Download Europe Plunges Into War

Europe Plunges Into
War
Introduction
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Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war
against Serbia set off a chain reaction
within the alliance system. The countries
of Europe followed through on their
pledges to support one another. As a
result, nearly all of Europe soon joined
what would be the largest, most
destructive war the world had yet seen.
The Great War Begins
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July 31, 1914: Russia announces full mobilization of
its armed forces.
August 1, 1914: Germany, taking Russia’s mobilization
as a defacto declaration of war, declares war on
Russia.
August 3, 1914: Germany declares war on France.
August 4, 1914: Germany declares war on neutral
Belgium and invades in a right flanking move designed
to defeat France quickly. As a result of this invasion,
Britain declares war on Germany.
The Great War Begins
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Nations Take Sides
 By
mid-August 1914, there are two sides at
war throughout Europe:
Central Powers—Germany, Austria-Hungary;
later joined by Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire
 Allies—Great Britain, France, Russia; later joined
by Japan, Italy (once a member of the Triple
Alliance, but switched sides because Italians
believed the war was unjustly started)
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A Bloody Stalemate
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As the summer of 1914 turned to fall, the
war turned into a long and bloody
stalemate, or deadlock, along the
battlefields of France. This deadlocked
region in northern France became known
as the Western Front.
The Conflict Grinds Along
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The Schlieffen Plan
 Called
for attacking and
defeating France in the west and
then rushing east to fight Russia.
 Counted on the slow mobilization
of Russian forces due to lack of
railways.
 Called for 39 days for the fall of
Paris, and 42 days for the defeat
of France.
General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen
The Conflict Grinds Along
(continued)
By early September Germany had swept
into France and reached the outskirts of
Paris
 September 5, 1914—At the First Battle of
the Marne, Germany is forced to retreat.
 With this defeat the Schlieffen Plan failed
because Germany was then forced to fight
a two front war.

War in the Trenches
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Conflict descends into trench warfare—armies fighting
from trenches.
Battles result in many deaths and very small land gains.
Life in trenches is miserable, difficult, unsanitary.
New weapons only lead to more deaths.
The slaughter reached a peak in 1916.
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February 1916: Battle of Verdun—Each side lost more than
300,000.
July-November 1916: The Somme—Each side suffered more
than 500,000 casualties.
Only 5 miles were gained in each of these battles.
New Weapons of the War
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poison Gas
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chlorine and phosgene—both toxic substances that caused
suffocation
mustard gas—a blistering agent that caused severe burns
and blisters on the skin and stripped severely damaged the
lungs. It sometimes took five weeks to die from mustard gas
exposure.
machine gun
tank
submarine
airplanes
Australian troops in
the trenches
equipped with gas
masks, Battle of
Ypres, 1917

Mustard gas burns from World War I
The British Vickers machine gun required a six
man team to operate. One to fire, one to feed the
ammunition, and the rest to help carry the
weapon and supplies.
British Mark I tank on September 26, 1916
Submarines:
German U-Boat U-14
Flying Aces

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr
von Richthofen (2 May
1892 – 21 April 1918) was a
German fighter pilot known
as the "Red Baron". He was
the most successful flying
ace of World War I, being
officially credited with 80
confirmed air combat
victories. He was killed in
combat with Canadian pilots
near the Somme River.
Trench Warfare Problems
All Quiet on the Western Front, excerpt
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“We must look out for our
bread. The rats have become
much more numerous lately
because the trenches are no
longer in good condition.
Detering says it is a sure sign
of a coming bombardment.
“The rats here are particularly
repulsive, they are so fat—the
kind we call corpse rats. They
have shocking, evil naked
faces, and it is nauseating to
see their long, nude tails.
All Quiet on the Western Front,
excerpt
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“They seem to be mighty hungry. Almost every man has
had his bread gnawed. Kropp wrapped his in his
waterproof sheet and put it under his head, but he
cannot sleep because they run over his face to get at it.
Detering meant to outwit them: he fastened a thin wire to
the roof and suspended his bread from it. During the
night when he switched on his pocket-torch he saw the
wire swing to and fro. On the bread was riding a fat rat.
“At last we put a stop to it. We cannot afford to throw the
bread away, because then we should have nothing left to
eat in the morning, so we carefully cut off the bits of
bread that the animals have gnawed.
All Quiet on the Western Front,
excerpt
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“The slices we cut off are heaped together in the middle
of the floor. Each man takes out his spade and lies down
prepared to strike. Detering, Kropp, and Kat hold their
pocket-torches ready.
“After a few minutes we hear the first shuffling and
tugging. It grows, now it is the sound of many little feet.
Then the torches switch on and every man strikes at the
heap, which scatters with a rush. The result is good. We
toss the bits of rat over the parapet and again lie in wait.
All Quiet on the Western Front,
excerpt
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“Several times we repeat the process. At
last the beasts get wise to it, or perhaps
they have scented the blood. They return
no more. Nevertheless, before morning
the remainder of the bread on the floor has
been carried off.”
(pp. 101-103, Ballantine paperback edition.)
Trench Foot (too disgusting to be
pictured)
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Affected feet become numb and then turn red or blue. As
the condition worsens, they may swell. Advanced
immersion foot often involves blisters and open sores,
which lead to fungal infections; this is sometimes called
tropical ulcer (jungle rot).
If left untreated, immersion foot usually results in
gangrene, which can require amputation. If immersion
foot is treated properly, complete recovery is normal,
though it is marked by severe short-term pain when
feeling returns. Like other cold injuries, immersion foot
leaves sufferers more susceptible to it in the future.
The Battle on the Eastern Front
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Early Fighting
 Eastern
Front—site of main fighting along the
German-Russian border.
 Russians push into Austria and Germany, but soon
forced to retreat.
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Russia Struggles
 Russia’s
war effort was suffering by 1916; many
casualties and few supplies.
 The huge size of Russian army keeps it a formidable
force and prevents Germany from sending more
troops to the Western Front.