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World War One
Kevin J. Benoy
Opening Moves
• June 28 – Franz Ferdinand
and his wife were
assassinated.
• July 5 – The Austrian
ambassador discussed the
situation with Kaiser Wilhelm
II, resulting in the promise of
German backing – the so
called “blank cheque.”
• July 19 – the Austro-Hungarian
ultimatum to the Serbians was
prepared – but delayed until
the French President left
Russia, thus preventing
Franco-Russian Coordination.
The Opening Moves
• July 23 – AustriaHungary presented
Serbia with an
ultimatum, demanding
the right to dismiss
Serbian officials and
to allow A-H to
conduct investigations
on Serbian Soil.
Opening Moves
• July 24, Sazanov, the
Russian Foreign Minister,
urged mobilization.
• July 25, Serbia Mobilized
and the. Serbia refused
the Austrian ultimatum.
• July 26, Britain’s Sir
Edward Grey proposed 4
power mediation. Russia
sought talks with AustriaHungary.
• July 28 – A-H declared
war on Serbia. Germany
suggested a “halt in
Belgrade”
Opening Moves
• July 29 – the “Willy-Nicky
telegrams” begin.
• July 30, Russia
Mobilized.
• July 31, Germany
demanded an end to
Russian mobilization and
demanded that France
remain neutral in the
event of a GermanRussian war.
• August 1, Germany
declared war on Russia.
Belgium declared
neutrality, but mobilized.
France Mobilized.
Opening Moves
• August 2, Germany
delivered an
ultimatum to Belgium
demanding free
passage. Germany
occupied
Luxembourg.
Opening Moves
• August 3, Germany
declared war on
France and invaded
Belgium.
• August 4, Belgium
and Britain declared
war on Germany.
Germany declared
war on Belgium.
Opening Moves
• August 5, AustriaHungary declared war on
Russia.
• August 6, Serbia declared
war on Germany.
• August 10, France
declared war on AustriaHungary.
• August 12, Britain
declared war on AustriaHungary.
• August 23, Japan
declared war on
Germany.
The German Advance
German poster – Jesus
blesses German troops
advancing to the front.
• At first the Germans were
successful. The Belgians
fell back on their fortresses
– but tore up railway tracks
as they did so, forcing the
Germans to advance on
foot. Moving at 50 km a
day, they were exhausted.
• The German advance also
slowed at the Belgian
fortresses as Austrian siege
cannons were borrowed to
break these concrete
positions.
The German Advance
• The French launched
Plan 17 – attacking the
Germans in Lorraine.
• They failed miserably.
• British troops soon
arrived, deploying on the
French left flank.
• Holding up well at Mons,
in Belgium, they had to
withdraw as the French
pulled back to the South.
The German Advance
• As the Germans pushed forward, the flaw in the
Schlieffen plan became apparent. As Kluck’s army
pushed westward, the weakness of its left flank
became more apparent. If he continued westward,
past Paris, he would be vulnerable to counterattack and possible destruction.
• If he turned before Paris, the Plan might fail.
• In early September, the British and French
launched a counter-attack in the Marne Valley,
forcing Kluck to abandon his westward sweep.
• Troops on both sides began to scratch shallow
trenches and to pile mounds of earthworks.
Trench warfare began.
The German Advance
• Both sides next attempted a
further flanking maneouver.
• German and Allied troops
raced to swing around the
other’s inland concentrations
to hold the English Channel
Coast.
• The Belgians opened sluice
gates to flood the land and
slow the Germans.
• By mid-October, German and
British troops ran into eachother at Ypres.
• The resulting stalemate
resulted in a continuous front
from the Channel to the Swiss
frontier.
The Eastern Front
• On August 29, two Russian
armies slammed into East
Prussia.
• When the German front
commander suggested a
retreat to the Vistula, he was
dismissed and replaced by the
combination of Ludendorff and
Hindenburg.
• Knowing the Russian plans
because General Samsonov
sent telegraph messages “enclair” instead of in code, the
Germans set a trap.
• In the battles of Tannenberg
and the Masurian Lakes, the
Russians were annihalated.
• 90,000 men were taken
prisoner.
• Samsonov took his own life.
The Eastern Front
• The Russians were more
successful against the
Austro-Hungarians,
taking Galicia.
• They were only stopped
as German troops were
diverted to face them.
Trenches were dug here
too, but huge expanses
and poor transportation
facilities prevented
another Western Front
situation from developing.
The War at Sea
• Unwilling to risk its
expensive fleet, the
Germans kept their main
fleet in port, hoping to
nibble away at the larger
British forces.
• Some German ships
were caught at sea.
• Goeben and Breslau
escaped the
Mediterranean and were
interned in Turkey.
