1. World War One

2. Trench Warfare – PPT A
Trench Warfare – PPT B

3. Name THREE countries which were Allied Powers.
Name THREE countries which were Central Powers.

4. Schlieffen Plan
General Alfred von Schlieffen developed a plan of attack against France.
The Schlieffen Plan called for a quick defeat of France before attacking Russia.

5. The Western Front
As the war began, German forces swept through Belgium toward Paris.
Britain entered the war, having pledged to defend Belgium.

6. Russia Provides Support
Germany was moving rapidly through France until Germany decided to send troops away from the west to fight Russia in the east.

7. France and Great Britain Regroup
As Germany fought Russia in the east, France and Great Britain began to regroup in the west.

8. The Battle of Marne
The British and France pushed the Germans back at the Battle of Marne.
The Battle of Marne ended Germany’s hopes for a quick victory on the Western Front.

9. Trench Warfare
As winter approached, both sides dug in for the winter.
This would result in a stalemate, neither side made any significant gains and the battle lines in France would remain nearly unchanged for four years.

10. Trench Warfare
Between opposing trench lines lay “no man’s land.”
This area was given its name because everything in this area had been destroyed.

11. Going “Over the Top”
Eventually, soldier would be ordered to go “over the top”.

12. Going “Over the top”
This meant that soldiers would charge across no man’s land toward enemy lines with no protection aside from their rifle and their helmet.

13. Place these four events in order from earliest to most recent.
Germany attacks France through Belgium
Great Britain joins the war on the side of the Allies
Russia attacks Germany on the eastern front
Germany abandons the Schlieffen Plan.

14. Describe the following terms.
“Over the top”
Trench warfare
“No mans land”

15. Battle of Verdun
1916, the Germans tried to break the stalemate at the Battle of Verdun.
The French adopted the battle cry “They shall not pass.”

16. Battle of Verdun
In the end, over more than a half-million casualties on both sides, without either side gaining a significant advantage.

17. Battle of Somme
The British launched an offensive at the Battle of Somme to help relieve the French from the German attack.

18. Battle of Somme
This ended in even more deaths than the Battle of Verdun. In one day alone 60,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded.
In only five months, over one million soldiers were killed, without either side gaining an advantage.

19. Russia Exits the War
In 1917, conflict within Russia faced a revolution at home.

20. Russia Exits the War
In 1918, Vladimir Lenin (the new leader of Russia) signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. The treaty ended Russian participation in World War I.

21. Germany Moves Forces Away from the Eastern Front
With Russia out of the war, Germany move its forces to the western front.

22. United States Enters the War
Luckily for the Allies, as the Russians exited World War I, the United States began to enter.

23. Why did the U.S. join the war?
In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the British liner Lusitania.
Approximately 1,200 passengers were killed, including 128 Americans.

24. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
In order to avoid war, Germany called off unrestricted submarine warfare.
However, by 1916 Germany announced that it would resume unrestricted submarine warfare.

25. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
After a few U.S. ships were sunk, the U.S. declared war on Germany.

26. Zimmerman Note
In addition to the sunk ships, the United States had another reason for joining the war.

27. Zimmerman Note
Another reason for the U.S declaring war on Germany was the Zimmerman Note.
Zimmerman, a German foreign minister, tried to convince Mexico into joining the war against the U.S.

28. Zimmerman Note
In this note, Zimmerman promised to return the land of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona to Mexico in exchange for their support.

29. Zimmerman Note
When this note became public, anti-German feeling intensified in the U.S.

30. U.S. Supports the Allies
By 1918, about two million American troops joined the Allied troops on the Western Front.

31. The Spring Offensive
The final showdown began in In March, the Germans launched the Spring Offensive.
The Spring Offensive was Germany’s last attempt to win WWI.

32. The Spring Offensive
This offensive pushed the Allies by 40 miles by July.
However, this attack left the Germany exhausted.

33. The Hundred Days Offensive
The Allies then launched a counterattack, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, pushing the Germans back.

34. The Hundred Days Offensive
In September, the German people became frustrated and a revolution started to gain ground throughout the streets of Germany.

35. The War Comes to an End
In early November, the Kaiser (ruler of Germany) stepped down.
Meanwhile Austria-Hungary was also reeling toward collapse.

