Download World War I

REMEMBER TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN GREY, THOUGHTFULLY.
World War I
The “Great War”
Mrs. Orzoff-Baranyk
World History
VHHS
Causes of World War I
The Industrial Revolution/ Militarism
Total Defense Expenditures for
the Great Powers [Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Italy, France,
Britain, Russia
2. Looking at the charts on this page – how did militarism help
start WWI?
1910-1914 increase in
defense expenditure
France: 10%
Britain: 13%
Russia: 39%
Germany: 73%
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1. What is Militarism, in your own words?
1870: 94 million pounds
1880: 130 million pounds
1890: 154 million pounds
1900: 268 million pounds
1910: 289 million pounds
1914: 398 million pounds.
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Militarism: Belief that to be a truly great nation, you
had to have a powerful military.
1890s: Glorification of military made citizens feel
patriotic/nationalistic.
1890s: Germany began to build a navy that rivaled
England’s.
o In response, England enlarged their fleet.
1914: Every major power in Europe had a standing
army, ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
o Generals created highly detailed mobilization
plans in case of war.
Imperialism & Nationalism
Rivalries
o By 20th c. big rivalries between the major European Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Great Britain, Italy, France, and Russia.)
o Competition for Glory, Wealth, Land, Raw Materials, Markets
Territorial Disputes
o 1905 & 1911 – Germany & France almost went to war over control of Morocco
 Europe supported France; Germany backed down.
 Rivalries and mistrust deepen between France & Germany.
 France still bitter about loss of Alsace-Lorraine in Franco-Prussian War
o 1908 – Austria-Hungary took control of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Balkans.
 Serbs in Serbia wanted the Serbian population in Bosnia-Herzegovina to be part of
Serbia!
 Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, etc. want independence from Austria-Hungary, who
refuses.
 Russia also wanted to control this area.
3. How were Nationalism & Imperialism factors in CAUSING World War I? Which countries
already had problems with each other prior to the war?
The Map to the left shows the mixture of
different ethnic groups in the Balkans. It will
help if you view it in color on our class website.
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Before WWI there was a movement in the
Balkans called “Pan-Slavism.”
Pan = all
movement for unity of all Slavic
peoples. Used as a tool by the
Russian Empire to gain control over this
region, as the people of Russia are Slavic.
In 1908 Austria-Hungary had
annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina (located in
the Northwest corner of the map.)
4.
Why were Russia & AustriaHungary already conflicting with
each other before World War I?
Within the movement for Pan-Slavism, there was also a movement for “Pan-Serbianism,” or a goal
to have all Serbian people in one country.
Due to ethnic tensions in the region, the Balkans in 1914 were called the “Powder Keg of Europe.”
5. What do you think the phrase “Powder Keg of Europe” means?
6. WWI started in the Balkans. Summarize the main problems in this area.
Alliances
Caused by Military rivalries and feeling the need for protection.
DEFENSIVE ALLIANCES: If one country in the alliance is attacked, the others will help. However, if
one country in the alliance is an aggressor nation – the others are not obligated to help.
1870: Otto von Bismarck feared that France would try to seek revenge after the Franco-Prussian
War & tried to isolate France.
o 1879: Austria-Hungary & Germany (The Dual Alliance)
o 1882: Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy (The Triple Alliance)
o
1890: A treaty between Russia & Germany lapsed after Bismarck was fired by Kaiser
Wilhelm II, who wanted more power for himself.
1892 & 1894: France & Russia
1904: Britain & France
1907: Britain, France, & Russia (The Triple
Entente)
7. During World War I, the bolded groups above represented the
two main alliances. One of these groups became known as the
“Central Powers” the other was called the “Allies.” Looking at
the information above and the map to the right, which group
do you think will be the Allies? Which group will become the
Central Powers?
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8. How might alliances have helped to make this a world war?
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How did alliances change during the war?
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9.
The Spark that Started the War!
Read this story & answer the
questions that follow it.
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Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand & his family are pictured to the left. Franz
Ferdinand was the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. Born in 1863, he had been privately
educated and went on to serve in the Austro-Hungarian military. He met his wife Sophie von
Chotkovato at a dance in Prague. Their marriage had been frowned upon by the royal family
because she was not royalty, herself. Franz Ferdinand did not care and married her anyway even
though it meant his children could never succeed to the throne. Theirs was a true love story.
Over the next few years they had three children. In June of 1914, Sophie was pregnant with their
fourth child.
Also in June of 1914, the royal couple were invited by General Oskar Potoirek (pictured to the
right) to watch his troops perform military maneuvers in the newly annexed territory of BosniaHerzegovina.
The Archduke knew that it could be dangerous. Many people in
Bosnia-Herzegovina were unhappy about the annexation and would have perferred to join with
Serbia. The archduke knew that in 1910 a Serb had tried to kill the Austrian governor when he
opened the Parliament in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The attempted
assassination was carried out by a member of a Serbian nationalist group that had formed in 1908,
the same year that Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. The group was Narodna
Odbrana (The People’s Defense). There was a large Serbian population in Bosnia-Herzegovina and
the Black Hand felt that they should join with Serbia.
Colonol Dragutin Dimitrijevic (pictured to the left) was one of the
leaders of the Black Hand (offically called “Unity or Death,”) a secret
military society founded in Serbia in 1911 that joined with Narodna
Odbrana and made them into one group. By 1914 there were over 2000
members, many were Serbian army officers. Dimitrijevic was also
chief of the Intelligence department in the Serbian Army. He
considered Franz Ferdinand a serious threat to union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. He was
worried the Ferdinand’s plans to to give the South Slavs of Bosnia-Heregovina some of the political
concessions they were asking for would make an independent Serbian state more difficult to achieve.
When the Archduke’s plans to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina were announced Dimitrijevic began to plan his
assassination.
Dimitrijevic recruited three men to carry out the assassination. Each man was given a gun, two grenades,
and a small vile of cyanide. Each man was told to commit suicide after the assassination so that none of
them could be caputred and share vital information with the Austro-Hungarian government about the Black Hand. It was especially
important that the Austro-Hungarian government never be made aware of Dimitrijevic’s involvenment, as he was a part of the Serbian
army. The three men recruited were all suffering from Tuberculosis, which was a death sentence in the early 20 th century anyway.
