July 1st, in broad daylight, 100 000 men advanced shoulder to shoulder towards the German guns. • By day’s end 57 500 British soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. Battle of Somme

  27. On Sept 15 the British used tanks for the first time, but not in enough numbers to achieve the big break through. In the end about 7 miles was the maximum advance, Battle of Somme More information about tanks in the Somme

  28. nothing of strategic importance was gained and losses amounted to over 400 000 British, 200 000 French, and between 400 000 and 500 000 German. Battle of Somme

  29. The Somme cost 24 029 Canadian casualties but earned Canadian forces a reputation as "hard-hitting shock troops." • From now on Canadian forces were brought along to head the assault. Battle of Somme

  30. “The Somme battles could be regarded as a colossal military defeat for Britain – though without it there would almost certainly not have been the ultimate victory over German forces in 1918. Most French people are quite unaware that around 750,000 British Empire troops died on the Western Front in the defence and ultimate liberation of France and Belgium. Britain suffered 60,000 casualties – 20,000 killed – on the 1st July 1916 alone.” Source of quote

  31. 1917 • On April 6, 1917 the U.S. declares war on Germany.

  32. Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9 - 12) • Battle of Vimy Ridge was the Canadian's part in another massive Allied offensive. At dawn on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1917, all four divisions (80 000 men) swept up the ridge.

  33. By mid afternoon they achieved the crest of the Ridge and within 3 days had taken the whole area. It was the first time Canadians attacked together and triumphed. Battle of Vimy Ridge

  34. Battle of Hill 70 • On August 15-25 Canadians suffered 9,198 casualties in the Battle of Hill 70.

  35. Battle of Passchendaele (Oct 26 - Nov 6) • On Oct 26, 20 000 Canadians under heavy fire inched from shell-crater to shell-crater, until Oct 30 when two British divisions joined the Canadians for an assault on Passchendaele itself.

  36. On Nov 6 Passchendaele--by now little more than brick dust in mud--fell at a cost of 15 654 Canadians casualties, four-fifths of the attackers.

  37. The Canadians had won their worst battle of the war, but for no real purpose and by Spring 1918 the Germans had regained their lost ground.

  38. Nov 1917 at Cambrai the first effective tank attack in history takes place. Cambrai

  39. 380 tanks cross the trenches of the Hindenburg Line. While proving the value of the tank, the break through failed to be the decisive one hoped for when the British did not have sufficient reinforcements to hold the position. Cambrai

  40. Dec 3, 1917 opening of peace conference of Brest-Litovsk negotiates an armistice with Russia • The peace with Russia “proved” to the allies that Germany was expansionist and strengthened the resolve of the governments.

  41. 1918: The German Offensive • Using troops freed from the eastern front, Germany now decides to stake everything on achieving a major victory in the west, before the Americans arrive in great force. Operation Michael

  42. The Great March Offensive (Mar21-Apr 5) • In a thick fog, the might of the whole German army beginning with a bombardment of 6000 guns and a heavy gas attack, is thrown against the British front between St. Quentin and Arras. • In a few days Germany drives the British back a depth of 40 miles. The troops had reached the Marne within 42 miles of Paris. But the front did not collapse, the expected gap did not develop. Operation Michael

  43. “Operation Michael” (Mar21-Apr 5)

  44. Allied Counter Offensive (July - November, 1918) • The bulk of Canadian troops were not involved in these defensive operations but rather were preparing for the counter-attack which began in July.

  45. Second Battle of Marne (July 19-Aug 2) • French and American forces launch a counter-attack on the Marne and by Aug 2 regain much of the lost territory. Tanks overrun German forward positions .

  46. Canada’s Hundred Days (Aug 4 - Nov 11) • Is a long succession of famous battles: Amiens, Arras, the Drocourt-Quéant Line, Canal du Nord, Cambrai and Valenciennes, which finally gave victory to the Allies. • Canadian troops in the vanguard of the successful march to Mons. • After a feint at Ypres, Canadian troops rush back to lead the surprise attack at Amiens. • Canadians advance 12 miles in 3 days.

  47. Battle of Amiens (Aug 8 - 11) • British attack with 450 tanks, and advance 8 miles in the first day.

  48. After this breakthrough, Canadians shifted back to Arras and given task of cracking Hindenburg Line - Germany’s main line of defence. • Between Aug 26 and Sept 2 hard continuous fighting

  49. Germany is faced with • an effective British blockade, • fierce resistance from the British and French armies, • the entrance of the United States army, • political unrest and starvation at home,

  50. an economy in ruins, • mutiny in the navy, • and mounting defeats on the battlefield, • the German generals requested armistice negotiations with the Allies in November of 1918.

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