Battles and Course of the War

Review 1914: War of Movement Schlieffen Plan Lasted a very short time Key battles in 1914: Battle of the Marne: Put an end to the Schlieffen Plan and led to trench warfare. Battle of Tannenberg: Huge German defeat over the Russians on the Eastern Front. 95,000 Russians troops were captured, another 30,000 killed or wounded, and only 10,000 managed to escape, mostly by retreating.

Trench Warfare Stalemate No movement for either side. What WWI was known for.

Attrition World War I is remembered as a “war of attrition.” What is “attrition?” Read excerpt in graphic organizer and come up with your own definition

Key Battles of 1916

The Battle of Verdun, 1916 February 21, December 18, Germans used attrition strategy in order to: 1. Capture the French city of Verdun and 2. To kill a great deal of French soldiers and kill the French will to fight. The Germans weren’t looking to win some great and dramatic victory. At the end there were 400,000 injured soldiers and 300,000 deaths. About 30,000 deaths during each month of the 10 month battle. Was declared a French tactical victory.

Fort at Verdun pre-battle

Fort at Verdun post-battle

Why does Verdun represent the ultimate battle of the “war of attrition?” ml

The Battle of the Somme July 1, November British offensive against the Germans. Two purposes: 1. Relieve pressure at Verdun by drawing German troops away from that battle. 2. Cause a great number of German casualties.

The Somme Started with a six-day bombardment (1.7 million shells shot), but there were some problems: Allied bombardment didn’t hit German artillery and didn’t destroy barbed wire, only moved it around. German troops were deeply dug in and the bombardment did not reach them. British lost 20,000 people in the first day. It was the single worst day in deaths and casualties in British military history. 1.1 million soldiers injured, 300,000 deaths in the six- month battle.

The next morning (July 2nd) we gunners surveyed the dreadful scene in front of us. It became clear that the Germans always had a commanding view of No Man’s Land. (The British) attack had been brutally repulsed. Hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage washed up to a high water-mark. Quite as many died on the enemy wire as on the ground, like fish caught in the net. They hung there in grotesque postures. Some looked as if they were praying; they had died on their knees and the wire had prevented their fall. Machine gun fire had done its terrible work. - George Coppard, machine gunner at the Battle of the Somme. A Soldier’s Perspective

Somme: Debut of the Tank

Somme and Verdun Summary Both battles lasted months. Tons of casualties. Very little land actually won or lost.

Why Was the War so Long and Bloody?  It was a war of attrition.  Attrition: A military strategy in which a side wins a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse.  So, a war will usually be won by the side with more resources (men, weapons, food, etc.).  In WWI, both the Allies and Central Powers found themselves in constant defensive positions in trenches. For years the only way the commanders thought they could defeat the enemy was to repeatedly attack head on in order to wear down their opponents until surrender.

Why did WWI become a war of attrition? Take a moment and think about this. Record some of your thoughts Do you agree with this definition? Attrition is a gradual process of wearing down, weakening, or destroying something.

1) Industrial Revolution Larger Population More soldiers for reinforcements and total war. Total war means the whole population was involved in production of materials for the war. Industrial Production New Technology (but only up to a certain point). Artillery, machine guns, and poison gas made it easy to kill and defend.

2) Military Problems Communication problems Bad Leadership Generals did not adapt to new technologies. They continually used old battle tactics with the new weapons = mass death and little progress towards victory. Technology New technology was good for defense and killing, not for attacking.

3) Evenly Matched Sides Even though the Central Powers were outnumbered, Germany’s industrial and military strength kept the Central Powers pretty matched against the Allies until the U.S. entered the war.

Complete Graphic Organizer You’re done!