1. Fighting on the Front

2. World War I had turned into a stalemate by the end of 1914
The bulk of the fighting took place on the western front

3. The Nature of the War
Generals of the day learned the Napoleonic tactics
They assumed that the new technologies would favor the traditional offensive
The reverse turned out to be true
9.2 million Europeans were killed during World War I

4. Once the Western Front settled down to a stalemate
Each side entrenched positions and fortified them with barbed wire
In between stood No Mans Land
Attempted to soften up enemy positions with artillery bombardments as a prelude to a run through no man’s land to overwhelm the enemy

5. Important technologies
Tanks
Airplanes
Flamethrowers
Submarines
High powered artillery
Grenades
Poison gas
Barbed wire
Zeppelins
Aerial bombardment

6. The War of Illusions
Germany gambled that its Schlieffen Plan would allow it to defeat France before Russia could mobilize
Violation of the Belgian neutrality brought Britain in the war on the side of the entente
Belgium put up an unexpected resistance to German forces

7. As the Germans advance, the French regrouped and hit the German flank at the Marne River
The Western Front had settled down by Christmas to a stalemate
Trenches 300 miles in length
The more open and less populated Eastern Front was where the Germans were more successful

8. Stalemate: 1915 The Central Powers vs. the Allies
Expanded the war by bidding for new allies
Turkey joined the Central Powers
Allies bribed Italy with a promise of Austria territory
Bulgaria, Romania and Greece all entered the conflict

9. In April 1915, the British launched the poorly planned Gallipoli campaign
Germany and Britain both attempted to blockade the other and starve it into submission
The German navy’s reliance on the submarine made blockades dangerous

10. Slaughter
By 1916, the effects of total war were exhausting all nations involved
In February 1916, the Germans launched an attack at the key position of Verdun
The longest battle of the war
French and German army combined for 1.1 million casualties

11. The British launched the Somme offensive in July
Proved a disaster for the British army
The Russian army surprised the Austrian army with the Brusilov Offensive
One success for the Central Powers was their victory over Serbia

12. The large battleships that had provokes such animosity between Britain and Germany generally stayed in port
The only major naval engagement occurred in 1916 at Jutland

13. Exhaustion and Revolution
In 1917, the Allied forces lost a key nation, Russia
Gained an even greater force, the United States
In late 1917, the Bolsheviks pulled Russia out of the war
Germany bet that it could knock Britain and France out of the conflict before the U.S. could effectively mobilize

14. Germany’s U-boat campaign, combined with the Zimmerman Note, drew the U.S. into the war
By mid 1917, it looked as if the Central Powers might prevail
By March 1918, the Germans imposed on the Bolsheviks the Treaty of Brest Litovsk

15. In the spring of 1918, the German High Command launched one last major offensive on the Western Front
Despite its initial success, American troops began to inject fresh manpower and morale into the Allied cause
American and French counter offenses pushed the German lines back by early fall 1918

16. The German High Command asked for an armistice on November 11, 1918