• Emden raided in the
Indian Ocean until tracked
down and sunk.
• Von Spee’s Pacific fleet
escaped China, beat a
British force off Chile, but
was destroyed off the
Falkland Islands.
The War at Sea
• Unable to
effectively
combat the
British surface
fleet, the
Germans turned
to U-boats to
blockade Britain.
The War at Sea
• The British feared losing a
major engagement because of
its consequences for British
trade.
• Having broken the German
naval code, they could afford
to sit back and wait for a battle
in which all factors favoured
them.
• Meanwhile the British surface
blockade cut off Germany from
imported goods.
The German Colonies
• All the German colonies faced attack. Most
fell quickly.
The German Colonies
• After overcomming
pro-German
sentiment in the
Boer community,
S. Africa attacked
and captured
German SouthWest Africa.
The German Colonies
• Japan quickly took
German territory in
China and also the
German islands in
the North Pacific
Ocean.
The German Colonies
• Australia took
German New
Guinea, Nauru and
the German
Soloman Islands.
• New Zealand
captured Western
Samoa.
The German Colonies
• The Cameroons
held out until 1915,
though some
resistance was
noted as late as
February, 1916.
The German Colonies
• German East
Africa held out
rather longer.
• Askaris (German
trained and led
African troops)
fought well under
the leadership of
Paul LettowVorbeck.
The German Colonies
• Though the territory was
lost by 1917, German
forces fought on, invading
Portuguese East Africa in
late 1917 and even
Northern Rhodesia in 1918.
• They did not surrender until
November 25, 1918—two
weaks after the collapse in
Europe.
• 12,000 German troops held
down 130,000 Allied
soldiers.
1915-1916
• By 1915 the Chief of
the German General
Staff, Falkenhayn,
believed that there
was little prospect for
success in the West.
• It was now a war of
attrition.
• The search was on to
find a tactic that might
win the war.
Side-Shows – The Caucasus
• The Ottoman Empire
entered the war on the
side of the Central
Powers at the end of
1914 – logical given the
old conflict with Russia.
• Turkish troops invaded
the Caucasus, attempting
to take back land lost to
Russia in 1877-78.
• Russia called for help and
Winston Churchill
responded with a
proposal for a attack on
the Dardanelles.
Side Shows - Gallipoli
• The Allies felt that the
“sick man of Europe”
would not hold up against
a British attack and that
the Dardanelles would be
taken and a warm water
supply route to Russia
established.
• Turkey would be forced
out of the war and
Russian troops freed to
fight the Germans and
Austro-Hungarians.
• Victory would give a
morale boost to the Allies.
Side Shows - Gallipoli
• The attack did not go
according to plan – largely
because planning was
insufficient.
• Feb. 19, the outer forts were
pounded by naval
bombardment.
• Marines were landed and they
met only light resistance.
• Indecision followed. The inner
forts were not attacked until
March 18.
• Incomplete minesweeping led
to the loss of 3 major warships.
The British admiral did not
want to risk more by pressing
on.
Side Shows - Gallipoli
• Land forces were now to be
landed, but were not ready.
• It took another month before
they were landed.
• The Turks used the delay to
rush in reinforcements.
• A German General, Otto Liman
von Sanders commanded the
Turks.
• Heavy and continual Allied
losses of British and Anzac
(Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps) troops occurred,
resulting in an Allied
withdrawal in December and
January, 1916.
Side Shows - Mesopotamia
• Other Campaigns against
the Turks fared poorly
too.
– An attack from Basra on
Baghdad was turned back
and the British force
surrendered at Kut.
– In 1916, Britain had to fend
off raids from Palestine into
Egypt.
– Only the efforts of T.E.
Lawrence to foment an
Arab revolt against the
Turks showed signs of
promise.
Sideshows – The Balkans
• Serbia had initial success in
slowing the Austro-Hungarian
attack, but the addition of
some German troops and the
entry of Bulgaria into the war
on the side of the Central
Powers sealed its fate.
• The Entente powers tried to
get Greece to enter the war,
and even landed troops in
Salonika, Greece, in
anticipation of it happening.
However, the Greeks stayed
on the sideline – as did the
Allied troops.
• Serbia fell in late 1915.
Italy Enters the War
• Though a member of the
Triple Alliance, Italy did
not feel obligated to enter
the war in 1914.
• Lured by the promise of
territory, Italy agreed to
join the Entente powers
when it signed the secret
Treaty of London on April
26, 1915.
• It declared war on
Austria-Hungary on May
23, 1915.
The Italian Front – 1915-1916
• In major pushes at the Battles of the Isonzo, the Italians
achieved virtually nothing for the loss of 280,000 men in
1915.
• In 1916 they lost 500,00, compared to 250,000 AustroHungarian losses.
