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Practices of World War One
•Technological developments, tactics, strategies, air,
land and sea
•Home Front: economic and social impact including
changes in the role and status of women
•Resistance and revolutionary movements
Practices of World War One
Dates: July 28th 1914 – November 11th 1918
“It should all be over by Christmas”
The Great War
• The First World War was a new type of conflict
• It was arguably the first example of modern
total war.
• Combatants and civilians were involved
• New weapons played a decisive role
Below is a timeline that shows the main events of WWI –
Refer to it as you move through the years and the battles.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/timeline_of_world_
war_one.htm
Practices of World War One
Fronts:
Western Front: Belgium, northern France where Germans
confronted the French, Belgians, British and, later the
Americans
Eastern Front: Russians fought with the Austrians and the
Germans
Austro-Italian Front: After Italy joined the war in 1915
Balkans: Austrians, Germans and Bulgarians attacked Serbia
Ottoman Empire: Where Turkey faced British and British
Imperial troops at Gallipoli and Mesopotamia and the
Middle East
Africa: British attacked German colonies
Practices of World War One
Treaty of London – 1839.
Write a summary of the treaty
and explain how the Treaty of
London signed in 1839
brought Britain into the war.
Practices of World War One
1. Western Front
Schlieffen Plan:
• This plan was to defeat France.
• It was to do so rapidly
• The plan meant that German armies would have
to sweep through Belgium.
• The plan meant a speedy advance into Paris
• Once secure – German troops would be able to
mobilise east and defeat the Tsar’s military.
Practices of World War One
1. Western Front
Schlieffen Plan.
GOOD IDEA .... BUT....
a) Belgian resistance was
unexpectantly strong
b) The attack brought Britain into the war (BEF)
c) The Belgian resistance meant that it gave time
for the BEF to land
Practices of World War One
1. Western Front
Schlieffen Plan.
d) Russians mobilised faster than the Germans had
expected
e) Meant that the Germans had to deploy troops to the
east – weakened their offensive in the west
f) The battle of the Marne (a miracle!) slowed the
German advance!
Schlieffen Plan = FAILURE.
Now write why the Schlieffen plan was a failure.
Practices of World War One
1. Western Front
• Initially the war was of rapid movement but
when the Germans were not able to push
through to Paris at the Battle of the Marne
(September 1914) there began a series of
‘outflanking’ manoeuvres and a ‘race to the sea’
• The Germans were forced to retreat and
entrench their positions, they were to ‘hold the
line’ so dug trenches for protection
• The trenches on the Western Front would
dominate the war.
Practices of World War One
1. Western Front
Read the Battle of the Marne – below.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/first_battle_o
f_the_marne.htm
Why was there a ‘race to the sea’ – what was the
objective?
Read and play the interactive game about ‘life in the
trenches’ This is a simple activity, but a worthwhile
review.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/25626530
Practices of World War One
1. Western Front
There was a ‘stalemate in the west’
How were the troops going to ‘break through’?
• Use artillery fire to destroy the trenches
and the enemy within!
• Cut the rolls of barbed
wire
Great Idea....BUT....
Practices of World War One
1)
•
•
•
•
Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Artillery was inaccurate
There was a high proportion of dud shells
Enemy trenches were reinforced with concrete
so artillery bombardment not able to effectively
destroy the trenches
The preliminary bombardment gave advance
notice of a probably offensive – so enemy could
prepare with reinforcements and supplies
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Here’s another idea!
Fire the artillery shells whilst the infantry
advances simultaneously.
This is known as
‘creeping barrage’
Great Idea....BUT....
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
• Difficult to co ordinate the artillery and the
infantry due to the inaccuracies of the
artillery guns
• Difficult to maintain contact once underway
• Sometimes infantry advanced too rapidly and
were killed by their own artillery or the
enemy with their machine guns
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Machine guns mainly used for
defensive purposes. They were
formidable! Could fire on average
over 500 rounds per minute.
Brilliant!
BUT...
•Set on tripods so lack of
manoeuvrability
NOTE: As the war progressed,
technological developments led to the
creation of machine guns that were
lighter and could be carried by one
person allowing them to be used for
offensive purposes. Germans used them
in the Ludendorff Offensive – but a little
late by then!