Dying for their nation was considered a more honorable death
Before 10 am on June 28, 1914 the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, arrived in Sarajevo by train.
The Governor of Austrian provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was waiting to take the royal
party to the City Hall for the official reception. In the front car was the Mayor of Sarajevo
and the city’s commissioner of Police. The Archduke and his wife were in the second car with
the governor. The car’s convertible top was rolled back in order to allow the crowds a good
view of its occupants. The local police were in charge of the security and had arrested 35
potential trouble makers. 120 police were on the route the royal family was taking to city
hall.Unknown to the police 7 members of the Black Hand were also lining the route. Spaced
out, each one was told to try to kill the archduke when the car reached his position.
The Assassin’s Locations on the map (left): 1. Muhamed
Mehmedbasic, 2. Nedjelko Cabrinovic, 3. Vaso Cubrilovic,
4. Cvijetko Popovic, 5. Gavrilo Princip, 7. Trifko Grabez, 8.
Danilo Ilic
The first conspirator to see the Archduke’s
car was Muhamed Mehmedbasic. Standing by
the Austro-Hungarian Bank, he lost his nerve
and allowed the car to pass without taking
action. He later said that policeman was standing behind him and he feared he would be arrested before he could throw
the bomb.
Nedjelko Cabrinovic (pictured right) was the second to see the car. At 10:15am he stepped forward and hurled one
of this grenade’s at the Archduke’s car. The driver accelerated when he saw the object flying towards him and the
bomb exploded under the wheels of the next car. The two occupants were seriously injured. About a dozen
spectators were hit by shrapnel.
After throwing his bomb Cabrinovic swallowed the cyanide he was carrying and jumped into the River behind him.
Unknown to Cabrinovic, the river was at its low point for the year and was only about three feet deep; the poison
was flawed as well. It was old and had lost its potency causing him to throw up on himself, but not much more. He
was arrested and immediately taken to prison for questioning.
After the attempted assassination, the Archduke’s driver went extremely fast and other members of the
Black Hand decided it was useless to try to kill the archduke when the car was going so fast. They had
failed at their task and broke up. 19 year old Gavrilo Princip (pictured right), one of the would-be
assassins, went across the street to a deli called Moritz Schiller's café (location number 6 on the map on
the previous page) for a sandwich.
Meanwhile, after attending the official reception at City Hall, Franz
Ferdinand asked about the injured members of his party and was
told they were badly injured and in the hospital. He insisted on
going to see them. A member of the archduke’s staff suggested it
could be dangerous but the Governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who
was responsible for their safety &
who was a proud man, replied “Do
you think Sarajevo is full of
assassins?” Although he did
suggest Sophie stay behind. She refused.
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Gavrillo Principe had just exited Schiller’s, where he had had lunch after
the failed assassination attempt, and was standing on the corner as the
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To avoid the center of the city the governor decided the driver should
travel directly down Appel Quay, but forgot to tell the driver. On the way
to the hospital the driver took a right into Franz Joseph Street.
governor told the driver he was going the wrong way. The driver stepped on the break, and
went to back up.
Principe stepped forward, drew his gun, and at a distance of about 5 feet, fired several times
into the car. Before he could turn the gun on himself, police officers seized Princip.
According to a fellow member of the Black Hand: “They beat him over the head with the flat of
their swords. They knocked him down, they kicked him, scraped the skin from his neck with
the edges of their swords, tortured him, all but killed him.
The next day they put chains on Princip's feet, which he wore till his death.... “
Gravilo Princip
Franz Ferdinand had been shot in the neck piercing his jugular vein. Before losing
consciousness he pleaded “Sophie dear! Sophie dear! Don’t Die! Stay alive for our
children!”
Sophie was hit in the abdomen. The archduke, his wife, and their unborn child
died from their wounds.
10.
Please summarize the event that started this
war? What happened and why??
11. While in prison, Princip was awaked in the middle of the night to be moved to another
prison. He was said to have appealed to the Governor: “There is no need to carry me to another
prison. My life is already ebbing away. I suggest that you nail me to a cross and burn me alive. My flaming
body will be a torch to light my people on their path to freedom.” What did he mean by this
statement?
Primary Source: 6 July, 1914: The 'Blank Check'
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Telegram from the Imperial Chancellor, von Bethmann-Hollweg, to the German Ambassador at Vienna. Tschirschky, July 6, 1914
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After the assassination, Count Leopold von Berchtold, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, drew up a letter for the Emperor
Francis Joseph to sign and send to Wilhelm II, the Kaiser of Germany, to try and convince both of Serbia's responsibility.
On July 6th, eight days after the assassination, Wilhelm II and his Imperial Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, replied.
Berlin, July 6, 1914
Confidential. For Your Excellency's personal information and guidance
The Austro-Hungarian Ambassador yesterday delivered to the Emperor a confidential personal letter from the Emperor Francis
Joseph, which depicts the present situation from the Austro-Hungarian point of view, and describes the measures which Vienna has in
view. A copy is now being forwarded to Your Excellency.
I replied to Count Szagyeny today on behalf of His Majesty that His Majesty sends his thanks to the Emperor Francis Joseph for his
letter and would soon answer it personally. In the meantime His Majesty desires to say that he is not blind to the danger which
threatens Austria-Hungary and thus the Triple Alliance as a result of the Russian and Serbian Pan-Slavic agitation. Even though His
Majesty is known to feel no unqualified confidence in Bulgaria and her ruler, and naturally inclines more toward our old ally Romania
and her Hohenzollern prince1, yet he quite understands that the Emperor Francis Joseph, in view of the attitude of Romania and of the
danger of a new Balkan alliance aimed directly at the Danube Monarchy2 , is anxious to bring about an understanding between Bulgaria
and the Triple alliance [...]. His Majesty will, further more, make an effort at Bucharest3, according to the wishes of the Emperor
Francis Joseph, to influence King Carol to the fulfillment of the duties of his alliance, to the renunciation of Serbia, and to the
suppression of the Romanian agitations directed against Austria-Hungary.