The Western Front – 1915-1916
• To beat the stalemate,
the British tried a new
tactic at Neuve-Chapelle
in March, 1915.
• A creeping barrage was
used to cut through
barbed wire obstacles
and destroy forward
trenches.
• Insufficient supplies of
shells and clear notice
that an attack was
imminent led to failure,
but the pattern was now
in place for future battles.
The Western Front – 1915-1916
• The Germans also tried a
new tactic at Ypres, on April
22, 1915.
• After waiting for some time
for favourable winds, the
Germans released 5,700
cylinders of chlorine gas
against the French lines.
• French colonial troops
panicked, but the assault
was stopped by troops of
the Canadian 1st division.
• Both sides would now use
this previously banned
weapon.
The Western Front – 1915-1916
• Allied offensives in May and June resulted in terrible loss
of life.
• In September, at Loos, 242,000 Allied men were lost
against 141,000 German defenders.
• The pattern of attackers consistently losing more than
defenders, for only minimal gains, was now clearly
established.
– The weapons of the time – artillery and machine guns, favoured
defenders over attackers.
– Attackers pushed over broken ground and through obstacles.
– As attackers pressed on, they pushed farther from their supplies,
while defenders fell back toward their own railheads.
The Western Front - Verdun
• At Verdun, the French
position was difficult, with
German forces
surrounding them on
three sides.
• Logic suggested the
French pull back to a
more defensible position;
the historical significance
of Verdun prevented this.
The French slogan was
“Ils ne passeront pas,” –
“they shall not pass.”
• The Germans sought to
make this into a killing
ground.
The Western Front - Verdun
• Hundreds of thousands of
Frenchmen entered the
meat grinder.
• Even the Germans
ultimately lost their way,
deciding that the battle
must be won, whatever
the cost.
• 315,000 Frenchmen were
lost; 281,00 Germans met
the same fate.
The Western Front – The Somme
• Desperate to take pressure off Verdun, the
British and French planned a massive attack in
the Somme.
• Originally 40 French divisions were committed to
the attack. By the time the push came in July,
1916, only 5 French divisions accompanied the
25 British.
• A full week of artillery bombardment was meant
to soften the Germans and cut the barbed wire.
Its more telling effect was to give the Germans
advance notice of the attack.
The Western Front – The Somme
• Working up hill over badly
broken ground and
carrying nearly 30 kg of
equipment per man, the
Allies faced withering
German fire.
• The first wave was cut to
pieces. The
Newfoundland regiment,
for example, took 90%
casualties.
• 20,000 British died on the
first day alone.
The Western Front – The Somme
• 420,000 British, 194,000
French and 440,000
German casualties were
registered.
• This marked the end of
Britain’s all volunteer
army.
• The battle ended as rain
turned the bombshattered landscape into
impassable muck in
November.
• Demand for conscription
in Britain and the empire
was a necessary
consequence.
The War at Sea- 1916
• The devastation on the
Somme brought demand
for action at sea – for
both the British and the
Germans.
• German Admiral Scheer’s
tactic of nibbling away at
British strength was not
working. He now planned
to raid British coastal
positions to lure British
naval forces into a trap.
The War at Sea - 1916
• The increase in
German messages
and British knowledge
of the German naval
code alerted the
British to the German
plan.
• The British sought to
reverse the trap.
The War at Sea - 1916
• The battle was ultimately
fought off the Danish
coast.
• The Battle of Jutland
revealed the superiority of
German gunnery, but
even so, the Germans
narrowly averted disaster
when they turned and
barely escaped full
contact with the main
British battle fleet.
The War at Sea - 1916
• Britain lost most heavily:
– 3 battle cruisers, 3 cruisers 8 torpedo boats and 6,274 officers and men.
• Germany lost:
– 1 battleship, 5 torpedo boats and 2,545 officers and men.
• However, the Germans could not afford these losses and after
Jutland the German high seas fleet returned to port and did not
venture out again during the war.
The Eastern Front – 1915-1916
• German attacks in 1915
gained considerable
territory, but resulted in
long supply lines.
• Russian supply lines
were shortened, but
being pushed back so far
was demoralizing.
• The Tsar sacked his
commander in chief and
took personal command.
This made a bad situation
worse. Nicholas lacked
military ability and now he
was isolated from the
capital.
The Eastern Front - 1916
• In March, 1916, a new
Russian offensive was
launched by the Northern
Army Group.
• Following the pattern
established on the
Western Front, the attack
came after a long
bombardment.
• It failed, with losses 5-1 in
favour of the defenders.
The Eastern Front - 1916
• To the South, General
Brusilov, commanding the
Southern Army Group,
attacked at 20 locations
without a preliminary
bombardment.