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Going ‘over the top’
Watch the movie extract below from the movie
Gallipoli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eeijbtbnj
Q
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Going ‘over the top’ (how successful was that as a strategy?)
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Going ‘over the top’
• Both sides tried to break the deadlock by
sending troops of men across ‘no-man’s land’
• Huge slaughter
• Affected morale on both sides
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Gas was used to try to break the stalemate in
trench warfare. It would kill and cause panic.
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Gas (in 1915) a great idea???... BUT...
• If the wind changed direction gas could be
blown back towards those that fired it
• Gas masks quickly developed which offered
protection
• Its use was rarely decisive in battles but the
psychological impact illustrated how World
War One was a war like no other.
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Significant Battles: Read and take notes on each
battle. What were the objectives of the battle and what
were the results. How successful were they?
Mons (1914):
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_
mons.htm
Marne (1914):
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/first_battl
e_of_the_marne.htm
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Significant Battles: Read and take notes on each
battle. What were the objectives of the battle
and what were the results. How successful were
they? You do not have to know every single battle of World
War One, but as you read the same themes will occur.
Synthesise the information. What are those themes?
Ypres – First battle in 1914:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-battle-ofypres
Verdun(1916):
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_verdun.htm
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Significant Battles:
Verdun:
A Higher Pile.
"Father, we must have a higher pile to see
Verdun
What does this cartoon reveal about the way
in which war was not being fought on the
Western Front?
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Significant Battles:
Somme(1916):
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/somme.htm
Watch the film (link below) : As are watching, ask
yourself how and why the tactics and technology
were either successful or not for both sides of the
conflict.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqC8HLOzCws
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Significant Battles:
Somme(1916):
http://www.johndclare.net/wwi2.htm
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Tanks
• Designed to be able to cross difficult terrain.
• Armed with significant guns, i.e. Cannon and
machine guns
• First used in combat in 1916
• Hoped that they would help break the stalemate
on the western front.
Great idea... But ...
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
•Tanks were slow and difficult to
Tanks
steer
•Tended to break down or get
stuck in the mud or shell craters
•Few were available to really make
a significant impact
•They had a limited range so
couldn’t penetrate deep into
enemy lines.
Note: Towards the end of the war,
tanks were better used and
developed. E.g battle of Cambrai
1917.
Practices of World War One
Western Front – Technology and Tactics
USA joins the war (1917)! Why?
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hist
ory/euro-hist/american-entry-world-warI/v/blockades-u-boats-and-sinking-of-thelusitania
Practices of World War One
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
Summaries to write:
• Assess the impact of Germany’s submarine
warfare and the targeted US vessels.
• What was the “Zimmerman telegram” and how
did that change the USA’s isolationist policy?
• What was the Ludendorff Offensive in 1918?
The final push!
Practices of World War One
1) Western Front – Technology and Tactics
The historian John Terraine in his book ‘The
Mighty Continent’ explains very clearly why for
so long neither side found it possible to restore
movement on the Western Front:
Practices of World War One
It was the Industrial Revolution which had produced the masses (of
people). It was the Industrial Revolution that made it possible to
mobilise them, arm them, feel the, move them.
This war, as no previous one, was dominated by technology. This was
above all, a war of fire-power:
The fire-power of artillery, the fire-power of the new automatic
weapons – magazine rifles and machine guns. Fire-power filled the air
and saturated the ground with projectiles and deadly fragments. To
avoid them, men went underground into trenches, dugouts and
reinforced concrete ‘pill-boxes’. To protect these, they placed ‘aprons’
of barbed wire – thousands of kilometres of it.
And thus they created an obstacle which only more i9ntense fire-power could
destroy...
Practices of World War One
2) Eastern Front – Technology and Tactics
• The Russian army was
supposed to be a
steamroller, crushing
opposition as it advanced
into Germany.
Practices of World War One
2) Eastern Front – Technology and Tactics
•
•
•
Allied plan was for Britain and France to hold
Germany in the West while the Russian army
advanced from the East
Germany would be trapped into fighting a war
on two fronts
The Russian army was able to mobilise 6 million
men in 10 days – Unexpected and certainly not
part of the Schlieffen Plan!