Finally, as far as concerns Serbia, His Majesty, of course, cannot interfere in the dispute now going on between Austria-Hungary and
that country, as it is a matter not within his competence. The Emperor Francis Joseph may, however, rest assured that His Majesty will
faithfully stand by Austria-Hungary, as is required by the obligations of his alliance and of his ancient friendship.
BETHMANN-HOLLWEG
12. Why do you think this document referred to as “The Blank Check?” (hint: This is check as in
the piece of paper your parents write out to buy something).
Remember, the Hohenzollerns also ruled Prussia, and then Germany.
The Danube River originates in southern Germany and runs through Austria & Hungary.
3
The capital of Romania.
2
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13. What did Germany promise in this document?
On July 23, 1914 Austria-Hungary sent a telegram to the Serbian Royal government. In it they
demanded that Serbia stop protesting against Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, that
they take responsibility for the assassination because they did not stop the nationalist groups that had
formed in Serbia & because the assassins were part of the Serbian military. They demanded that Serbia
make it illegal to say negative things about Austria-Hungary and ban any textbooks from schools that put
Austria-Hungary in a negative light. They also demanded that they be allowed to perform an
investigation into the assassination within the borders of Serbia.
On July 25, 1914 Serbia replied to Austria’s Ultimatum. They were happy to comply with many parts of
it including condemning Serbian nationalist groups, but they could not agree to allowing AustroHungarian officials into their country to investigate Serbian involvement because it would violate their
own Constitution. They wanted to keep the peace, but they also wanted to protect their sovereignty.
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14. To the best of your ability, explain the political cartoon above. (hint: What is the
question being asked and what is the answer!) It may help you to look at it on line, and
make it bigger!
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On July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
The Chain Reaction that Started the War:
June 28, 1914: Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
July 28, 1914: Austria declares War on Serbia
o Russia felt itself the big brother of Serbia and moved troops to the
Russian-Austrian border & the German border
 Would take about 6 weeks to complete
August 1, 1914: Germany declared war on Russia
August 3, 1914: Germany declared war on France *due to their alliance with
Russia*
August 4, 1914: Britain declared war on Germany. *due to their alliance with
Russia & France*
What should have been a war between Serbia & Austria Hungary now involved six
countries.
16. What was the Schlieffen plan? What was its purpose?
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The War Begins
Germany
Facing a two front war (France to the West, Russia to the East)
The Schlieffen Plan
o Germany’s military plan named after it’s designer,
General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen
 Remember, before WWI generals were creating
mobilization plans just in case war ever took
place! This existed long before war was declared.
o If 2 front war: attack France, then Russia
 Russia was less industrialized and would take
more time to mobilize troops and supplies. (They
had less railroads)
 Speed was key
o There were French troops along German border –
breaking through would be slow, and time was of the
essence.
 The border between France and Belgium was
unprotected because Belgium was a neutral
country. ( Neutral = undefended border due to treaties.)
o Germany demanded that its troops be allowed to pass through Belgium on their way to France.
 Belgium refused due to their neutrality.
o Germany invaded Belgium which brought Great Britain into the conflict (they had promised to
protect Belgium if they were ever invaded).
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15. So far, who should be blamed for this war? Explain your answer.
17. What impact did the invasion of Belgium have on the war? Why did Germany go through
Belgium to get to France?
British Propaganda about the invasion of Belgium
“Towns were sacked and burned, homes were pillaged; in many places portions of the
population, men, women, and children, were massed in public squares and mowed down
by mitrailleuses, and there were countless individual instances of an amazing and
shameless brutality.”
“Many women and young girls, it is said, were raped by the German soldiers. Upon one
occasion seventy-eight men were taken outside the town and were made to pass before
German gendarmes who struck them with the butts of their revolvers. Of these seventyeight men only three escaped death.”
18. What was the message that Britain wanted to get across about
the invasion of Belgium by Germany? Who do you think this
message was intended for?
In most propaganda German’s are called “The Hun.”
This was due to a speech given to German soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion in China
from Kaiser Wilhelm II. He told them to act like the Mongol Huns and wreak havoc. “Let
the Germans strike fear into the hearts, so he'll be feared like the Hun.”
In allied propaganda of WWI it made people believe that Germans were capable of the
worst.
The British also cut the trans-Atlantic telegraph line between Germany &
the United States. The only information the United States heard about
the War came from Britain.
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19. What impact do you think the communications about the Germans
had on the American public’s opinion of the war?
Countries Mobilize for War
Soldiers Mobilized
14
12
Millions
10
8
6
4
2
0
France
French Recruits
Germany
Russia
Britain
Austro-Hungarian Recruits
A young Australian Recruit
German Soldiers on their Way to Paris
20. Why is there a recruit from Australia? How did they get
involved in WWI?
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21. Describe the mood or attitude of the young recruits in all these pictures.
False Hopes
Soldiers were told the war would be short; most believed they would be home by Christmas.
Few understood what was coming
“The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them again in our lifetime.” – Britain’s Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey.
22. Britain’s Sir Edward Grey seemed to understand that this would not be a short war. Explain
what he meant in the quote above.
The Western Front: “A War of Attrition4”
End of August 1914: Germans entered France
September 3, 1914: Germans on the edge of Paris
o Seems they are about to win
o French get intelligence stating Germany’s next move
September 5, 1914: Battle of the Marne
End of the Summer 1914: Stalemate (neither side is winning)
The Battle of the Marne, September 6-12, 1914
German army had reached within 30 miles of Paris by the
Marne River.
September 7: 6,000 French reserve infantry troops moved
from Paris to the Marne River in streams of taxi cabs, 600 in
all.
September 8: French launch a surprise attack against the German
Second Army
September 9: the German armies began a retreat, but are pursued
by the French and British
(First image on the next page: The day of the Battle of the Marne
River. Notice that troops are lined up as if this were still the
Napoleonic Wars! They had no idea what was coming)
German armies ceased their withdrawal after 40 miles & dug in,
preparing trenches for protection that were to last for several years.
o Ended German hopes of carrying out the Schlieffen plan
Casualties: French - 250,000 losses, Germans – no official record, - 12,733 casualties.
was the importance of the Battle of the Marne?
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A War of Attrition is one where you are simply trying to wear the other side down until they give up. There are no
glorious victories, and marches into capital cities. There is death & exhaustion until supplies are gone.
