Ch 16 Sec 2

 1914 – 2 Rival Groups  Triple Entente ◦ Great Britain, France, Russia  Triple Alliance ◦ Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

 Chain Reaction ◦ A-H declares war on Serbia ◦ Russia moves army toward border w/A-H  Mobilizes toward Germany in anticipation of declaration of war  Germans view this as declaration of war ◦ Aug 1 – Germany declares war on Russia ◦ Aug 3 – Germany declares war on France ◦ Aug 4 - GB declares war on Germany

 Mid-August 1914, battle lines were drawn  Central Powers ◦ At first, Germany and A-H ◦ Later, Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire  Hoped to gain land

 Allies ◦ GB, France, Russia, Japan ◦ Italy  Accuses Germany and A-H of unjustly starting war  Joins the allies

 The Schlieffen Plan ◦ Gen. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen ◦ German army would race west to defeat France ◦ Then fight Russia in the east ◦ Speed vital  Quickest route through Belgium  Refuse to allow them to pass  Germany invades

 Schlieffen Plan works at first ◦ Aug 1914  Germans overran Belgium and moved into France  Sept. 3 – Germans on edge of Paris

 Battle of the Marne ◦ Sept 5 ◦ Allies attack Germans northeast of Paris  2000 taxis used to transport troops from Paris ◦ Sept. 9 – Germans order retreat

◦ Single-most important event of the war  Defeat of Germans left Schlieffen Plan in ruins  Quick victory no longer possible  Russians had invaded Germany  2-Front war

 Fall 1914 ◦ War turned into long and bloody stalemate  Western Front ◦ Deadlocked region in Northern France

 War in the Trenches ◦ 1915 – Trench Warfare  Miles of parallel trenches along Western Front  Offer protection  Huge losses for small land gains ◦ Miserable life  Men slept in mud  rats  No fresh food  Sleep nearly impossible

 “No Man’s Land” ◦ Space between trenches ◦ Men go “over the top” to cross  Met by machine-gun fire  Many die ◦ Bombed trenches

 New tools of war kill thousands ◦ Machine guns ◦ Poison gas ◦ Armored tanks ◦ Larger artillery

 Feb – German attack at Verdun ◦ 300,000 die on both sides ◦ Germans advance 4 miles  July Battle of the Somme ◦ 20,000 British die in one day ◦ 500,000 on both sides by November ◦ British gain 5 miles

 Eastern Front ◦ German and Russian Border  Russians and Serbs vs. Germans, Austro-Hungarians, Turks ◦ More mobile than Western Front

 Central Powers gain the advantage ◦ Aug – Germans force Russian retreat  30,000 Russians killed ◦ Sept 1914 – Russians defeat Austrians  Drive deep into Austria ◦ Dec 1914 – Austria turns the tide  17-day battle near Limanowa  Defeat Russians and drive east ◦ Jan – push Russians out of Austria

 Russia’s war effort near collapse ◦ Russia not industrialized  Short on food, guns, ammo, clothes, boots, blankets ◦ Allies unable to ship supplies to Russia  Russia had only one asset ◦ Huge numbers  prevent Germans from focusing on Western Front