Practices of World War One
2) Eastern Front – Technology and Tactics
• Russians were initially successful and pushed into
east Prussia until....
The Battle of Tannenberg. (1914)
• Russian army encircled and defeated by the
Germans
• It was the Russian speed of mobilisation that
caused the failure of the Schlieffen Plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB-Ituc3MRQ
(Short 3 minute clip of the Battle of Tannenberg)
Practices of World War One
2) Eastern Front – Technology and Tactics
Why the Russian advance was a failure.
• Poorly equipped army – did not have enough weapons for every soldier
• The plans were rushed – not organised enough for a long campaign
• Army was poorly organised. Problems with officers – discipline poor – soldiers
inexperienced
• Defeat at Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes by the Germans meant many Russian
soldiers were slaughtered
• Russians were driven back – Germans and Austro-Hungarians advanced
• Stalemate developed on the Eastern Front. Placed severe strain on Russia – food
shortages for civilians as the food was supplied to the troops at the front
• By 1915 Russia’s forces were in retreat. 1 million Russians surrendered during
1915. Tsar Nicholas took over as commander in chief.
• Tsar in charge was a further disaster for Russia. Disunity within the military,
government and war industries. A bureaucratic mess!
Practices of World War One
2) Eastern Front - Russian Collapse
• Treaty of Brest – Litovsk
• New Boshevik government of Russia had seized power
and sued for peace. Why?
1) Bosheviks always ideologically opposed to the war –
condemning ordinary working men to fight for rulers
to kill other ordinary working men.
2) Repeated Russian losses meant they could not sustain
the war effort
3) The collapse of morale on the home front.
Practices of World War OneSigning the Treaty of
2) Eastern Front - Russian Collapse
Brest-Litovsk
3March 1918
Russia lost:
Territory including
Poland, Lithuania,
Estonia, Latvia,
Finland and Ukraine
75% of it iron ore
and 90% of its coal
Almost half of its
industry
55 Million people
Almost half of its
best agricultural
land
Practices of World War One
3) Austro-Italian Front: After Italy joined the war in
1915
• Italy joined the allies after signing the Treaty of
London (1915 one this time!)
• Italy was promised Austrian territory in the event
of an allied victory
• Italian army had an undistinguished record in this
war (hence why at the Treaty of Versailles Italy
wasn’t given all that she wanted!)
• BUT.... It did make Austria-Hungary’s position
worse as she now had to fight on three fronts
Practices of World War One
3) Austro-Italian Front: After Italy joined the
war in 1915
Looking at the map
What strategic benefits would Italy
gain from accessing territory in the
north east region?
Practices of World War One
4) Balkan Front (where it all started!)
• Austria – Hungary failed to occupy Serbia in 1914
• Bulgaria entered the War on the side of the
central powers. Why? What did Bulgaria hope to
gain?
Read below:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpow
ers_bulgaria.htm
Practices of World War One
5) Ottoman Empire: Where Turkey faced British and
British Imperial troops at Gallipoli and
Mesopotamia and the Middle East
• Turkey joined Germany and Austria –Hungary in
1914 – mainly to halt Russian Expansion around
the Black sea.
• Gallipoli campaign (1915) was to allow British
warships through the Dardanelles, attack
Constantinople and drive Turkey out of the war.
Practices of World War One
5) Ottoman Empire: Where Turkey faced British
and British Imperial troops at Gallipoli and
Mesopotamia and the Middle East
• Plan was to march through the Balkans, attack
Austria Hungary and open a new front – to
provoke an end to the stale-mate on the
Western Front.
Good idea... BUT ...
Practices of World War One
5) Ottoman Empire: Where Turkey faced British and
British Imperial troops at Gallipoli and Mesopotamia
and the Middle East
• Land invasion was a failure
• Campaign suffered from food shortages, delays, lack of
co-ordinated command
• Turkish army were unexpectedly strong at resisting the
allied forces of which were large numbers of Australian
and New Zealand military (Anzacs)
• Abandoned at the end of the year – November 1915
with large loss of life and achieving none of its goals
Practices of World War One
5) Ottoman Empire: Where Turkey faced British and British
Imperial troops at Gallipoli and Mesopotamia and the
Middle East
• Ottoman entry into the war meant that there would be
fighting in the Middle East
• British encouraged the Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman
government with promises of support for Arab
independence after the war.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_turkey.
htm
DID THEY KEEP THEIR PROMISES? (Paris Peace Conferences)
Practices of World War One
6) Africa: British attacked German colonies
• There was sustained fighting in German colonial Africa.