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23. What
Above: Top – First day of the battle of the Marne. Directly above - Early Trench
Warfare before both sides really began to “dig in.” Left – Germans. Right – French.
Ariel view of the miles of Trenches carved into the earth
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Early 1915: miles of trenches
Huge losses/ very small gains
o Hard to advance and take territory when fighting from a trench.
o “The men slept in mud, washed in mud, ate mud, and dreamed mud” –
a soldier
o Swarmed with rats, no fresh food, hard to sleep
No Man’s Land & Going Over the Top
o The only way to advance was to “go over the top,” or
to climb out of the trench and run from your trench
to the trench of the enemy. The goal was to jump
into the enemy’s trench and take it over forcing
them to retreat. No Man’s Land, the area between
the trenches, was filled with barbed wire (put out at
night), and frequently the bodies of fallen soldiers.
The enemy shot artillery & guns into No Man’s land
to kill as many advancing soldiers as they could.
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Trench Warfare – read this section and answer the questions at the end!
“The trenches disappeared, filled with earth…the air was unbreatheable. Our blinded,
wounded, crawling, and shouting soldiers kept falling on top of us and died splashing us
with blood. It was living hell.” – a French Soldier
Soldiers on the front line also had to worry about enemy snipers
Snipers were trained marksmen carrying rifles
with telescopic sights. They would find a tree in
no man's land, climb it, and wait. They wore
camouflage clothing, and when an enemy
soldier walked by, the sniper would shoot him
in the head.
Interview with a British Soldier, Walter Hare
Q: Did the training you got prepare you for trench warfare?
Hare: It wasn't a scrap of good. I was trained at West Hartlepool, I learnt how to salute officers, which
seemed to be the main thing in the army, I learnt to slope arms and present arms, which you can't do in a
muddy trench. I fired five rounds before I went out to France, I never saw a grenade...I never saw a machine
gun, so I was a rookie when I went to France, but I think the fault was that the chaps who trained us were
regular soldiers, there was a corporal and a sergeant, and all they knew was rote marching and drilling. If
we'd had somebody who'd been out of France, say wounded in the trenches, [who] could have told us
something, about trench life, what it was like, [that] would have
[been] a lot more use to us, but they couldn't tell us anything,
because they didn't know.
Trenches flooded and caused feet to rot
...I was told to take a -- a message...to find the commander of the
battalion on our left, and I was moving down this support line having
a word with...one or two of our fellows and then I came to bays
where there was nobody at all. They weren't occupied, and I thought
perhaps it weren't the battalion on our left, perhaps they were
Germans.
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Going over the top
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So I went very carefully round the next bend and I saw one of our
battalion lads laid out on the ground on top of the parapet with his
legs up in the air. And I said, "What -- what are you
trying on?" He said, "Well I'm trying to get a wound if
I can in my legs." He said, "There's quite a bit of
machine gunning going on and a few rifle fires." He
said, "I thought I might get a bullet through my leg
and get home to Blighty," which of course meant to
get home to England. I said, "Get down, old lad, and
forget about it, and I'll forget about it and your name
will never...pass my lips -- we all feel exactly like
you." He said, "No, you don't feel like me." I says, "Oh
yes, we do, every one of us, but as we have a job to
do, we're going to do it." So I said, "You go back and
get to your mates," which he did. And we were very big friends after that because we had a secret that nobody else knew.
Q: ...Tell me about that attack on Rossinel wood, how you disobeyed the officer...
Hare: ...We were told that we were going to make an attack on, on the wood in front of us. That was all
the information we got about it and...we'd go over at three minutes past seven, cock-eyed time, but I
remember we -- I -- we climbed...out of our trench and through the barbed wire, which was supposed
to have been cut, but it hadn't. We had very little artillery bombardment before we went over.
...Some of our chaps were dropping down at the side of me, but I kept going. I got to the German
barbed wire, I got through that all right, and jumped into a German trench.....I jumped on to a dead
German laid in the front line trench.....
Well I kept going, I got to the German support line, there would be about twenty of us left...and there
was one officer. And after we'd been there some time [the officer] says, "...you can prepare -- we're
going to attack the wood," but by that time there was a corporal from a different regiment he'd got
mixed up with...he said, "We're not going up there, sir." [The officer] said, "This is an order." [The
corporal] said, "I don't care, sir." He said, "I'm not going up there." [The officer] says, "When you get
out, I'll report you to be court martialled." [The corporal] says, "None of us will get out if we go there."
[The officer] said, "...well fix your bayonets."
Artillery used to bomb No Man’s Land
And this corporal said -- "You can't -- you can't fight machine guns with with bayonets." He said, "I'm stopping here." I said, "Well I'm
stopping with you," and the officer said, "This is an order, follow me," but nobody followed him. He went off on his own, and I never saw
him again.
...This corporal suggested we get behind the trench because the Germans would soon be firing down it or lobbing bomb[s] over, which
they did of course. He said, "Get behind and lay down behind the trench and...make a little bit of a parapet if you can with your
trenching tools," which we did. But it was muddy so we laid there all that day and kept firing a
few shots to let them know we were still here, expecting them to make a counter attack, which
they never did.
We stayed there all that day and that following night. No food, no water, getting short on
ammunition.... On the third day the corporal said, "Well, I don't know what we're going to
do...we're just short of ammunition, we've no food," he says, "we, we can't do any more
attacking on our own, we'll just have to stay here and see what happens."
But during the morning, one of our chaps from headquarters came forward to us and he said,
"I'm bringing orders for you. You've got to retire to the trenches you left, as best you can. Get
So I finished up there, where I left. I think there were two hundred and thirty odd casualties, and we never gained a yard of ground. and
we never gained the wood of course, and the stupid part was, we could have taken that wood later on, the Germans left it, we could
have got it without firing a shot.
I lost a lot of me pals that we -- we needn't have done...Well I thought, how stupid it was.
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Tanks were created to get over trenches
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back as best you can." So we did, one at a time, we dodged off back and got through this wire
and back to our trench.
The trouble was that the people who gave these orders -- for the attacks -- were in a chateau ten miles behind the line. They'd never
been to the trenches, they didn't know...what the conditions were like.
...I've always said, if some of these generals had spent one day in the front line with us, they wouldn't have been so keen on looking at a
map and saying, "Oh there's a wood here -- we'll attack this."
