Download Alliances and Fronts of the War

The Great War was fought between two sides on
primarily four European fronts. The members of the
Triple Entente – Britain, France, and Russia – were
called the Allies, and were immediately joined by
Belgium.
The Triple Alliance became known as the Central
Powers because of their location in Europe. Italy did
not initially join the war, claiming its treaty with
Germany and Austria-Hungary demanded that Italy
fight only in the case of a defensive war, and Germany
and Austria-Hungary had declared war first.
So, the war alliances were as follows:
Central Powers:
Germany
AustriaHungary
Bulgaria
Ottoman
Empire
Allied Powers:
Britain
France
Russia
Belgium
Italy ( joined in 1915)
United States (joined
in 1917)
Notes:
The War Alliances:
 Allies: Britain, France, Russia (left war in 1917),
Belgium, Italy, United States (entered 1917)
 Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman
Empire, and Bulgaria
The Western Front:
Germany, France, Britain, and Belgium fought along
the Western Front. This 475-mile-long front was
created by Germany’s plan for a quick, all-out attack
on France through the lowlands of Belgium.
The Germans didn’t want to fight a war on two fronts,
so the plan was to capture France then turn their
attention to Russia. Even if the slow-moving Russians
mobilized their troops and hurried them to the front,
the lack of Russian rail lines and modern road systems
would keep Russia from a rapid invasion of the eastern
part of Germany.
So, in August 1914, Germany attacked Belgium.
Within one month the Germans had advanced to
within 50 miles of Paris and the war appeared as if it
would end quickly.
The First Battle of the Marne
As the German armies neared Paris between September 6-8, 1914, the
French capital prepared itself for a siege. The defending French forces and the British - were at the point of exhaustion, having retreated
continuously for 10-12 days under repeated German attack. Paris was
only saved on September 7 by the aid of 6,000 French reserve infantry
troops ferried from Paris in streams of taxi cabs, 600 in all.
The Germans, however, made mistakes, which allowed
the French to regroup, and the Western Front
stabilized along the French-Belgian border.
Battles Along the Western Front:
Fighting on the Western Front was characterized by
long battles that took hundreds of thousands of lives
and gained almost no ground for either side.
1916 was the year of two
major offensives: the Battle of
Verdun, which lasted six
months and created 680,000
casualties. The second was
the Battle of the Somme,
which also lasted six months
and ended with more than a
million casualties.
1917 was marked the entry of the United States into the
war in April, and the Russian Revolution in November.
Once Russia pulled out of the war, Germany was able
to concentrate its war effort on the west. However, this
wasn’t a true advantage, because of the United States’
entry into the war.
By 1918 an allied naval blockade of the Central Powers
had created dramatic shortages of food and raw
materials in Germany and Austria. On August 8, the
German lines were finally broken.
Notes:
The Western Front:
 Germany tried to take France quickly, then planned to
fight Russia.
 Instead, the battle lines formed in North East France
and changed little.
 Battles Along the Western Front
 Long, bloody battles:
 Verdun: 680,000 casualties
 Somme: over 1 million casualties
The Eastern Front:
In 1914 Russia sent its
enormous army against
the Germans and
Austrians along the
Eastern front, which
eventually stretched
from the Baltic Sea to the
Black Sea.
The Russians experienced early victories, but after the
Battle of Tannenberg the Germans marched eastward
to victory after victory.
Russia lacked modern technology, which meant its
troops were under-supplied and poorly equipped.
One quarter of the Russian troops went into battle
without weapons. They were instructed to follow
behind the armed troops and to pick up the rifles off
their dead comrades.
By 1917 the morale of the
Russian troops was very
low. In November,
Vladimir Lenin led a
revolution that overthrew
the government and
immediately took Russia
out of the war.
Lenin signed the BrestLitovsk Treaty with the
Central Powers. This
treaty caused Russia to
lose about 25% of its
land and population.
The Italian Front:
In May 1915, Italy joined the Allies after it was promised
Austrian lands it had long wanted. The Italian Front was
opened, and fighting began between the Italians and the
Austrians until October 1917.
At this point, the Germans reinforced the Austrians,
and the combined forces broke though the Italian lines
at the Battle of Caporetto. French and British
reinforcements stopped the attack, but not before the
Central Powers had moved to within 50 miles of
Venice.
Notes:
The Eastern Front
 The lack of modern technology caused Russia enormous
defeats.
 Treaty signed with revolutionary government (Lenin – 1917)
lost ¼ of the country.
 The Balkan Front
 The Allies abandoned attempts to land in the Balkans after
losing.
 The Italian Front
 Italians joined the Allies in 1915 and fought Austria-
Hungary.
The War Ends:
The war ended quickly in 1918. Bulgaria surrendered
first after British/French forces were victorious in
Greece. Then, the Ottoman Empire gave up in October
after defeat in the Middle East.
Austria-Hungary then felt the pressure of renewed
attacks from Italy. In addition, the Allies promised
independence to the Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Croats
if they joined the fight against Austria-Hungary. The
combination of these factors resulted in the end of the
Austria-Hungary Empire on November 4, 1918.
Then, on November 9,
Germans in Berlin
revolted and the
Kaiser was
overthrown. A
German republic was
proclaimed and the
new German leaders
signed the Armistice,
which ended the
Great War.
The Armistice was signed on November 11, at 11 A.M.,
1918
11/11 at 11
What holiday is currently celebrated on November 11?
Notes:
The War Ends:
 Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were the first
Central Powers to be defeated.
 Revolts inside Austria-Hungary and Germany helped
end the war quickly.
 Armistice November 11, 1918 at 11 am.