• German south-West Africa was taken by British
Imperial Forces in 1915
• German forces in East Africa held off the British until
November 1918
• The Suez canal – controlled by the British were
challenged by the Turks and Germans. They were not
successful attacking the canal but due to its strategic
position, many British and colonial troops stationed to
protect the canal.
Practices of World War One
Japan (entered the war in 1914 against Germany):
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history
/euro-hist/other-fronts-ww1/v/japan-in-worldwar-i
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpow
ers_japan.htm
The German naval base at Tsingtao, in China,
was taken by Japanese.
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Aircraft.
• Initially used for reconnaissance. Fly behind
enemy lines and gather information about
troop movements.
• Battle of Tannenberg was particularly
significant as information was provided to the
Germans that correctly predicted Russian
troop movements.
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Aircraft.
• To prevent aerial reconnaissance – both sides
developed fighter aircraft to attack the enemy
in the skies. “Dog fight”
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Aircraft.
• Military quickly realised the potential of
aircraft in war – by the end of the war the
planes were faster, more manoeuvrable and
had more powerful guns
• The numbers of aircraft produced increased
during the war.
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Zeppelins and bomber aircraft
Aircraft lacked the capability to
carry bomb loads so it was done
by Zepplins (see picture)
51 German Zeppelin raids took
place took over Britain causing
damage and deaths.
BUT... They were inaccurate,
slow moving and easy target for
anti - aircraft fire. Many were
destroyed during the war.
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
• Submarines a new innovation
• Used to attack naval warships then merchant
shipping. (Why? Blockades!)
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hist
ory/euro-hist/american-entry-world-warI/v/blockades-u-boats-and-sinking-of-thelusitania
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
Country
Submarine
Numbers in
1914
Submarines
Submarines
built between lost during
1914 and
the war
1918
Britain
76
146
54
Germany
28
327
204
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
U-Boats changed the War at Sea: Why?
1) It could attack ships without being detected
2) From 1915 thousands of tons of merchant shipping was
attacked and sunk, even though Germany had only around
20 U-boats
3) At first Germans were careful not to attack ships from
neutral countries of passenger liners. But the British
realised this and began sending supplies on passenger
liners too.
4) U-Boats started to attack non-military ships too – e.g. The
Lusitania in 1915
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
The British had Four Important Objectives at sea.
1) To protect trade ships so that allies could remain
supplied
2) To blockade ports, preventing the enemy being
supplied
3) To carry troops to wherever they were needed
4) To protect British colonies overseas.
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
• Not many naval battles occurred.
• Most significant battle was the Battle of
Jutland.
• Germany hoped to break Britain’s
blockade.
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
Battle of Jutland
Battleship
SMS Pommern in
Battle of Jutland
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
Battle of Jutland
• The only large scale battle between the
Dreadnought fleets was the Battle of Jutland in
May 1916.
• 250 ships clashed
• The Germans wanted to lure part of the British
fleet out of the base to attack them
RESULTS...
Practices of World War One
Technology and Tactics
Naval Battles: Ships and Submarines
Battle of Jutland – Results
• British lost 14 ships – Germans 11
• They fought in the evening, when it was misty, so
neither side could fire accurately
• The British ships generally suffered more damage
than the Germans
• But the German fleet left the battle first, and
never put to sea in any strength after that.
Practices of World War One
Managing the war – Total War
• Military manpower
 Necessity to mobilise manpower into the military
 All major powers had large armies except Britain.
 As the war dragged on, it became necessary to provide more recruits
for the armies.
 The allies could draw on more men
• Russia’s huge population
• British Empire’s population
• US Soldiers from 1917
 All powers used conscription to increase their armies – Britain did by
1916 as the initial flood of volunteers dried up
 Manpower had to be increasingly controlled by the government. It
took three civilian workers to keep a soldier fighting in the war.
