 The four main causes of the war were:  M_______________?  A_______________?  I________________?  N_______________?  Who makes up the Triple Alliance? Triple Entente?

 In 1907, Britain allied with France and Russia  Now there were two sides: The Triple Alliance Germany Austria-Hungary Italy The Triple Entente Great Britain France Russia

 Austro-Hungarian Franz Ferdinand was shot  June 28, 1914  Austria used this as an excuse to punish Serbia  Austria declared war on Serbia

 Russia, an ally of Serbia, mobilized its troops to defend Serbia  Other countries – Italy, Germany – urged Austria and Russia to negotiate  But it was too late…

 Russia expected that if they defended Serbia, Germany would defend Austria  Russia mobilized along the German border and the Austrian border  Germany decided this was a declaration of war  Germany then declared war on Russia

 Germany didn’t even wait to see if France would defend Russia  Instantly declared war on France as well  France was now in the war  Great Britain then joined as well

 Battle lines were drawn  Soldiers marched off to war  Most people thought it would be a short war

 1. In which countries was most of the war fought?  2. Why might the war last longer than people had anticipated? List two reasons.

 By the end of the war, the two sides were:  Central Powers  Austria-Hungary  Germany  Bulgaria  Ottoman Empire  Allies  Russia  France  Great Britain  Japan  Italy  U.S.

 Stalemate along the border of France  This was the Western Front

 Germany’s plan to win the war It was:  Attack & defeat France  Then rush East to fight Russia  In order for this to work, what had to happen?

 Germany was on track to defeat France  Made it almost all the way to Paris  The First Battle of the Marne  September 5 th  French armies regrouped in the Valley of the Marne  600 taxicabs rushed French soldiers from Paris to the front lines  Finally Germany had to retreat

 Any guesses?  Destroyed the Schlieffen Plan  Russia had already invaded Germany  Germany was going to have to fight a war on two fronts after all

 Stalemate on the Western Front  Troops dig trenches to protect themselves from fire  Trench Warfare  They then fight from those trenches  Why does this make war last longer?

 Some soldiers lived in the trenches for weeks or months  Lived with rats, dead bodies, disease, starvation  Led to huge loss of human life for little land gain

 Poison Gas – Some caused blindness, others caused death by choking  Machine Guns – Defining feature of WWI, main cause of the huge death toll, made it difficult for troops to advance  Tanks – Could cross any type of terrain  Submarines – Changed naval warfare forever

 Meanwhile, troops were also battling between the German and Russian border

 By 1916, Russia’s army was on life support  Short on food, guns, ammunition, supplies  The one thing Russia did have: a huge population  Though the Russian army was not strategically sound or well-equipped, they tied up German forces in the East  Suffered massive death tolls

 Across the margin at the top/bottom of your paper (or down the side), draw a small timeline that looks like this:

 1914 – WWI begins  June 28, 1914 – Franz Ferdinand shot  1915  Stalemate on the Western front  Gallipoli Campaign  1916  Feb – Dec – Battle of Verdun  July – Battle of the Somme  Russia struggles  1917  U.S. enters WWI  Russia withdraws from the war  1918 – WWI ends  1919 – Treaty of Versailles signed

 1. What was the Schlieffen Plan? Did it work?  2. What was the significance of the Battle of the Marne?  3. What are the main causes of WWI?