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The Course of the War
The Central and
Allied Powers

The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungry,
the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

The Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Russia,
Serbia, Belgium, Japan, and Montenegro.

Similarities: both sides were using outdated
military units (horse cavalry) and only had enough
war materials and ammunition to last six months.

Everyone thought the war would be over by
Christmas.
Belgium and the
Schlieffen Plan

Germany’s main problem was that it had
enemies in both the east and the west.

German General Alfred von Schlieffen
developed this Plan in 1905 as a war strategy
on how to effectively conduct a two front war.

Schlieffen assumed that Russia would be
slow to mobilize thereby allowing Germany to
attack France and reach Paris in six weeks.
Belgium and the
Schlieffen Plan

Germany launched the Schlieffen Plan
with the invasion of Belgium August 3,
1914. However, the Plan ran into
problems as soon as it started:

1st: German Commander Helmuth von
Moltke invaded Belgium in a heavily
fortified area.
Belgium and the
Schlieffen Plan

2nd: Moltke encountered far stronger
resistance than Germany expected;
advance was delayed until August 20.

3rd: the Russian army mobilized much
more quickly than expected, creating the
need for two German divisions to be
deployed to the Eastern Front.
The Western Front, 1914
The Eastern Front, 1914
More German Delays

The Schlieffen Plan was frustrated even more
through British and French efforts.

Germans met British forces in the North of
France, and although the British were forced to
retreat, they inflicted heavy losses. British
entered the War when Germany violated
Belgium’s neutrality.

The French attacked the German forces in
Alsace-Lorraine; the French attack collapsed,
however, they delayed the Germans even more.
Why Did the Germans
Fight the War?

Was Germany only initially supporting its ally and
got pulled into a larger war, or were there deeper
motivations?

“Weltpolitik” (world politics): Germans were
thwarted in expansion (countries on both sides),
and were angered that other countries were able to.
Other countries were stopping Germany from taking
its rightful place in the world.
The German race with Britain to have a larger navy.


The Battle of
Tannenberg

Although Russia’s military was not fully
mobilized, it sent troops to aid their ally
the French.

By August 13, 1914 the Russians
invaded East Prussia.

This attack diverted German troops from
the attack against the French and British
during the first critical weeks of the war.
The Battle of
Tannenberg
The Battle of
Tannenberg

However, despite initial success by the Russian troops,
the German troops met with the Russians at
Tannenberg (present-day Poland).

It was at this battle that Russia suffered such a
disastrous defeat that it was never able to fully recover.

The Germans were able to encircle and destroy the
Russian army killing more than 30,000 and taking
92,000 prisoners. German casualties were only 13,000.
The Battle of
Tannenberg
The Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne

After Alsace-Lorraine, the French General Joseph
Jacques Joffre pulled back the French troops to
protect Paris.

While the Parisians fled the city, General Joseph
Simon Gallieni strengthened the French army to
launch a counterattack.

The French army requisitioned several hundred
Parisian taxis to speed troops into position.
The Taxis of Paris
The Battle of the Marne

September 5, 1914: French and German forces met
in northeastern France: over 2 million fought, over
500,000 were killed or wounded.

After 4 days of shelling, the French succeeded in
forcing the Germans about 50 miles back from
Paris.

The attack saved Paris, boosted French morale,
and although the Germans continued to hold
France’s heavily industrialized areas, the German’s
were forced to abandon the Schlieffen Plan.
After Marne: the Folly
of the Schlieffen Plan

After the Battle of the Marne, the Germans
and the allies began a series of battles
known as “the race to the sea.”

Both sides were attempting to reach the
North Sea first and outflank the other.

Despite frequent clashes and high casualties
for both sides, there were no breakthroughs.
The Race to the Sea
After Marne: the Folly
of the Schlieffen Plan

At this point the war in the west settled into a stable
front from the Swiss border to the North Sea coast.
By November 1914 the war had already reached a
stalemate.

Once the stalemate developed, countries had to
have an enormous amount of the public enter the
war effort in order to produce the needed war
supplies.

Governments also began using propaganda to gain
support for the troops, demonize the enemies, etc.
thereby making peace with the enemies unthinkable.
The Western Front, 1914

One last effort
and we will
get them.