Conditions of World War I

1. Conditions of World War I

2. World War I – Let’s Review! • What were the four long-term causes of World War I? • What was the “spark” that set off World War I?

3. Perception of War What game(s) do most youth associate with war today? What war looks like in Mr. Ziegler’s World. World War I was nothing like this …

4. WW1: A New Kind of War • Many people expected World War I to be quick. • New Tactics: • 1) Barbed Wire – A significant hindrance to infantry advances • 2) Artillery – Vastly more lethal than in the 1870’s • 3) Machine Guns – Made crossing open ground difficult to near impossible • 4) Poison Gas – Effects were brutal, causing slow, painful deaths

5. WW1 – Germany Starts the Offensive • World War I officially began with the German army storming through Belgium, into France. • Schlieffen Plan: Germany’s plan was to quickly capture Paris so that the Western Front would be secure, then they could turn their attention east and deal with Russia.

6. WW1 – The Offensive Halts • After the German attack on Paris, France was brought to a halt, the Western Front settled into a static battle of attrition. • Despite repeated efforts by both sides using the newest technologies of the time, the trench line changes little until 1917.

7. World War I became a “stalemate” as it became obvious that neither side would gain a quick victory … and both sides “dug in” resulting in Trench Warfare. WW1 - Stalemate

8. WW1 – Trench Warfare Overview

9. WW1: The Trench System • Trenches were generally holes, dug about six feet deep. • Why? • Trenches were a lot like a maze on both sides, with bunkers used for communications and storing ammunition.

10. WW1: The Attack Plan

11. WW1: The Attack Plan Reality

12. WW1: Trench Warfare • One of the most used techniques was to “soften up” the enemy trenches with artillery fire, and then send the soldiers “over the top” to try to take the enemy lines. • was an incredibly dangerous mission: the soldiers had to enter “No man’s land” • The trench could finally be taken with brutal hand-to-hand combat.

13. WW1: The Trench System • The system of trench warfare resulted in huge loss of life and little gains in territory. • Examples: • 2nd Battle of Ypres: 1000 yards gained = 160,000 killed. • Battle of Passchendaele: 5 miles gained = 140,000 killed = Germans Take it back a few months later!

14. WW1: The Rats • Rats, which numbered in the millions infested the trenches • Two Kinds: Brown and Black. • These rats gorged themselves on human remains. • As a result, some were as big as cats.

15. WW1: Lice and Trench Fever • Lice, another problem found in the trenches. • Caused never-ending itching. • Clothes that were “de-loused” almost always still had lice eggs on them. • Trench Fever caused by lice. • Horrible fever and severe pain.

16. WW1: Trench Foot • Trench Foot, a fungal infection caused by standing in water for long periods of time. • Symptoms include: • Feet turning red or blue • Feet begin to have a decaying odor • Feet begin to swell • Advanced stages include blisters & open sores • If left untreated amputation was common.

17. WW1: Trench Foot

18. WW1: Death on a Daily Basis • Death is all around you: • Constant machine gun and artillery fire were common. • Soldiers had to resist the urge to peer over the edge of the trench • Soldiers had to develop ways to pass the time as well as dealing with the smell of rotting corpses, rats and mud that often filled the trenches

19. WW1 : Trench Warfare • Soldiers spent most of their time, in trenches and in dugouts waiting. .

20. WW1 : In Flander’s Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow      Between the crosses, row on row,   That mark our place; and in the sky   The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,   Loved and were loved, and now we lie         In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throw   The torch; be yours to hold it high.   If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow         In Flanders fields.

21. WW1 : Optional Assignment Due: Friday February 14th, 2014 What: A letter home from the perspective of a soldier in World War I (Could also be a series of letters home) OR A poem about World War I Requirements: Typed -12’ Font or written in Ink Points Possible: 20

22. Weaponry • In time, new weapons were created to try to increase the ability of soldiers to take an enemy trench.

23. The machine gun (a gun that can be repeatedly fired without loading each time) increased the danger of going “over the top”. A Machine Gun The Machine Gun

24. 1st made of empty bottles. American soldiers- many of whom had played baseball- introduced more accurate ways of throwing them. Grenades

25. First chlorine, and later mustard gas were used- choking soldiers and burning their skin. The Gas mask developed to counter this. Poison Gas

26. Airplanes are 1st used in World War I- are used in trench warfare to scout the position of enemy lines. Airplanes

27. It is later in the war when machine guns are mounted to planes and zeppelins- giant blimps- are used to drop bombs on the enemy. Airplanes

28. Tanks were first used in World War I with mixed – mostly negative – results. Many broke down Tanks traveled at a “walking pace” at best. Tanks