Download The Great War

The Great War
By: Heather Henderson
and Shelly Smith
The Road to World War I
Conscription
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Military draft
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Doughboys First by Frank Schoonover
1
The significances of conscriptions
was to increase the size of the
army.
Between 1890 and 1914 the
European armies doubled in size.
The Russian armies had grown to
be the largest with 1.3 million men.
The French and German armies
had approximately 900,000.
The British, Italian, and AustroHungarian armies were between
250,000 and 500,000.
Mobilization

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The process of
assembling troops
and supplies and
making them ready
for war.
1914 →considered
an act of war.
WWI mobilization
2 
German soldiers celebrating start of war
1
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
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June 28, 1914 →Heir to the
throne.
Conspirators plan to kill
Ferdinand, along with his
wife Sophia. They began
throwing bombs at his car,
but it bounced off and
exploded into another car.
Gavrilo Princip succeeded in
shooting both Ferdinand and
his wife.
Austria declared war on
Serbia, because of his
death.
Archduke Francis
Ferdinand 1
Archduke Francis
Ferdinand 2
Emperor William II
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Emperor of Germany
Gave the “blank check” saying
that Austria-Hungary had
Germany’s “full support” even if
“matters went to the length of
war between Austria-Hungary
and Russia”
“Till the world comes to an end
the ultimate decision will rest
with the sword.”
-Emperor William II
William II
1
William II with his first
wife Augusta Viktoria
2
← William II
3
Czars Nicholas II
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July 28: He order partial
mobilization of the
Russian army against
Austria-Hungary
July 29: He ordered full
mobilization of the
Russian army, knowing
that they considered
this an act of war.
Czars Nicholas II
1
A portrait of Nicholas II,
Painted by V.A. Serov, 1900.
2
Triple Entente & Triple Alliance
Blue: Triple Entente
Red: Triple Alliance
Yellow: Neutral Countries 1
Triple Alliance
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Created in 1882
Formed by Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and
Italy
Crises tested these
alliances; which left
European states angry
at each other and eager
for revenge.
1
Triple Entente
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Created in 1907
Formed by France,
Great Britain, and
Russia
Crises tested these
alliances; which left
European states angry
at each other and eager
for revenge.
1
Militarism
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Aggressive preparation for war
Armies grew along with the influence of
military leaders
Leaders had plans for quickly mobilizing
millions of men and enormous amount of
supplies in the event of war. (conscription)
What ethnic groups were left without
nations in Europe before 1914?

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Slavic minorities in the Balkans and the
Hapsburg Empire dreamed of creating their own
national states
The Irish in the British Empire wanted to create
their own national states
The poles in the Russian Empire also had
dreams of creating their own national states.
How did the creation of military plans
help draw the nations of Europe into
World War I?
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The Germans had a military plan; the Schlieffen plan
Called a two front war with France and Russia
The plan was that Germany would conduct a small holding action
against Russian while most of the German army would carry out a
rapid invasion of France. After the defeat of France, they would
move east against Russia
Under the Schlieffen plan, Germany declared war on France on
August 3
On August 4, Great Britain declared war on Germany
Which decisions made by European
leaders in 1914 lead directly to the
outbreak of war?
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June 28, 1914- Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo.
The Austrian-Hungarian government didn’t know if the Serbian government
was involved with his assassination, but the Austrian foreign minister saw it
as an opportunity to “render Serbian innocuous once and for all by a display
of force.” On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Austrian leaders sought backup from Germany were Emperor William II
gave Austria-Hungary, Germanys “full support.”
On July 28, Czar Nicholas II ordered partial mobilization of the Russian
army. Then on July 29, Czars ordered full mobilization of the Russian army,
which was considered an act of war.
The Schlieffen plan was put into play on August 3, when Germany declared
war on France.
What were the chief domestic
problems confronting European
nations before 1914?