24. Why was trench warfare necessary during WWI, but also so hard on the soldiers?
25. Why was trench warfare largely ineffective?
26. Explain why Walter Hare claimed his training wasn’t “a scrap of good” for dealing with
trench warfare?
27. What evidence do you see of mismanagement or confusion in how the battles of
WWI were run?
The Battle of Verdun: The Peak of the
Slaughter (February 21, 1916 – December 1916)
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longest battle
German push to win the western front, so they
could move on to starve the British using
submarine warfare.
Verdun: More important symbolically than
strategically; psychologically important
Verdun before the 10 month long battle.
o
Last town to fall in the Franco-Prussian War (when the Germans won). & to have it fall again
would be devastating to the French.
1 million German troops against 200,000 allies
o 1,400 guns along 8 mile front
o 100,000 shells poured into Verdun every hour. That’s about 1,667 shells per minute.
 From a poem written by a WWI veteran who survived Verdun about his wounded
countrymen: “Verdun, the name of thunder, is written in their flesh.”
Feb. 21: End of the First day: German forces captured French front line trench
Feb. 24: German troops took French second line of trenches, 8 kilometres from Verdun
French General Petain came up with a plan to save Verdun: perpetrate maximum damage to the
Germans & hold the supply route to Verdun.
March 6: Germany: fresh artillery supplies – new attack
March – April: attacks against the French
o French army: 259 of 330 infantry regiments fought at
Verdun
June 7: A Fort close to Verdun that had held out fell (Fort Vaux).
o Chemical warfare begins : phosgene gas5 first used by
Germany.
July 1: The British begin the Battle of the Somme to relieve
some of the pressure on Verdun (see below)
December 15-18: French captured 11,000 prisoners and 115
heavy guns. German attacks stop
Ariel photo of the remains of Fort Vaux
French casualties: 550,000. German losses: 434,000, half of the
total being fatalities.
real effect of the battle: damage to armies. No advantage had been gained by either side.
Verdun After the 10 month long battle
28. What was the importance of the Battle of Verdun? Why did the Germans want to
5
Phosgene gas causes suffocation & death.
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take Verdun? Did this battle change the war? If so how? If not, why?
The Battle of the Somme, July 1-November 18, 1916
British Offensive
Goal: Drain German forces, divert forces away from Verdun, gain land
June 24: Early bombardment of German Lines – This was a failure!
o Failed to destroy barbed wire and concrete bunkers (where Germans hid)
o British munitions – many duds, badly built – still dug up today “iron harvest”

Fun Fact: In May 2006 a British French Fry factory had to evacuated after bomb parts turned up in a
shipment of potatoes from France & Belgium where parts of WWI had been fought. A bomb squad
had to be called in. They found an entire hand grenade, as well, that had to be diffused.
o Gave Germans warning of what was coming.
Day 1: 58,000 British troops killed (1/3), little to no progress in July. Effective German machine guns
force British back to trenches
British first use of tanks. Gained less than a kilometer of ground. 50 tanks reduced to 24 due to
mechanical failure. Freaked out the Germans, but were unreliable. Germans lit forests on fire to
stop the tanks.
Somme ended in November due to snow.
Results: British and French gain 5 miles of ground. 420,000 British casualties. 200,000 French
casualties. 500,000 German casualties
29. What was the importance of the Battle of the Somme? Why was it started? Did
this battle change the war? If so how? If not, why?
An early trench filled with fallen soldiers
A soldier missing a hand and most of
his face
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War is Hell
The remains of a fallen
soldier in No Man’s Land,
stuck on the barbed wire.
Sacrifices of War
WWI soldiers, most of whom have lost a leg, in rehabilitation
WWI Soldiers who have lost both legs, or most of both of their legs. They
were still better off than those who survived after losing both legs and
arms. They were referred to as “basket cases” due to how they had to be
transported.
30. Explain the titles of the last two sections: War is Hell & The Sacrifices of War.
•
•
•
The Eastern Front
Battlefield along the German and Russian border
Russians & Serbs vs. Germans, Austrians, & Turks.
More mobile, but there were still stalemates.
The Battle of Tannenberg, Aug. 23 – Aug. 28, 1914
Eastern Prussia (Today – N. Poland)
Most spectacular German victory of WWI
– Germany intercepted Russian intelligence reports
about their plans of attack & surrounded the Russian
troops.
– Russians were already short of supplies,
communication was down. Russian
army was scattered/ many ran directly
into the German forces, dropping their
weapons. Russian counter attacks
were weak & insufficient
• 95,000 Russian troops captured;
30,000 killed or wounded. Only 10,000
escaped out of the original 150,000
troops.
The Surrender of Russian Soldiers
• Germans had less than 20,000
casualties & captured 500 guns. 60
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•
•
trains needed to transport captured equipment to Germany. The Russian General, Samsonov,
committed suicide due to the terrible losses. Russia was stopped from invading Prussia.
31. Why was the Battle of Tannenburg such a devastating loss for the allies? Why did they lose?
Female Russian Soldiers in WWI. This was unheard of in the west.
The Gallipoli Disaster, 1915
• February 1915 – January 1916
• Attempt to take the Dardanelle straights
– Access to Turkish capital Istanbul & Turkish
Industry center. Lane to Black Sea & supply route
for Russia. Could eliminate Turkey from the war &
turn Greece and Bulgaria against central powers
• Heavily defended (by natural geography) of fortresses on
cliff-tops overlooked shipping lanes
• Feb. 1915: 1st attempt with battleships, sea planes, &
submarines was a failure due to good Turkish defense &
poor allied gunning
• March 1915: 2nd attempt was a failure due to unsuspected
Turkish mine field.
• April – November: Several failed attacks.
• December 1915- January 1916: Withdrawal
– Blizzards = difficulty
– Successful withdrawl brought cheers from British
radio audiences who had to be reminded that
withdrawl was not success.
– Casualties: Turkey: 86,692. Allies (Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, India,
Newfoundland): 43,870
33. Why did the allies attack the Galipoli Peninsula? What did they hope to gain? Why
was this battle another stunning failure?
22
32. Why was WWI harder on Russia than any of the
other allies?
