Stalemate

The Great War All the nations of Europe had made plans for a general war, but Germany was the best prepared. France’s German border was well protected, so Germany invaded France by going through the Low Countries.

Paris The German army advanced to within 70 km of Paris. The French army recruited taxis and buses from Paris to move 6000 soldiers to support French and British troops at the Marne River. The German advance was stopped.

The Trenches War had changed since Napoleon but tactics had not. Generals ordered soldiers to advance across open fields. They were cut down by improved artillery and machine guns. Soldiers who did make it to enemy lines often became tangled in barbed wire. With neither side able to advance both sides dug trenches.

Stalemate With both sides dug in it became harder and harder to advance. The Central powers and the Allies each tried to use technology to gain an advantage. Balloons and airplanes were used to spy on enemies, soon the planes were fighting each other.

Technology Although two treaties banned the use of poison, both the French and Germans began using gas in 1915. The French began with tear gas, the Germans later used chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas. By the end of the war, all the Great Powers were using poison gas. In 1916, Great Britain used the first tanks in battle.

Desperation As the war dragged on, international trade was disrupted. Millions of men who had gone off to fight were not working in factories and fields. In Russia, famine broke out. Street protests forced Tsar Nicholas to abdicate, but the new provisional government vowed to continue the war. In April of 1917, a train left Switzerland carrying Germany’s secret weapon against Russia. Lenin led a second revolution, overthrowing the provisional government and replacing it with communism. The communists then signed a separate peace with the Central Powers. Germany and its allies could now turn all there efforts to the Western Front.