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Rivalries of colonies and trade grew during an age of
frenzied nationalism and imperialist expansion.
Growth of nationalism:
–
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Not all ethnic groups became nations
Socialist were increasingly inclined to use strikes to
achieve their goals.
There were labor strife and class divisions.
Resulted in the encouragement of war in 1914.
The War
Propaganda
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Ideas spread to influence public opinion for
or against a cause.
Government propaganda started national
hatred before the war.
Trench Warfare
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Fighting from ditches
protected by barbed
wire
The Germans and the
French could not
dislodge each other
from the trenches,
which made them stay
in the same position for
4 years.
French soldiers building a trench
1
War of Attrition

A war based on wearing the other side down
by contrast attacks and heavy losses.
–
–
Ex.: One side would order commands starting
with artillery, to shock the enemy. Then, they
would come out of their trenches with bayonets
The attacks rarely hurt because as they came out
of the trench, they had a chance of being fired at
by enemy machine guns.
Total War
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A war that involves the
complete mobilization of
resources and people,
affecting the lives of all
citizens in the warring
countries, even those
remote from the battlefields.
Men had to be organized
and supplies had to be
manufactured and
purchased for years of
combat; increase of
government powers→
manipulated public opinion
to keep war effort going.
1
Planned Economies
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System directed by government agencies
Governments set up
–
–
–
–
Price, wage, and rent controls
Rationed food supplies and materials
Regulated imports and exports
Took over transportation systems
Lawrence of Arabia
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British officer
Real name: T. E. Lawrence
1917- urged Arab princes to
revolt against their Ottoman
over lords.
The British under minded
Ottoman rule in the Arabian
peninsula; Lawrence of
Arabia aided the Arabian
nationalists.
Lawrence of Arabia
1
Admiral Holtzendorff
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A German admiral for the
submarines
Real name: Henning Von
Holtzendorff
Assured the emperor, “I give
your majesty my word as an
officer that not one American
will land on the continent.”
He decided that the Germans
should return to unrestricted
submarine warfare which
brought the US into war in
April 1917.
1
Battle of the Marne
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September 6-10
To stop the Germans,
French military leaders
loaded two thousand
Parisian taxicabs with
fresh troops and sent
them to the front line.
Battle of the Marne begins
1
Battle of Tannenberg &
Battle of Masurian Lakes
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August 30 & September 15
Battle of Tannenberg led by
Erich Ludendorff and Paul
von Hindenburg
Russian army moved into
eastern Germany but was
decisively defeated
The Russians were no
longer a threat to German
territory
Generals Ludendorff and von
Hindenburg with Kaiser
Wilhelm II 1
Battle of Verdun
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1916; in France
German General Erich von
Falkenhayn developed a plan to
attack Verdun; considered by
many military historians as the
“greatest” and most demanding
battle in history.
Men would hide in trenches and
when they came out they
attacked the enemy with
bayonets.
Seven hundred men lost their
lives over a few miles of land
“war of attrition”
Underground entrance
1
Overview of battle
Dead French soldiers in
trench
3
2
Battle of Gallipoli
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April 1915
The Allies tried to open
a Balkan front by
landing troops in
Gallipoli
They entered the side
of the Central Powers
(Germany, AustriaHungary, and Ottoman)
and were forced to
withdraw.
Turkish soldiers defending Gallipoli
Gallipoli Front 1
ANZAC troops attack enemy
positions at Gallipoli
3
2
Lusitania
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British ship
Departed from Britain on May 1, 1915
and six days later ( May 7, 1915 @ 2:10
p.m.) was sunk by Walther Schwieger, a
German commander who fired a torpedo
750 yards away.
May 7, 1915 : Sunk by German forces
1,100 civilian casualties (over 100
Americans)
“floating palace”
Britain set up a blockade of Germany;
Germany set up a blockade of Britain
German authorities saw Lusitania as a
threat
Germany accused the British as using
Lusitania to carry ammunition and other
war supplies across the Atlantic
Newspaper ad run by German
Embassy before Lusitania
sailed 1
Lusitania
2
Zimmerman Telegram
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Written by German foreign
secretary Arthur Zimmerman
It was a coded message
sent to Mexico, proposing a
military alliance against the
U.S.
Threats contained in the
telegram helped convince
Congress to declare war
against Germany in 1917.
Detail of the Zimmermann Telegram
1
Battle at the Somme
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British and French armies
joined at the Somme River
British attacked the German
defensive line on July 1, 1916
First day of the battle: 21,000
British soldiers were killed
Was the single worst day in
death and casualties in British
military history
20,000 out of 100,000 troops
were killed and over 40,000
were wounded.
Overview of Battle
2
Explosions near the Somme
1
Battle at Ypres
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First Battle: 1914
Second Battle: 1915
Third Battle: 1917
June 7, 1917: Set off bombs on
German lines that were dug in
mines over the past eighteen
months.
General Douglas Haig’s plan
failed because when the bombs
fired the land was turned into
“Quicksand” and all men,
animals and equipment sank
into the ground.
Overview of Battle
2
Post-war Ypres
1
Why did WWI require total warfare?
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So the government could have control over
the people and resources
Also so that the people could not go against
the government
Before total warfare, there was the trench
warfare were they
What methods did governments use to
create enthusiasm for war, and counter
opposition to the war at home?