 Women became crucial as workers in factories and other industries
to keep the men supplied at the front
Practices of World War One
Practices of World War One
Women in the war effort.
Practices of World War One
Women in the war effort.
Practices of World War One
Women and the workforce.
Britain in1914: 23% of women in the workforce
Britain in 1918: 34%
France in 1911: 34.8 of women were in the
industrial and transport services
France in 1918: 40%
Austria – Hungary in 1913: 17.5% in 1916 42.5%
Russia pre-war was 26%: Post war was 46% of women
Germany in 1918 had 55% of the industrial workforce were women.
Practices of World War One
Production:
• Governments took more control of industry in order to
be more efficient
• Heavy industries that gave priority to war production
of munitions and use of raw materials, investment and
labour ensured that the war was efficiently supported.
Some countries did this better than others. E.g. Britain.
• Russia – government management was poor
• Germany not as effective as Britain – War ministry was
frustrated by interference from German military
Practices of World War One
Food Shortages:
Britain
• Imported 60% of its food as well as rubber and
oil.
• Forced to farm an additional 2.1 million acres of
land by 1918
• Increase imports from USA
• Government controlled food prices
• Rationing was introduced by 1918
Practices of World War One
Food Shortages:
Germany
• Imported 30% of its food before the war
• Britain’s naval blockade meant that Germany was
affected
• Tried to create food substitutes e.g. Flour, grain
and mushrooms made into meat substitute
• Lack of food led to strikes and riots in German
cities – hastened the end of the Kaiser’s
government
Practices of World War One
Food Shortages:
Russia
• Severe food shortages in major cities
• High food prices and inflation due to the war
• Disorganised transport system and peasants
not producing food as they were paid such
low prices for it.
• Hunger led to riots and revolution by 1917
Practices of World War One
Controlling Morale/Propaganda
• To keep home fronts motivated governments
spent time and energy on wartime propaganda
• Initially designed to emphasise the defensive
nature of the war – defending its national pride
• Later, propaganda wanted to justify the length of
the war. Counter opposition
• Portrayed the enemy as an inhuman force
Practices of World War One
Practices of World War One
Britain, France, Russia and
allies
Germany, Austria –
Hungary and allies
Tanks: used first, possessed
in greater numbers,
technically superior
Tanks: few in number and
technically inferior
Aircraft: possessed in
greater numbers
Ammunition: inadequate
supplies in 1915 but rapidly
recovered
Submarines: possessed in
few numbers
TECHNOLOGY
EVEN
Aircraft: technically
superior, possessed in
fewer numbers
Ammunition: despite
increasing difficulties in
access to resources to
manufacture, never ran out
Submarines: possessed in
greater numbers
Practices of World War One
Britain, France, Russia and
allies
Germany, Austria –
Hungary and allies
Trench warfare: artillery
bombardment, mining,
gas, infantry advance,
machine-gun fire
Trench warfare: artillery
bombardment, mining,
gas, infantry advance,
machine-gun fire,
infiltration tactics
Attrition
Amphibious assault
(Gallipoli)
Mobile war (Middle East)
Naval blockade
(Limited) strategic bombing
STRATEGY AND
TACTICS
EVEN
Attrition
Naval blockade
(Limited) strategic bombing
Practices of World War One
Britain, France, Russia and
allies
Germany, Austria-Hungary
and allies
Manpower: had far larger
reserves (primarily from
British and Russian
empires)
Manpower: had fewer
reserves to draw on, which
became an increasingly
serious problem
Materiel: despite initial
shortfalls in munitions and
continued problems in
Russia, production
increased
Food supplies: food
supplies were less
adversely affected by
blockade and government
distribution measures were
effective (apart from
Russia)
MANAGING THE
WAR
ADVANTAGE TO
BRITAIN AND
ALLIES
Materiel: production failed
to keep pace with Allied
increases, party due to
impact of blockade
Food Supplies: serious
food shortages, which
were seriously limited by
blockade
Practices of World War One
What were the reasons for Germany’s defeat in
World War One?
What were the strengths of the Allies?
In what ways was World War One and Total War?
https://rudbeck-ib-historyrevision.wikispaces.com/2.2+Total+War
Read and review pages 59 – 62 from text.