36. Armistice is Reached
The new German government sought an armistice, or an agreement to end fighting.
At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the World War I came to an end.

37. Treaty of Versailles
Peace negotiations lasted for roughly one year.

38. During this time, Britain continued its blockade on Germany.
These blockades led to hunger and chaos throughout Germany.

39. By 1919, Germany finally signed the Treaty of Versailles officially ending German participation in World War I.

40. Most historians consider the terms of the Treaty of Versailles very harsh.

41. German resentment of the Treaty of Versailles would spark an even deadlier war twenty years later.

42. Trench Life

44. World War One turned into a stalemate following The Battle of Marne.
Soldiers dug trenches and began fighting
Between Fall 1914 and Spring 1918, there was there was little movement along the Western Front.

45. World War One became known as a battle for attrition.
Attrition—Kill enough of the enemy that they are forced to surrender
Life in the trenches varied from sector to sector.

46. Weapons
Infantry weapons included rifles, bayonets, shotguns, and hand grenades
Improvised weapons included trench knives, metal maces and brass knuckles

47. Tanks were first used in 1916.
Tanks helped break the stalemate of trench warfare
However, tanks were slow, unreliable and would often get stuck

48. Machine guns
Mortars
Artillery
Poisonous gas
Flamethrowers

49. Gas masks
Helmets
Land mines

50. Aircrafts
Airplanes and Zeppelins were primarily used for reconnaissance (gaining information about the enemy)
However, as the war progressed airplanes were used in air to air duals called dogfights.

51. Novices were cautioned against their natural inclination to peer over the parapet of the trench into No Man's Land.
Many men died on their first day in the trenches as a consequence of a precisely aimed sniper's bullet.
Up to one third of Allied casualties on the Western Front were actually sustained in the trenches

52. Aside from enemy injuries, disease brought a heavy toll.
Soldiers heaved thousands of empty food cans out of the trenches and into No Man's Land
These empty food cans and dead body attracted rats

53. RATS!

55. Rats in their millions infested trenches
A rat could produce between offspring a year

57. Between scraps and dead bodies, rats had plenty of food
Some rats grew to the size of cats

58. Rats entered dug-outs seeking food and shelter
Rats stole the food that soldiers sat on the ground next to them
Rats would even walk across soldier’s faces as they slept

61. “However the feature which caused revulsion among soldiers was the knowledge that rats openly fed on the decaying remains of comrades killed while advancing across No Man's Land.  Attacking - and eating - the eyes of a corpse first, rats would steadily work their way through the remainder of the body in a short space of time.”
--First World War.com

62. Lice also spread disease
Lice would hatch eggs in the seams of soldiers clothing
Body heat would cause the eggs to hatch

63. Lice led to scratching and trench fever
Symptoms of trench fever included headaches, skin rashes, inflamed eyes and leg pains
Soldiers who experienced trench fever could be out for several months

64. Soldiers also had to deal with an epidemic of frogs, slugs, horned beetles, nits and parasites

65. Frogs

66. Slugs

67. Horned Beetles

68. Nits

69. Parasites

70. Trench foot was a fungal infection caused by cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions
Trench foot often resulted in amputation

71. WARNING: The following images may be disturbing

75. Unlike many other conditions, trench foot became more rare throughout the war as drainage systems improved

76. Dug-outs, usually sited close to the trench line - often within or below the trench wall - were used as a form of underground shelter and rest for both troops and officers
Dug-outs were considered much safer than resting or lying in the open since they afforded some form of protection against not only the weather but, far more critically, from enemy shell-fire.
However, many men were buried as a consequence of such large shell-bursts

77. Soldiers would be awoken before dawn and prepare for a morning attack from the enemy
Each side would often open the morning with machine gun fire, shelling and small arms fire into the mist to make sure of their safety as daylight approached

78. Soldier were constantly being spotting by snipers and movement in the trenches was limited during daylight hours
After soldiers had prepared for a potentially enemy attack they would often spend hours reading and writing letters home.