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Made active use of Propaganda
Newspapers were censored and sometimes
their publications were suspended
The French exaggerated German atrocities
in Belgium and found that their citizens were
only too willing to believe these accounts.
Which government powers increased
during the war?

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Drafted tens of millions of young men
PLANNED ECONIMIES: Set up price, wage,
and rent controls; rationed food supplies and
materials; regulated imports and exports;
took over transportation.
How did war affect women’s rights,
and the role of women in society?
•Women were asked to take over jobs
that had not been available to them
before.
•Chimney sweeps
•Truck drivers
•Farm labors
•Factory workers in heavy industry
•At the end of the war government
quickly removed women from the jobs.
•1919: 350,00 unemployed women
•Gained the right to vote in Germany,
Austria, and the United States
Woman in gas mask factory
1
Which events brought the US into the
war?
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The naval war between
Germany and Great
Britain.
The U.S. protested the
use of unrestricted
submarine warfare.
Germany brought back
the use of unrestricted
submarine warfare
which brought the U.S.
into war. (April 1914)
U.S. enters WWI
1
How did soldiers try to make life in the
trenches bearable?

Produced humor magazines to help pass the
time.
Russian Revolution
Soviets
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Councils composed of
representatives from the
workers and soldiers
Soviets of Petrograd had
been formed in March 1917.
Soviet sprang up in; army
units, factory towns, and
rural areas
Were largely made up of
socialist who represented
the more radical interest of
the lower classes.
An assembly of the Petrograd Soviet, 1917
1
War Communism
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Was used to insure regular supplies for the
Red Army
Meant government control of banks and most
industries, the seizing of grain from most
peasants, and the centralization of state
administration under communist control.
Grigori Rasputin
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An uneducated Serbian peasant who
claimed to be a holy man
Alexandra believed that Rasputin was
holy because he alone was able to stop
her son Alexis from bleeding
Was first consulted by Alexandra when
making the most important decision. She
called him, “he beloved, never-to-beforgotten teacher, savior, and mentor.”
Rasputin was made an important power
behind the throne
Didn’t hesitate to interfere with
government affairs
Was assassinated in December 1916
It wasn’t easy to kill a man with such
incredible strength: They shot him three
times and then tied him up and threw him
into the Neva River. He drowned by then
untied the knots underwater before he
died.
Grigori Rasputin
1
Alexander Kerensky
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Headed the provisional
government
Decided to carry on the
war to preserve
Russia’s honor
1
Czar Nicholas II
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Relied on the Army and bureaucracy to hold
up his regime.
Lost support of the Army and stepped down
from the battlefield on March 15, 1917 –
ending the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty.
Bolsheviks
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Began as a small fraction of a Marxist party called the Russian Social
Democrats
Came under the leadership of V. I. Lenin
Under Lenin’s directions, the Bolsheviks became a party dedicated to
violent revolution. Reflected the discontent of people and promised an
end to the war, the redistribution, of all land to the peasants, the transfer
of factories and industries from capitalist to committees of workers, and
the transfer of the government power from the provisional government to
the soviets
Three simple slogans that summed up the Bolshevik program:
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At the end of October, they made up a slight majority in the Petrograd and