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The Impact of WWI on Russia
• By 1916 Russia’s war efforts were near collapse.
– Not yet fully industrialized, continually short on
food, guns, ammo, clothes, boots, blankets,
Allies couldn’t ship supplies to Russia’s ports
because German naval fleets blocked the Baltic
Sea & the Ottomans controlled the straits from
Mediterranean to Black Sea
• Russia’s only strength: huge population
– Tied up hundreds of thousands of German
troops in the east for three years
From a European War to a World War
Lawrence of Arabia
o In SW Asia the British helped Arab nationalities rise up against the Turks
o T.E. Lawrence helped lead guerrilla raids against the Turks
o With the help of Arabs, Allied armies took control of Baghdad, Jerusalem, and
Damascus.
English troops also attacked Germany’s four African posessions, taking control of
three of them.
British & French armies recruited soldiers from the colonies in Asia & Africa
o Troops & laborer from India, South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, & Indochina.
o Mohandas Ghandi supported Indian participation in the war hoping it the British
would pay India back with Independence.
British Nigerian Brigade in Africa
Turkish forces in Palestine
Sikh British Soldiers
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WWI tents set up in the Shadow of Egypt’s great pyramids
French Colonial Marine Infantry from Cochin, China in Greece, 1916
34. Why did the allies attack the imperial
possessions of the Central Powers? What
did they gain through this?
•
•
America Joins the War
American commerce with the Allies increased from $825 million in 1914 to
over $3.2 billion in 1916
In 1917 Britain and France owed the United States over $2 billion in loans
taken out by these countries to fight the war.
35. From these statistics alone, why did the United States join the
war on the side of the Allies?
•
Submarine Warfare
May 7, 1915: German U-boat (Submarine) sank the British passenger ship
Lusitania
– 1,198 dead (128 US citizens)
36. To the right is an advertisement for the Lusitania. Did Americans
know that they were entering into a war zone?
–
–
6
Unrestricted Submarine warfare means that the Germans would shoot at any boat in
Enemy waters, regardless of the country it was from.
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Ship was secretly carrying ammo
To keep the US out of the war, Germany ends unrestricted
submarine warfare6. The United States is unhappy but does NOT
enter the war.
• 1917 Severe food shortages in Germany (due to poor crops)
• January 1917
– Germany starts a naval blockade against Britain to starve Britain
into surrender before the U.S. could get involved.
– Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare.
– 3 American ships were sunk
37. At this point, what did Germany expect from the United States?
February 1917, The Zimmerman Telegram was intercepted by the British
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April 2, 1917: President Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress (both the Senate & House
were present) and spoke these words:
“It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself
seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always
carried nearest our hearts – for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own Governments,
for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such concern of free people as shall bring peace and
safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.”
25
38. The British immediately published this telegram in every American Newspaper. What was
being offered in this telegram (look on line for a clearer copy)? How do you think Americans
felt about this? Why do you think the British make this information public?
39. According to President Wilson, why was the United States joining WWI?
Total War
• ALL Countries dedicated all resources to the war effort
• ALL Governments controlled their economy (like socialism!)
– Factories told what to produce. Every able-bodied citizen put
to work (including women). Unemployment virtually
disappeared.
– Civilians deported from German-occupied Belgium and France
to work in German farms & factories
• Rationing (butter to shoe leather to preserve supplies.)
• USA Prohibition on Alcohol because it was made of fermented grains;
grain was needed to feed the soldiers overseas more than people
needed alcohol.
• The US government also started a fierce propaganda campaign
– One sided information to keep morale up.
40. How did life change for civilians during the war? How do you think this contributed
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to women in western countries being given the right to vote after the war?
The Spanish Flu (a form of the H1N1 virus)
Fall 1918, peace is on the horizon
At first, the flu seemed as benign as the common cold, and it
was flu season
• A fifth of the world's population was infected.
• Most deadly for people ages 20 to 40. Flu is usually a
killer of the elderly and young children.
• It infected 28% of all Americans
• Estimated 675,000 Americans died of influenza during the
pandemic, ten times as many as in the world war!
• Of the U.S. soldiers who died in Europe, half of them fell to the
influenza virus
• Does this help explain the panic about the H1N1 virus that
broke out in 2009?
41. How might the Spanish Flu Pandemic have helped the war to end even sooner??
•
•
•
•
•
42.
What factors led to the end of the
war? Sum it up here!
27
•
The End of WWI
Russia drops out of the War due to the Russian Revolution 1917
– Signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in which Russia gave Finland, Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia,
and Lithuania to Germany.
German troop move to the Western Front
– 6,000 German cannons – largest artillery attack ever
• May 1918: Germans reached Marne River AGAIN (40 miles outside Paris this time) but
their military was weak from years of fighting and they were met by 140,000 fresh
American troops (inexperienced but brave) in a
counterattack.
July 1918: Second Battle of the Marne
– 350 allied tanks & 2 million more American troops fought.
Central powers crumbled
– Bulgaria & Ottoman Empire surrender
– October 1918: Revolution in Austria-Hungary ended the empire and
the country broke apart.
– Germany: soldiers mutinied & public turned on the Kaiser. Germany
declared itself a Republic.
November 11, 1918: Armistice finally signed.
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•
Impact of the War
9,000,000 dead (including battle deaths &
civilians)
116,516 Americans Died
28
Which countries suffered most
heavily from WWI?
Page
43.
The Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
When the Great War (WWI) finally
ended in 1918, the leaders of the
victorious allies gathered in Paris to
arrange the peace. The final treaty
was signed at Versailles, the former
home of French royalty, just outside
of Paris, thus it is called the Treaty of
Versailles
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Despite their hopes, the peace established at Versailles fell apart in just twenty years. Within fifteen
years both Germany & Italy were led by fascist dictators bent on aggression. In 1939 another Great War
(WWII) broke out.
Goals
Outcome
France
France wanted to make sure that they would
never again be attacked by Germany. They
wanted Alsace-Lorraine back (territory taken in
the Franco-Prussian war). They wanted their
economy rebuilt.
England
England wanted Germany to pay for the war.
They wanted to make sure their navy was the
best & that England stayed a global power, not
just European.