79. Some men were responsible for patrolling no man’s land
These people were forced to enter no man’s land in order to fix fence, prepare against attack or spy on the enemy

81. The smell… Thousands of rotting dead bodies hidden in shallow graves
Lingering odor of poisonous gas,
Latrines, Pit Toilets
Rotting sandbags, stagnant water and mud
Cigarette smoke
Rotting food
Body odor from soldiers who had gone weeks or even months without bathing

82. Trench Warfare Trench Companions Life in the trenches and disease
Photo Gallery

83. Life In The Trenches
Life in the trenches had many forms that varied from front to front and sector to sector.
An estimated one third of Allied casualties on the western front were sustained in the trenches.
When men signed up for the war in August 1914, they had no idea what to expect and even in their wildest dreams they never would have imagined anything like what was in store for them when they got to the battlefields.
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84. Trench Foot
Trench foot effected armies on all sides. It was initially believed to be a sign of poor morale in the soldiers but was actually a fungal infection of the feet caused by prolonged exposure to damp, cold conditions paired with poor environmental hygiene. Trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in the need for amputation.
Trench foot was more of a problem at the beginning of the war then at the end.
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85. Morning Hate
Every morning, one hour before dawn everyone in the trenches were called to “stand to.” The stand to policy was adopted by both sides. Despite the knowledge that each side prepared itself for raids or attacks at dawn, many were actually carried out at this time.
The “stand to” procedure was affectionately called the morning hate by the soldiers.
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86. Morning Hate
When the stand to was over, some areas issued rum to the men, and they would drink it as they cleaned their rifles, which were then inspected by officers.
Next breakfast would be served. In pretty much every area of the line at some time or other each side would adopt an unofficial truce while breakfast was served and eaten. Often this truce was extended out to wagons which delivered such sustenance.
Such truces rarely lasted long, senior officers would find out about them and stomp out their existence.
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87. STENCH
Stench was unavoidable for soldiers fighting and living in the trenches.
The appalling reek given off by many conflicting sources was not something that the soldiers or anyone around them had any control over.
Rotting carcasses lay by the thousands in no man’s land, around the trenches, everywhere.
Overflowing latrines give off a rank odor.
Men who did not have the luxury of daily baths smelled of foul body odor, but their feet are thought to have given off the worst smell.
Add these other smells along with the ones already given to get an idea of how bad it was.
Cordite
Lingering odor of poisonous gas
Creosol or chloride of lime
Rotting sandbags and stagnant mud
Cigarette smoke and cooking food
GROSS
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88. Trench Companions Rats
Millions of rats infested trenches. Black and brown were the two main types. Both types of rats where hated by the soldiers but the brown rats especially because they fed on human remains, disfiguring them by eating the eyeballs and livers. The brown rats could also grow to be as large as a cat.
Some veteran soldiers insisted that the rats could sense oncoming enemy fire and would disappear before an attack.

89. Trench Companions Rats…continued
The rats would scamper across men’s faces as they slept at night. The men tried various ways to rid themselves of the disgusting companion including; gunfire, bayonet stabbing, and clubbing them to death.
A single rat could produce up to 900 offspring each year so the soldiers attempts in ridding themselves of the rats were useless. The rats and their offspring would continue to spread disease and contaminate food.

90. Trench Companions Frogs, Lice, and FAR, FAR Worse
Lice were an ever present problem for men in the trenches. The lice would bread in the seams of their filthy clothing, and even after washing and delousing eggs would remain hidden in the seams, and hours after putting their clothes back on the body heat from the men would cause the eggs to hatch, when in turn made the men constantly itchy.
Lice made a problem bigger than itchy men, they caused trench fever. Lice fever is a painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery could mean up to 12 weeks away from the trenches. Lice were not actually identified as the culprit of trench fever until 1918.

91. Trench Companions Frogs, Lice, and FAR, FAR Worse…continued
Frogs were abundant in a couple places including shell holes covered by water, and in the base of the trenches.
Slugs and horn beetles also invaded the sides of the trenches along with the other rodents insects.
Many men also shaved their heads as a way to avoid nits.
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92. Men moving through one of the many trenches, you had to be careful not to stick your head over the top as you moved along or you would get shot.
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93. Trenches were often filled with water, and the men had to dwell in it all day and night. A lot of men got trench foot or gangrene because of all the water.
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94. Men made bunks in the sides of the trenches and surrounded them with sand bags. They would sleep in these and sometimes spend a lot of their day in them, if they were not up and fighting.
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95. A Canadian soldier lights a German prisoners cigarette for him.
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96. Trenches in Paris
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97. French trench mortar
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98. Young boys often had to become soldiers and witness the horrifying epidemics of the battle field.
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