8-1 World War One

WORLD WAR ONE
MAJOR BATTLES
MARNE – September 1914
• Located in France (Western Front)
• Germans expected to win quickly, so they took troops and moved them to the Eastern Front
• Britain and France pushed Germany back
• Ended Germany’s hopes for a quick victory
• Germans built the 1st trenches to avoid being pushed out of France
VERDUN – February-December 1916
• Germany’s attempt to break the stalemate on the Western Front
• 11 month battle
• 500,000 French casualties (wounded, killed, or missing)
• 400,000 German casualties
• No long term results
• No advantage was gained on either side
SOMME - July-November 1916
• 5 month battle
• Allied attempt to break the stalemate on the Western Front
• 60,000 British soldiers killed or wounded in ONE day
• One million killed in total
• This battle had one of the highest casualty totals
• Snowfall ended the battle –only a few miles of ground were gained
TANNENBURG – August 1914
• First major battle of the Eastern Front
• Russians invaded Eastern Prussia and were defeated by the Germans
• Around 120,000 Russian soldiers were captured, killed, or wounded
• Germans lost less than 20,000
• The Russians were not well equipped – lacked clothing, weapons, and even shoes
GALLIPOLI – December 1915
• Gallipoli is in Greece – fighting took place between Turkey (OE) and Greece – the “Mediterranean Front”
• The Ottoman Empire had joined the Central Powers and cut off supply lines to Russia through the Dardanelles
• Allies attacked to reclaim the Dardanelles and gain access to Austria after beating the Ottomans
• Central powers pushed the allies back
• The French and British armies were joined by soldiers from Australia and New Zealand
• This would be the last time that Australia would fight under the British
• Fighting took place over 10 months, with more than 200,000 total casualties for the Allies and 300,000 for the Turks
ISONZO RIVER 1915-1917
• The Italians joined the Allies because they were promised land when Austria-Hungary was defeated
• 11 battles took place along the Isonzo river between the Austrian and Italian armies
• Caporetto (October 1917) was the final battle, and a brutal loss for the Italians
– The Italians were forced to retreat
OTHER EVENTS
CHRISTMAS TRUCE – Dec 24, 1914
• A one day truce between British, German, and French soldiers
• Germans started it
• Christmas trees and lights were put up, and the soldiers exchanged gifts, sang songs, and played soccer in No Man’s Land (neutral territory)
ARAB REVOLT
• In the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East, Arab nationalists rebelled against the Ottoman government
• T.E. Lawrence (Laurence of Arabia) was sent by the British to help the Arabs
• This caused the Ottoman Empire to lose land and weaken
– Eventually the Ottoman Empire breaks up for good.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 1915
• The Armenians helped the Russians fight against the Turks
• The Ottoman Government used their support of the enemy as an excuse to execute Armenian leaders and deport hundreds of thousands to Syria and Mesopotamia
• 500,000- 1,000,000 died
END OF THE WAR
• Factors:
– Russia’s withdrawal from the war
– US enters the war
– Loss of morale among the troops due to:
• High casualties
• Failure to achieve victory
• Food shortages
• 1918 Influenza epidemic
USA ENTERS THE WAR
• After the sinking of the Lusitania, the US forced Germany to agree to end unrestricted submarine warfare
• In 1917, Germany, in hopes of using subs to get a quick victory before the US could step in, starts using subs again
• Additionally, a message is intercepted from the Germans offering to help Mexico regain territory if they help Germany
– The Zimmerman Note
1918
• Second Battle of the Marne= Germany’s last attempt to push the Allies back
• In the Summer, the Allies push the German troops back into Germany
• In September, the Germans realize that thy have no hope of winning
• Kaiser William is forced to resign, and revolt begins in Austria
• November 11 – Germany signs an armistice
COST OF WAR
• 8-9 million soldiers died
• 6-7 million civilians died
• 15-16 million deaths total
• Around 22 million were wounded

• Additionally, around the world another 20 million were killed by the flu.
AFTER THE WAR
PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
• “The Big Three”
– Woodrow Wilson- USA
– David Lloyd George- Britain
– Georges Clemanceau- France
• Wilson fought for “Fourteen Points”
– Terms that countries could use to resolve future wars.
• June 19, 1919- Meeting with Germans
to sign “The Treaty Of Versailles”
TREATY of VERSAILLES
• The treaty officially ends war. Germany is forced to sign
• Germany:
– blamed for the entire war.
– Pay $30 billion in war reparations (2.3 trillion today)
– Must return Alsace and Lorraine regions to France
– Looses hundreds of miles on E and W borders
– “Polish Corridor” separates Prussia from the rest of Germany
– Loses overseas colonies
– Germany’s harsh treatment would later lead to the rise of the NAZI party in 1935.
MAP CHANGES:
– Russian, Austrian, Ottoman Empires are destroyed
– Baltic Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia created
– Poland created
– East Prussia separated from Germany
– Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary republics formed.
– Creation of Communist Soviet Union