Big Era 8 Half-Century of Crisis:

Schools of thought: Causes of World War I Back Ground: WWI first major event in modern history. Huge turning point in world history. Europe of 1914– Number of countries, different languages but could travel easy, similar religion, shared similar style, dress, culture, feeling of superiority. 3 powerful countries (Fr. Ger. GB) 80% of world and 50% of industrial might. Four empires will be destroyed as a result of the war and new countries created. Why war with each other? Four major factors: Nationalism The balance of power and imperialism Interest of individual nations Arms Buildups(naval arms race)

Schools of thought: Causes of World War I Read Lesson 1 SH 1.1: This provides an overview of each school of thought to the cause of WWI. Which one do you think is most credible? Read the four schools of thought. Which one is the real cause? Answer the following questions and try and convince us your school of thought is the most credible. What are the real vs. the rhetorical (elaborate or fine-sounding but insincere) issues about the causes of World War one? Why do you feel the school of thought you have selected is most credible? Why are others less convincing? You need three points to support your cause, when you present.

Battle of the Somme An overview of the battle

Overview July 1 – Nov. 18, 1916 One of the costliest battles of WWI Approximately 1.2 million casualties 420,000 British 200,000 French 500,000 German Dead German soldiers at Battle of the Somme

British gains

Cause and effect Attempt by the British to “push through” the German lines Fought along northwestern part of the Western Front After months of fighting, and several assaults up and down the front, resulted in small gains in land for England Greatly weakened German war effort overall

Causes of high death toll Massive loss of life due to new military technologies: machine guns artillery/mines hand grenades gas airplanes first use of tanks British gun crew wearing PH-type anti-gas helmets

Central Historical Question: A British trench July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme?

Our job today is to investigate what happened on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1916, by reading three historical accounts of the day: a British newspaper article written by a journalist who was at the battle the memoir of a British soldier who fought in the battle the memoir of a German soldier who fought in the battle In particular, we will explore these documents to address the question: Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme?

Battle of the Somme Download Lesson 2 SH 1 – SH 5. Doc a is the Daily express Doc b George Coppard Doc c Otto Lais SH 4 is the graphic organizer Read each response and complete the chart. SH 5 is the student writing response.

Central Historical Question Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme? Day One Casualties: 57,470 British 8, 000 German 7, 000 French