1. WAR
“It’s better to be a dog in peacetime than a human being in war.”Chinese saying

2. WWI AND WWII TIMELINES

3. World War I – The Great War

4. Key Questions
How is the fighting experience during the Great War new and different from before?
How were soldiers able to cope with the front?
How did the war bring on social changes in the postwar era?
What was the major turning point of the war?
How did the aftermath of the war lead to WWII?

5. Timeline World War I Name some of the important battles of the war
Identify the different “phases” of the war

6. Causes of the War Militarism Countries built up their military
Alliances
Secret alliances would drag countries into conflict
Imperialism
Countries competed for overseas colonies
Nationalism
Desire to demonstrate the strength of each country
Assasination of Franz Ferdinand
Heir to the Austrian thrown

7. The Two Sides Allied Powers Central Powers Joined later
The Triple Entente The Triple Alliance
Allied Powers
France
Great Britain
Russia
Joined later US
Italy
Japan
Central Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire

8. Map of European Alliances WWI
Interactive WWI map in Europe

9. Mobilization Patriotism wins out over hope for peace
Soldiers mobilized w/in 5 weeks
Dissension and political debate hushed
Video: all quiet on the Western From3’54’-8’

10. Stages of the War Stage 1: War of Movement (Aug-Nov 1914)
The Western Front
Germany violates Belgian’s neutral status
Germany invades France (The Schlieffen Plan)
arrive w/in 40 km of Paris
France fights back: Battle of the Marne (6-13 Sept)

11. A War of Many Fronts Eastern Front African Front
Gen Ludendorff & Hindenburg win Battle of Tannenberg against the Russians Aug 1914
In Balkans – Serbs push back Austro-Hungarian troops and free Belgrade
Ottoman Empire enters war (Oct 1914) and joins Central Powers
African Front
Allied Powers overtake German possessions (Togo, Cameroon)

12. Stage 2: War of Position (1915-1917)
The Western Front
Trench Warfare: carnage (hundreds of thousands of deaths to gain 4 km)
Battle of Verdun
Germans hope to drain the French of their last strength
Result: 300,000 deaths & 400,000 wounded from Feb to Dec 1916
French hold their position thanks to Gen. Petain
But one of the deadliest battles of the war

13. Stage 2: War of Position (1915-1917)
Battle of the Somme
1 million victims (400,000 casualties)
Begun in July 1916 by Brits and French to relieve Verdun
Battle of Soissons Rheims failed French offensive April 1917
Results in deserters – quickly reprimanded

14. Stage 2: War of Position (1915-1917)
Other Fronts
East: 1915 Germans advance 150 km
1916, Russians regain territory
Italy joins war – Allied Powers
promised territory belonging to Austria- Hungary (population Italian speaking)
Bulgaria enters war – Central Powers
Allied Powers attack Ottoman Empire, German & Austrian ally, fails to force through the Dardanelles Straits in 1915

15. Video extract: Gallipoli The Massacre
Gallipoli Disaster
Video extract: Gallipoli The Massacre

16. Reading Material World War I
Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
Part 1 War and International Relations
The world in 1914: outbreak of the First World War, pp. 3-16
Battle of the Somme worksheet (table + questions)