Moscow soviets: the number of party members had grown from 50,000 to
240,000
November 6, Bolsheviks forces seized the Winter Palace
Renamed themselves the communists
Many people opposed the new Bolshevik and were concerned about the
communist takeover
Between 1918 and 1921, were forced to fight on many fronts against
opponents, the anti-communist forces.
1921, communist regain control over the independent nationalist
governments in Georgia, Russian Armenian, and Azerbaijan
Were inspired by their vision of a new socialist order and determination
that comes from revolutionary zeal and convictions.
Were able to translate their revolutionary faith into practical instruments of
power:
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“Land, Peace, and Bread”
“Workers control of government”
“All power to the soviets”
Study
under arms
War communism
Revolutionary terror
Appealed to the powerful force of Russian patriotism\
In 1992, were in total command of Russia
Had transformed Russia into a centralized state dominated by a single
party
1
Work
3
2
Lenin
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Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov, known to the world as V. I. Lenin
Lead the Bolsheviks
Believed that only violent revolution could destroy the
capitalist system.
Spent most of his time abroad between 1900 and 1917
1917 : Saw an opportunity for the Bolsheviks to seize
power
In April 1917, he was shipped to Russia by the German
military leaders, hoping to create disorder in Russia; His
arrival opened a new stage of Russian revolution
Lenin maintained that the Soviets of soldiers, workers,
and peasants were ready made instruments of power
He believed that the Bolsheviks should work towards
gaining control of these groups and then used them to
overthrow the provisional government
Turned over the power of the provisional government to
the Congress of Soviets; The real power was passed to a
Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin
Lenin promised peace which meant that a humiliating loss
of much Russian territory
On March 3, 1918 Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest
Litovsk with Germany and gave up eastern Poland,
Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic Provinces
Vladimir Ilyich
Lenin speaks
1
2
Trotsky
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A Commissar of war
Reinstated the draft
and insisted on rigid
discipline
Executed soldiers on
the spot who deserted
or refused to obey
orders
Trotsky
1
Petrograd
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Formerly St. Petersburg
Had started bread rationing
in Petrograd after the price
of bread went up
Many strikes lead by the
working class women were
held in the capital of
Petrograd
On March 8, about 10,000
women marched through the
city demanding “Peace and
bread” and “down with
autocracy”
The Eastern Front
1
Ukraine

Was given up by Lenin
when he signed the
Treaty of Brest Litovsk
with Germany
Siberia
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Gave the first serious
threats to the
communists; an anticommunist force
attacked westward and
advance almost to the
Volga River
Siberia
1
Brest Litovsk
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The Treaty of Brest
Litovsk
Signed by Lenin with
Germany and gave up
eastern Poland,
Ukraine, Finland, and
the Baltic province
The spread of socialist
revolution throughout
Europe made the
Treaty largely irrelevant
1
2
What were the main causes of the
Russian Revolution?
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Rasputin’s assassination
Czars Nicholas steps down
Lenin rises
Lenin signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The communist control Russia
The March Revolution
The Bolsheviks seize power
Civil War in Russia
How did World War I contribute to the
Revolution?
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
The Russian government was dissatisfied
with the conduct of the war.
The Russians were being peacefully
reformed until the stress of WWI cause the
revolution.
How did the presence of the allied
troops in Russia ultimately help the
communist?