USA
President Wilson wanted this to be the last war
of its kind. He created a “Fourteen Points” plan
to maintain world peace. He wanted to create
a system of world security. He wanted new
nations formed according to the wills of the
people. He also favored a lenient peace for
Germany.
Germany
Germany had no say, but was present. They
wanted a fair peace where they did not lose
lots of land & wanted to keep their national
“self-respect.” Most Germans did not think
they were the only one’s responsible for this
war.
29
In creating new states and adjusting
national boundaries, the leaders had
several things in mind. Their main
intent was to allow selfdetermination for every national group in Europe. They also wanted to draw boundaries that would
ensure each nation’s security. With the exception of Woodrow Wilson, most of the leaders hoped to
create a new “balance of power” like the one that had kept Europe at peace after the Congress of
Vienna in 1815.
44. Use the Terms of the Treaty to fill in the chart above showing how each country GOT or DID
NOT GET what they wanted. Write out the provisions that meet or did not meet the goals!
Territorial Provisions. In all, Germany lost more than ten percent of the land on the continent of Europe
that she held before the war. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France. German territory in the east,
such as Danzig, was given to the new nation of Poland. In addition, Britain took control of all German
colonies overseas.
Military Provisions. Germany was essentially disarmed. Its army was limited to 100,000 men. It was not
allowed to have military airplanes, tanks, or artillery. The navy was destroyed. In the future the German
navy was limited to no more than 12 warships and no submarines. The Rhineland, an area between the
Rhine River and France, was demilitarized and made into a neutral buffer zone. No German
fortifications were permitted there.
Political Provisions. Article 231 said that Germany and her allies were aggressors in the war and must
accept “responsibility…for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allies…and their nationals have
been subjected as consequences of the war.” The Treaty also called for the establishment of a League
of Nations through which the nations of the world might work together to provide for their collective
security in the future.
Economic Provisions. Germany was forced to pay war reparations to the Allies amounting to about five
billion dollars over the next few years. In additions, France was given control of the Saar for fifteen
years. The Saar is a region rich in coal and iron. Its resources helped the French rebuild their economy.
Similarly, large portions of the German merchant and fishing fleets were turned over to the Allies along
with large numbers of railway locomotives and freight cars. Germany also had to deliver coal to France
and Belgium and pay for French troops protecting the demilitarized Rhineland.
Related Treaties Cover Eastern Europe. In a related set of treaties with Germany’s allies, the AustroHungarian Empire and Bulgaria, a number of new nations were formed in Eastern Europe. The treaty
makers tried to include each national group in Eastern Europe in its own nation, but that proved
impossible. Still, the leaders tried to form nations with firm boundaries based as much as possible on a
common language, ethnic identity and religion.
45. Did every country get what they wanted from the Treaty of Versailles? Explain your
answer.
46. Do you think Germany was treated fairly, or as they deserved?
Page
48. Why do you think historians commonly say that the Treaty of Versailles was the greatest
cause of World War II?
30
47. Why do you think many Germans thought they were not to blame?
Other events that took place during WWI with far reaching consequences.
The Russian Revolution
Causes
Poor Leadership
In the 19th century, Russia suffered under Czar Alexander III (r. 1881-1894) who did not
believe in giving the Russian people the right to voice their opinions in government. He
had spies everywhere & encouraged Russians to turn each other in for subversive
activities. He started a series of attacks (called Pogroms) against the Jews of Russia to get
rid of “non-Russian influence” and banned the use of all foreign languages.
Czar Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917), the son of Alexander III, continued his father’s policies.
Revolutionary ideas spread
1863-1900 Russia began to industrialize, but was still far behind the rest of Europe. Living
standards for workers were very similar to the conditions of workers in the early 19th century in
Britain (low wages, poor living conditions, no power or voice in gov’t).
The ideas of Karl Marx and other socialists spread in Russian Universities, where young
idealistic revolutionaries started to plan a radical change to society. Many of them went out to
the factories and offered to teach workers how to read (using the Communist Manifesto).
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the father of Russian Communism, was one of these students.
Early Uprisings
In 1905, the Russians lost a war with the newly industrialized Japanese Navy. This was
humiliating for Russia who was so much bigger & believed themselves stronger
than Japan. The public began to express their dissatisfaction for Russia’s
government soon after.
Jan. 22, 1905: Bloody Sunday. On this day 200,000 unarmed factory workers
and their families tried to bring a petition to Czar Nicholas II demanding better
working conditions, more personal freedoms, and elected national legislature.
Nicholas ordered his soldiers to fire into the crowd, injuring over 1000 people &
killing hundreds. Waves of strikes followed.
October 1905: Nicholas felt pressured to give more rights to the workers &
allowed the creation of the Duma (parliament). The Duma met in May 1906, but because the leaders
wanted a constitutional monarchy Nicholas closed it after 10 weeks.
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The Provisional Government
When the czar stepped down the leaders of the Duma created a new temporary government led by
Alexander Kerensky, who was a moderate socialist (called Menshevik). He kept Russia in WWI because
31
World War I
Russia was unprepared for the military &economic costs of the war. Their early and quite large losses
showed the weakness of the czarist regime, just like the Russo-Japanese war in 1905 had.
At home, food, fuel, etc. was in short supply. Inflation became unbearable, and the people did not trust
the leadership of the country. They began to demand an end to the war.
In St. Petersburg there were citywide strikes by textile workers & riots over shortages of bread & fuel.
At first, Russian soldiers shot into the crowds of workers, but eventually joined them.
Nicholas II, at last, abdicated the throne.
the allies needed Germany to keep fighting a 2-front war. As conditions got worse, he lost the support
of soldiers & civilians.
The Bolshevik Revolution/ The Communist Revolution
Support shifted to the radical socialists (called Bolsheviks). Their slogan was “Peace, Land, & Bread”
which was exactly what the workers and peasants of Russia wanted.
November 1917: Armed factory workers (called the Bolshevik Red Guard) stormed the Winter Palace
where the Provisional government was located and took over the offices of government, arresting the
leaders.
Lenin took power and almost immediately confiscated all the means of production! Farmland was
redistributed among peasants and control of factories given to workers.  Truly Communist!
