Tactics & Battles During World War I

1. Tactics & BattlesDuring World War I How and where were the major battles of World War I fought?

2. Schlieffen Plan (Shlee-fun) • Germany developed the Schlieffen Plan to avoid fighting on two fronts • 1) Attack and defeat France first on the western front • Reason: Already beaten France before (Franco-Prussian War) • 2) Attack Russia later on the eastern front • Reason: Russia not able to mobilize troops & supply them due to slow industrialization (few railroads, factories), A-H can hold them off • Germany must invade neutral Belgium to get to France • British upset & enter war. Germans are within a few miles of Paris

3. Western Front – Battle of the Marne • Four days later, the Germans retreat • Allies regroup and counterattack Germany NE of Paris in the Marne River Valley • When more soldiers were needed, 600 taxicabs rushed soldiers from Paris to the fighting front • Battle of Marne is significant because Germans now realize that the Schlieffen Plan will not work – no quick & easy victory in France! German troops near Paris Taxis rush soldiers to the front

4. After the Battle of Marne, each side began to dig a series of trenches in Northern France The Western Front – Trench Warfare • Soldiers fought, lived & slept in the trenches • Soldiers dealt with artillery fire, rats, lice, disease, smell, contamination, collapsing trenches and boredom • Soldiers typically said “the trench and mud became your life” Trench life stinks, time to dream mud

5. Bloody Stalemates – Verdun & Battle of the Somme • “No Man’s Land” was the space above and in between the trenches. It was filled with barbed wire and land mines • Soldiers leaving the trenches were met by machine gun fire • Little territory was gained, each side suffered huge losses making these battles bloody stalemates • During the Battle of Verdun, each side lost 300K • The bloodiest was the Battle of the Somme, 20K killed in one day & overall 600K wounded/killed for the Allies and 450K for CP • Christmas truce: December 1914 each side stopped fighting for one day and came out of the trenches to celebrate the holidays together

6. The Eastern Front • Fighting starts in late August when Russia attacks both Germany & Austria-Hungary • Germany counterattacks in the Battle of Tannenberg forcing Russia to retreat - 30,000 Russian soldiers are killed • Russia does better vs A-H, but by December, A-H starts winning • Russia’s slow industrialization causes shortages of weapons & supplies. German & Ottoman control of nearby seas cuts Russia off • Due to lack of supplies/clothing – many soldiers freeze to death on the “frozen front” • Russia’s only advantage was a large population allowing them to constantly “rebuild” their army • Czar Nicholas II decides to take personal command of the troops, worsening the war for Russia