The presence made it easy for the
communist government to call on patriotic
Russians to fight foreign attempts to control
the country
What steps did the communist take to
turn Russia into a centralized state
dominated by a single party?
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November 6: Bolshevik forces seized the Winter
Palace- provisional government
Meeting in the Petrograd of the all-Russian
Congress of Soviets
Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communists
1921: the communists were in total control of Russia
In the course of the civil war, the Communist regime
had transformed Russia into a centralized stated
dominated by a single party.
The End of the War
Armistice
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A truce, an end agreement to the end fighting
On November 1, 1918, the new German
government signed an armistice
Reparation
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Payment that made the victors by the
vanquished to cover the cost of a war
Clemenceau wanted Germany stripped of all
reparation to cover the cost of war
Mandate
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A nation governed by another nation on
behalf of the League of Nations but not own
the territory
France took control of Lebanon and Syria
Britain received Iraq and Palestine
Erich Von Ludendorff
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Guided German military operations
Decided to make a grand offensive in the
west to break the military stalemate but he
failed
On September 29, 1918, informed German
leaders that the war was lost and demanded
that the government ask for peace at once
Friedrich Ebert
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Was over the Social Democrats after the
departure of William II
Announced the creation of a democratic
republic
David Lloyd George
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Prime minister of Great Britain
Won a decisive victory in the elections in December
of 1918
His platform was to make the Germans pay for his
dreadful war
Lloyd along with Clemenceau wanted to punish
Germany
One of the men to make the important decisions at
the Paris Peace Conference
Georges Clemenceau
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The Premier of France
Believed that the French people had suffered the most from
German aggression
Wanted Germany stripped of all weapons, vast German
payments to cover the cost of war, and a separate Rhineland as
a buffer state between France and Germany
One of the men to make the important decisions at the Paris
Peace Conference
Clemenceau along with Lloyd, wanted to punish Germany
He compromised to obtain some guarantees for French security
and accepted a defend alliance with Great Britain and the US.
Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen points
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US president, Woodrow explained the ideas of the fourteen
points
Basis for a peace settlement that Woodrow believed justified
the enormous military struggle being waged
Woodrow outlined the “fourteen points” to the US even before
the end of the war
Was a puzzle for a truly just and lasting peace which included
reaching the peace reaching the peace agreements rather than
through secret diplomacy; reduced military forces and weapons
to a “point consistent with domestic safety” and “ensuring selfdetermination”
Second Battle of the Marne
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Occurred on July 18
Stopped the German advance
French, Moroccan, and American troops
supported by hundred’s of tanks, threw the
German’s back over the Marne
What were the most important
provisions to the Treaty of Versailles?
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
The Treaty of Versailles with Germany, on
June 28, signed at Versailles near Paris was
the most important, by far
Military and territorial provisions angered the
Germans
Why was the Mandate System created?
Which countries became mandated?
Who governed them?
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

The mandate system was created as a result
of the peace settlement
Lebanon and Syria were mandated; France
governed them
Iraq and Palestine were mandated; Britain
governed them
Compare and contrast Woodrow
Wilson’s Fourteen points to the Treaty
of Versailles.
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
The Treaty of Versailles and Woodrow’s
fourteen points both wanted to have peace
The Treaty of Versailles wanted to blame
Germany for the war and changed the way
Germany works
Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points were
about the ways of achieving the peace
agreement and how to get fourteen points of
getting there.
The Impact of the Great War
How many people, both military and
civilian, were killed or wounded on
both sides?
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Killed: 37,466,904
Wounded: 21,189,1545
What was the monetary cost of the war
for both sides?
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1913: The cost was $82,400,000,000
Inflation: 95%
Today: The cost would be $8,239,999,905
What innovations in military warfare
occurred during World War I?
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
Artillery
Gas
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Camouflage
Machine guns
Armor
Equipment
Tanks
Aircraft
Central Powers
Allied Powers
• Rumpler
•SE-5
•Albatross D
•Neuport 28
•Zeppelin L-44
•SPAD XIII
•SPAD VII
•Handley-Page
bomber
•Sopwith Pup
•BE-2C
Reconnaissance
bomber
How did the slaughter of World War I
affect British, French, and German
painters?

Painters began illustrating death in their
pictures.
How did the slaughter of World War I
affect British, French, and German
poets and writers?

Writers and poets begin to write about death
and suffering.
What was the impact of the war on the
French environment?
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
Desired revenge and security against future
German aggression.
Lost Russia as its major ally on Germany’s
eastern border.
How did the Great War contribute to
the rise of an international movement
of pacifism?


Pacifism: the belief that disputes between
nations should and can be settled peacefully
After the war the peace movement
reappeared
–
The League of nations and the United nations.