World War I Begins By August 1914 the battle lines were in place Central Powers (Germany & Austria-Hungary) – Bulgaria and Ottoman’s would join later Allies (Great Britain, France and Russia) – Italy and Japan would join later Most people felt the war would be short Reality was the war would last for over 4 years

Western Front

British Tank

Canadian Soldiers

Today in France

Battle Lines

Schlieffen Plan Gen. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen called for an attack & defeat France Then rush to the east to fight Russia By early September of 1914, Germany had swept into France and reached the outskirts of Paris Germans are close to defeating France

Battle of Marne Sept 4 th the Germans were in the NE of Paris Every French soldier was put into use (600 French Taxis used to drive soldiers to the front) The French were able to force the Germans into retreat after days of fighting Quick victory in the west was not possible for Germany

Trench Warfare By 1915, the Western Front was miles of parallel trenches Worst conditions possible The space between the trenches was known as “no mans land” Artillery fire would go into the trenches New weapons: Machine Guns, Armored Tanks, Poison Gas

Trench Warfare February of 1916, Germans launched bloodiest attack on the French near Verdun British tried to help the French by attacking the Germans in the NW at Somme River British lost 20,000 men on day one alone By Nov 1916, both sides lost more than half a million men