The Great War War spreads throughout Europe

How the whole thing got started §The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in June of 1914 was the spark that started a wildfire in Europe §Europe was already separated into two alliances §Triple Entente = Britain, France & Russia §Triple Alliance = Austria-Hungary, Germany & Italy §In response to Austria’s declaration of war on Serbia, the Russians moved troops to the Austrian-Russian border §Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany saw this as a threat and declared war on Russia

How the conflict widens §Russia looked to France for help, but Germany declared war on France before they could even decide §Germany adopted the Schlieffen Plan §Germany figured if they had to fight a war on two fronts (locations) they should pick where to start §Schlieffen Plan: A major portion of the Germany army would attack France on the west and then return to fight Russia in the east. §The Germans figured that Russia would have a harder time mobilizing (preparing) for war b/c it lacked railroads

Everyone Chooses Sides §Germany wanted to get to France, but the French had soldiers lined along the German/French border §Going through Belgium gave Germany an alternate route §When Belguim refuse to let Germany pass through the Germans invaded §Britain joined the conflict to protect its allies as well as neutral Belgium §The Triple Alliance & Entente were changed b/c of the invasion of Belgium §Central Powers: Germany, Austria- Hungary, Ottoman Empire & Bulgaria §Allied Powers: Britain, France, Russia, Japan & Italy §Italy dropped out of its alliance w/ Germany after it invaded Belgium §Nine months later it joined the Allied Powers

Germany Attacks Western Front §At first, Germany’s Schlieffen Plan worked well §The Germans had trampled through Belgium & made it to France by September 1914 §In the early days of September it looked like the Germans were about to take Paris §However, Germany’s lightning quick attack had turned into a long drawn out bloody stalemate in France §The battlefields of Northern France became known as the Western Front

Germany Invades France §On Sept. 5 th the Germans attacked the northeast outskirts of Paris along the Marne River §However, the French had received intelligence beforehand telling them the exact location of the attack §French put every Marne even rushing reinforcements by taxi §After four days, the Germans retreated §By Sept. 13 th the Germans had been pushed back 60 miles §The defeat destroyed the Schlieffen Plan b/c it called for a quick victory in the west and then attack Russia in the east §When Russia invaded Germany from the east, Germany had to split their troops to fight on both the Western & Eastern Front

Trench Warfare §By early 1915, the Central & Allied powers had dug miles of parallel trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire §Trench warfare: soldiers fought in trenches. Huge losses in men, resulted in only small gains in land (sometimes only hundreds of feet) §Life in the trenches was difficult at best. Soldiers lived in mud and had to endure all kinds of weather §They suffered with rats & lice §If men survived artillery fire they often suffered from trench foot, dysentery & shell shock §The land between opposing trenches was called “no-man’s land” §Lined with barbed wire & dangerous b/c one was an easy target to enemy fire

War Comes to a Standstill §The Western Front stretched 500 miles from the North Sea to the Swiss border §There were many new weapons & tools first introduced in WWI §The airplane, armored tank, machine gun & submarine were all new §Everyone thought that these new tools would make war more fast paced §Soldiers soon realized that it just caused more casualties, with little gain in land §The Germans tried to break the stalemate when they introduced posion gas as a weapon in 1915 §It eventually became a tool for both sides §Mustard and Chlorine gas caused blinding, blisters & death by choking

War Rages on in East §People tend to forget that while battles were being fought on the Western Front, there were just a fierce warfare in the east §The Eastern Front of the war was fought along the German and Russian border §Russians/Serbs vs. Germans/Austrians/Turks §Battles on the Eastern Front tended to be more mobile than the trench warfare in the west §But again there was little gain on either side during the early years of the war

Russians Try to Hold On §Russia launched its initial attack in Germany & Austria §At first, the Russians were successful in Austria during the fall of 1914 §However, during this same time period the Russians were being forced to retreat from Germany §With help from the Germans the Austrians pushed Russia out by Dec §Things didn’t look good for the non- industrialized Russians. §By 1916 they were short on supplies §2 million Russians were killed, captured or wounded in 1915 §However, they were hanging tough and occupying the German army

War Spreads Outside of Europe §The Great War spread beyond Europe in 1915 §The British & French attacked the Ottoman controlled Gallipoli peninsula in the Middle East (2/1915) §Gallipoli turned into another bloody stalemate §However the British supported Arabs in the Middle East who revolted against the Ottomans §The British & French recruited natives from their imperial holdings in places like Egypt, S. Africa, India & Indochina §These groups attacked German holdings in Africa & Asia §While Japan hit German ports in China

United States Joins War §Germany was short on food b/c bad crops & British naval blockade §Germany responded by putting a blockade around Britain §Germany warned the world that it would sink any ship near Britain §On 5/7/1915 the German U-boats (submarines) sank the Lusitania a British passenger ship §Germany said they sunk the ship b/c ammunition was on board §However, 128 Americans died, putting the country in outrage §Germany gambled & thought they could cripple Britain before the U.S. could enter the war, so they continued sinking ships §The final straw for the U.S. came when Britain decoded a message from Germany to Mexico in Feb §The Zimmerman Note was a German proposal for Mexico to align itself with the Central Powers & attack the U.S. §On April 2, 1917 President Woodrow Wilson & Congress declared war on Germany