The new Bolshevik/Communist Government immediately ended Russia’s involvement in World War I by
signing the Treaty of Brest Litovsk with Germany. This was a horrible treaty for Russia. Germany was
given Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, & Ukraine. All Russian lands that had once
been part of the Ottoman Empire (Armenia & Georgia) were given back to the Ottoman Empire. Russia
also had to pay 6 million marks (German dollars) as reparations (payment) for the war. (When Germany
lost the war, this treaty was null & void. Russia did not wind up having to pay). This treaty angered
many. Soon after it was signed, all German soldiers were moved to the western front.
1917-1921/23: Civil War. After the collapse the Provisional government, other leftist pro-revolutionary
groups (The White Army) fought against the Bolsheviks (The Red Army) for control of Russia. Many
foreign armies joined the White Army including soldiers from the Allied Forces who hoped to defeat the
Bolsheviks and bring Russia back into the war. The most intense fighting was from 1918-1920, but some
battles took place up to 1923! The Bolsheviks emerge victorious.
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The Soviet Union (USSR – The United Soviet Socialist Republic)
Under Lenin, the Soviet Union flourished. In order to help the economy recover from
World War I and the Civil War, Lenin allowed a free market economy. The New
Economic Policy (NEP) brought prosperity to the USSR. This strengthened the
Communist Government. Under the NEP farmers had to give 10% of their crops to the
state, but could sell the rest. Small private businesses were allowed. Even state
controlled industries operated by ideas like profit motive, the right to fire bad workers,
& the right to reduce wages. Trade was controlled by a new middle class. Property
confiscated at the start of the revolution was returned & loans were given to those who
would develop the land! All of this prosperity even started new experimental forms of
art.
1924: The Death of Lenin brought an end to this era of optimism. After Lenin’s death the Communist
party fought over who should lead them.
Josef Stalin was eventually chosen to be the leader. He believed in pure communism and ended the
NEP. He tried to force the economy forward by taking complete control of Industry and farmland, but
with devastating results. Between 1932-1933 the peasants of Ukraine were forced to hand out ALL
farm produce which resulted in a great famine known today as the Ukrainian Genocide (or Holodomor).
40 million people were impacted by food shortages. Near Moscow, 50% of the population died.
Between 4-7 million Ukrainians were killed. Stalin also began a series of purges to rid the Soviet Union
of enemies (sound familiar?). So many WWI generals were sent to Siberia that when WWII began,
Russia was woefully unprepared. Stalin was a true dictator. He censored the press, even removing his
enemies from photographs (see below). He oppressed religion (the “opiate of the masses”) and made
people praise him like a king.
Commissar Yezhov
disappears
49. Why did the Russian Revolution take place? Sum up each main point.
50. How did the Russian Revolution become a Communist Revolution?
51. What impact did the Russian Revolution have on World War I?
52. Under V.I. Lenin, did Russia really become a Communist country? Explain your
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33
answer.
53. Under Stalin, did Russia really become Communist country? Explain your answer.
The End of the Soviet Union
March 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Communist party. He realized the Russia
was greatly in need of reform. The 2 leaders between Stalin & himself had helped to further destroy the
economy and oppress the people. He created a new plan for the USSR: Glasnost, which meant
openness & Perestroika, which meant restructuring the corrupt government. He also wanted to
revitalize the economy by loosening control. But in April 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear disaster took
place. The government waited several days to let people know what had happened. Many found out
from news broadcasts in OTHER countries. Because of Glasnost he had to let the media report on the
incident. They railed against the government for this and for poverty, corruption, poor management of
resources, the unpopularity of the Afghan War (imperialist, but similar to our Vietnam War), etc. The
government was unable to control the criticisms. Gorbachev tried to respond. In 1989 troops were
withdrawn from Afghanistan and he called for the first open elections since 1917. In Eastern Europe,
communist countries began to fall to revolutions, breaking away from the power of the Soviet Union.
In 1990 the first non-Communist was elected to the head of the government, Boris Yeltsin. The
Communist party tried to stop him from taking office by kidnapping Gorbachev and declaring a state of
emergency, but it was too late. On December 25, Gorbachev resigned and the Russian flag over the
State Capitol building was taken down, & the tricolor Russian flag replaced it. (Mr. Seward, AP Euro
teacher was there to see this!!).
54. In your own words, explain what caused the fall of the Soviet Union.
Three Turkish soldiers pose with the
heads of two Armenian victims.
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Background: Armenia is a tiny country east of Turkey, west of
Azerbaijan, south of Georgia, and north of Iran. The Armenians
existed as a cohesive group for 3000 years and were early adopters of
Christianity. In the 19th century, Armenians were part of the Ottoman
Empire and considered a loyal people. In 1896, however, spurred on
by waves of Nationalism, the Armenians began to agitate for
independence. The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire put attacked the
Armenians killing 200,000.
The Event: In 1908 a group called “The Young Turks” came to power.
They fiercely nationalistic & wanted to wipe out the Christian
Armenians who they saw as traitors. When WWI began, the Young
Turks used the chaos in the west as a cover for the extermination of
34
The Armenian Genocide
the Armenians. It began on April 25, 1915 with the execution of the upper class leaders of Armenian
society. Then, battle aged men were recruited into the Turkish Military only to be used as slave
labor until they died. Sometimes they were simply shot. Once the towns had been emptied of their
male population the women, children, and elderly were led on death marches across the deserts.
Some women & children were given the opportunity to convert to Islam and become slaves in
Turkish homes. Only about 1000 accepted. During the death marches women were raped &
brutalized by tribal groups in the desert, who were encouraged by the Young Turks. A typical march
started with 18,000 people but only 150 actually made it to refugee camps in Syria. By the time they
arrived they were nothing but bones. Many died of illness in due to the poor conditions of the
camps. Between 1.8 & 2.5 million Armenians were killed. This was ½ to ¾ of the Armenian
population. Today, the government of Turkey still denies that a genocide ever took place.
This was the first Genocide of the 20th century, but certainly not the last.
Eight days before he invaded Poland in 1939, Hitler told his high command to “send to death
mercilessly and without compassion, men, women and children” who stood in the way of
German expansion; he was referring to the Poles. When his high command became concerned
about the reaction of the rest of the world Hitler responded “Who today remembers the
extermination of the Armenians?”
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55. Why is it important to know what happened in the Armenian Genocide?