1. Alliances Triple Entente—Britain, France, Russia Triple Alliance became known as Central Powers---Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire (Italy did not initially join war; said treaty was mutual defense) Eventually 31 nations joined the war

2. Trench Warfare: The Race to the Sea When WW1 began, generals on both sides thought charges of massed soldiers would lead to quick victories Modern weapons destroyed this tactic, had to find a new way 475 miles of trenches were dug across northern France British troops used over 10 million shovels

4. Life in the Trenches Warfare = massed charges of infantrymen preceded by long artillery bombardments Soldiers fixed bayonets to their rifle and wanted to go “over the top” Charging out of the trench toward enemy lines No mans land = land between trenches, crossed by tons of barbed wired and land mines; usually 250 yds apart, sometimes, very close Few soldiers made it to other trench Life was dangerous, boring and terrifying Constant threat of death; artillery, explosives and gasses Boredom caused some to go stir crazy; others suffered from ‘shell shock’

5. Living conditions in the trenches Conditions were horrible Lived in rear trenches in dugouts, tiny rooms sunk into the earth Rain turned soil into mud; many died by drowning Wet conditions favored diseases like trench foot; rotted away the skin leading to amputation Rats infested trenches; feasting by day on the dead corpses that lay near the trenches

6. Artillery / machine guns Machine guns were like super killing machines compared to single shot rifles Hold 250 rounds of ammo, shoot 8 rounds per second, distance of 2900 yds. Artillery (cannons) greater power and carried much further Could carry deadlier payload further with more accuracy 24 million shells used in Battle of Verdun alone Amounted to 1,000 shells per sq meter of battlefield

7. Weapons of industrial age 1 st battle of Ypres, Belgium, (10-19-14), first reported use of gas in battle Germans lobbed chlorine gas shells into Allied trenches When breathed, it burned the throat and lungs, caused death by asphyxiation Soon Allies develop Similar weapons Over 75 diff types of gas bombs developed during WW1 Flame throwers, hand-held guns sprayed burning gas on troops Mustard gas: burned skin, dissolved inner organs, slow, painful death Tanks first used in war and airplanes used at end of war

8. casualties Tactics of sending masses of men toward enemy didn’t work against modern weapons Britain suffered 57,470 casualties on the first day of the Battle of Somme Total losses for WW1 exceeded 10 million casualties

9. The Western Front Germany, France, Britain and Belgium, fought along the WF 475 mile long front was caused by Germany’s Schlieffen Plan for an all out attack on France through the lowlands of Belgium August 1914: Germany attacked Belgium. Within a month, G was within 50 miles of Paris Several tactical errors allowed French to regroup and they both settled in for a long war

10. Battles along the Western Front War on the WF consisted of long battles that took hundreds of thousands of lives Battle of Ypres, Belgium First use of chemical weapons 1916 Germany initiated Battle of Verdun lasted 6 months Created 680K casualties France initiated Battle of Somme Lasted 6 months Ended with more than 1 million casualties

11. Eastern Front 1914 Russia sent its enormous armies against the G’s and A-H along the vast Eastern Front Eventually stretched from Baltic Sea to the Black Sea Russians experienced early victories, but after Battle of Tannenburg, Germans could not be stopped Russia had no modern weapons, lacked guns and bullets. Soldiers had to pick the guns and ammo off their dead soldiers 1917 morale was so low, all they wanted was peace After Czar overthrown, Russia signed Treaty of Brest-Litosvsk to end war; they lost 25% of their land and people

12. Balkan Front Nov 1914, Russia’s old rival, Ottoman Empire joined on side of Central Powers Allies decided the key to victory was to attack OE near Istanbul Allow Western Allies to supply Russia Free the Balkans Attack Austria from South April, Brit troops landed on Gallipoli peninsula to capture Dardanelles Narrow waterway connecting Med Sea with Black Sea Campaign was huge failure In Sept 1915, Bulgaria joined CP and easily overran Serbia Only allied victories in Middle East were by TE Lawrence who rallied Arabs to fight the Ottomans (Lawrence of Arabia)

14. Italian Front May, 1915: Italy joined the Allies after it was promised Austrian lands it had long wanted Italian front opened Devastating fighting between Italians and Austrians until Oct 1917 Germany then reinforced Austria Broke through Allied lines at Battle of Caporetto French and Brit forces stopped the attack but CP had moved within 50 miles of Venice

15. Homefront: Total Mobilization WW1 called Total War b/c it demanded huge sacrifice from civilians Many foods and materials were rationed (govt controlled) Rubber Fuel Metal Victory gardens So more food grown on farms could go to feed the troops 1916 British Conscription Draft to raise large enough army

17. New Jobs, Wages & Women Prior to war, most women who worked outside home were domestics (servants) With 65 million men mobilized on both sides, women’s employment shifted to civil and industrial sectors In Britain, between July 1914-1918, over 1 million women joined the workforce 113,000 joined Women’s Land Army that secured supplies for soldiers Wage were lower than men's and women were typically not permitted to join unions but wages improved slowly

18. Tragedies of war Affected Euro life on the home front Not only sheer numbers of deaths Type of injuries suffered by the wounded Amputations Burns Shell shock Agony of long, horrific war, the millions of deaths, also meant miserable loss to families and friends, forever scarring life