1. Trench Warfare in World War I

2. Trench Structure Protected by barb wire fences 5 feet high
Concrete machine gun nests
Trench’s on each side were separated by a strip of land known as “no-man’s land”

3. Tactics of Trench Warfare
Begin with artillery to flatten the enemy’s barbed wire
Mass of soldiers would climb out with bayonets and run toward the enemy’s trench
Men were often killed charging the enemy trench
Planes were mostly used to spot the enemy’s position

4. Horrors of Trench Warfare
Poisonous gases like chlorine and mustard were used
Blindness, burns, and paralysis.
Most trenches were infested with large rats and lice

5. Horrors cont’d
Many soldiers suffered from a fungal infection known as Trench foot
Caused feet to swell to two to three times their normal size
Could result in amputation of the feet
Many suffered from “Shell Shock,” which today would be called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Some men had psychological breakdowns leading to suicide and desertion

11. Questions to consider…
If your country is at war, whose responsibility is it to make sure that your side is winning?
What do civilians at home have to do?
Would they be willing to give up certain foods? To drive their cars less?
American citizens were expected to do these things for their country

12. World War I: The Home Front

13. Propaganda Governments use propaganda to gain support from the people
In World War I it was used to…
Convince people to go to war
To get men to join the military
To get people to invest money in the government
To get people to ration food

14. Examples
Look at the posters and be able to answer the following questions:
What is the poster about?
What is the poster trying to convince people to do?
Who, exactly, is the poster appealing to?
Is the poster effective?

22. 1) What is the poster about?
2) What is the poster trying to convince people to do? 
3) Is the poster convincing? Why or why not?

23. What are the characteristics of these propaganda posters?
They have a CLEAR MESSAGE
They are colorful and appealing
They appeal to people’s sense of DUTY
They are convincing

24. Break into partners…
You and your partner are government officials during World War I
It is your job to design a propaganda poster advertising one of the following issues
Using less food
Saving energy (gasoline and coal)
Joining the military
Remember the four characteristics of propaganda poster!