1. WWI Lecture #2- Total War Stalemate/War of Attrition Attempts to Break the Stalemate- Military Technologies Total War Key Turning Points

2. Stalemate/War of Attrition Review –The Schlieffen Plan almost worked, but the British and French held out in a desperate battle at the Marne River Trench building –The ‘race to the sea’ –Eventually, realizing they couldn’t defeat the French quickly, the Germans built trenches too, to make sure they weren’t counterattacked

3. Paris Marne

5. Barbed wire. No Man’s Land. Over the top. Defenses were simply too strong Verdun and Somme were battles that became symbolic of hopeless slaughter –Over half a million killed in each –Neither gained more than 5 miles of territory –20,000 killed in the Battle of the Somme on the first day –Traditional goals of battle are abandoned in favor of slaughter Goal at Verdun was to ‘bleed the French army white’ Trench Warfare

12. Attempts to Break the Stalemate ***New Military Technologies*** Since ‘Over the Top’ Isn’t Working, You Need Something Else Doesn’t it make sense that the tank was invented in WWI?

13. U.S.

14. French Tank

15. Irony of British Development of the Tank British ended up thinking the tank was a failure –Too expensive –Often broke down –After WWI, did not focus much on tank development Germans think tank is an awesome weapon –Why would they have a unique perspective? –They do focus on the tank after WWI –In WWII…

16. New Air Technology First War fought from the air!!! Remember, the Wright Brothers flew for the 1 st time in 1903

17. Germans used Zeppelins

18. -Both Zeppelins and Airplanes were useful for spying and dogfighting, but air power didn’t have that big an impact on World War I - Occasionally small bombs were dropped -Will be hugely important in World War II, so worth noting now

19. Submarines had a bigger impact. Germans especially used submarines to attack enemy ships. Does it make sense that Germany relied on subs (aka U-Boats)?

20. Poison Gas!!!

23. A.

24. Total War “when a nation focuses its complete energies on victory in a war” Are we in a total war with Iraq/Afghanistan now?

25. Gov’t Control of the Economy Rationing Vital industries taken over by the gov’t and turned towards war production

26. Propaganda ‘messages created for a mass audience and meant to influence their thinking in a desired way’

33. Censorship “A reduction in the freedoms of speech and the press to prevent unwanted messages from reaching an audience” Important tidbit- German civilians aren’t aware they are about to lose until it happens… will be important later The British Gazette “It seems as if Britain is about to lose this war”

34. Everyone is Encouraged/Ordered to Help For able bodied men- the German Auxiliary Service Law School children hunt for metals to recycle Old women knit socks for the troops Young women go to work in factories to replace men taken to ‘the front’ –Helps explain the success of women’s suffrage movements after the war If everyone is helping, are there civilians? –Bombing of civilians is widely accepted

37. Roots of ‘Totalitarian’ Government Censorship, propaganda, gov’t control of economy After World War I, we will discuss the rise of Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini People had already been conditioned to follow governments during WWI

38. Each Side Sought to Weaken the Other’s Total War Efforts Naval Blockades –Germany develops a way to ‘fix’ nitrogen out of the air, which helps it withstand the British blockade Germany Uses the U-Boat to ‘siege’ England

39. Attempts to Force Nations to the Breaking Point Led To the Major Turning Points of the War First nation to break under the strain? – Russia –Least industrialized nation –Why is this so huge for Germany? However, Germany is on the brink too, and they place a U-Boat siege on Britain in a desperate attempt to force the British to give up –Unrestricted submarine warfare –U.S. was already leaning towards Britain –When a British ship (the Lusitania) was sunk with Americans on board, the U.S. entered the war and onto the Western Front 2 million fresh soldiers

41. Germany Quickly Collapsed Kaiser stepped down and fled to Holland Moderate socialists in Germany, who had been hoping for peace for a while, negotiated surrender terms Germany itself was never invaded