• Pushing through wherever
resistance was weakest, there
was great success.
• 250,000 Austro-Hungarian
troops were captured and
much land taken.
• The Russian success brought
Romania into the war on the
side of the Entente.
The Eastern Front - 1916
• However, the cost of
success was too great. 1
million Russian soldiers
were killed.
• With limited supplies, too
few reserves and
communications
stretched too thin, the
advance could not
continue.
• By November, 1916, the
Central Powers overran
Romania.
Fatigue & Collapse - 1917
• The great battles of 1916 exhausted all
combatants.
• Attrition was having its effect, but not so much in
producing victory, but bringing several
combatants to the point of collapse.
• Disappointment over Allied failures in 1916
brought changes in military and civilian
leadership. The British government of Asquith
was replaced by a coalition led by David Lloyd
George. Command of the French army was
transferred from Joffre to Nivelle.
Collapse in the East
• Early 1917 saw the fall of the
Tsar.
• The Russian army was
disintegrating as desertions
mounted.
• In the cities revolution was
brewing.
• Nationalists called for freedom.
• In trying to return to St.
Petersburg from the military
headquarters at Mogilev, the
Tsar found his way blocked by
striking railway workers.
• In a last effort to save his
country, Nicholas II abdicated,
handing power over to the
Duma.
Collapse in the East
• While the Duma struggled to
keep Russia in the war, the
reality at the front was of
unremitting disaster.
• Russia’s military was
disintegrating.
• In July, Lenin’s Bolsheviks
struck for power and failed.
• Next General Kornilov tried to
seize power, causing the
Provisional Government to
release the Bolsheviks as all
were needed to turn back this
threat.
• In October/November, 1917
Lenin struck again and
succeeded in ending the
Provisional Government.
• Russia formally pulled out of
the war with the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk on March 3,
1918.
America Enters the War
• Unremitting bad news
from the East was
counterbalanced by good
news for the Entente
when the USA entered
the war on March 18,
1917.
• German unrestricted
submarine warfare had
long angered the
Americans. In 1915, the
passenger liner Lusitania
was sunk, with many
Americans on board.
Other American merchant
ships were also sunk
without warning.
The USA Enters the War
• British code breakers
intercepted and
translated what came to
be known as the
“Zimmerman Telegram.”
Germany offering an
alliance with Mexico
against the US.
• This was the final straw.
Woodrow Wilson’s
government entered the
war – but it would take
considerable time for the
Americans to recruit and
train large forces.
The French Mutiny
• The new French
commander, Nivelle,
planned to use British
attacks to draw off
German forces prior to a
major French push in
Champagne.
• Ludendorff, the German
commander, surprised all
when he pulled back to a
new prepared line of
defense – the Hindenburg
Line. Prior to
withdrawing, the
Germans destroyed and
booby-trapped the areas
they abandoned.
The French Mutiny
• Nivelle did not change his
plans.
• The British assault began
on April 9, 1917 in the
Battle of Arras (Vimy
Ridge was one aspect of
this attack).
• The main French attack
commenced on April 16,
but was a fiasco.
• Instead of making the
planned 6 miles, they
took only 600 yards, at
tremendous cost.
The French Mutiny
• Soon 54 French Divisions
refused orders to advance.
• Desertions were endemic and
the French front was in danger
of mirroring the Russians in the
East.
• Nivelle was sacked and the
new commander, Petain,
promised to call off the
offensive if order could be
restored.
• 100,000 men were court
marshalled.
• 23,000 were convicted and
432 sentenced to death
(though only 55 were officially
shot).
• Many more were killed when
French artillery was targeted
on trench mutineers.
The French Mutiny and its Aftermath
• The failed offensive broke
French fighting spirit. Petain
was heard to say “we must
wait for the Americans and the
tanks.”
• British General Haig was not
as sensible. In the 3rd Battle of
Ypres, the British attacked
again after a 2 week
bombardment.
• Between July and October,
attacks brought little success.
By November 6 the ruins of
Passchendale were finally
taken. 5 miles were won, but
300,000 men lost.
The Tank
• On November 20, 1917, the
British attacked using a new
weapon.
• 381 tanks led an attack over
ground unbroken by artillery.
• A wide gap was punched
through the German lines with
only 1,500 men lost to 10,000
German casualties.
• However, the attack could not
be exploited. Soldiers could
not keep up with the tanks.
Cavalry was vulnerable to
German machine gunners.
Mechanical breakdown
plagued the tanks.
• Within 10 days the German
reserves recaptured lost
ground.
The War at Sea - 1917
• In the Spring of 1917 it
appeared that U-Boats
might achieve what
armies could not.
• 1 of 4 British merchant
ships at sea were sunk.
• The answer was found in
the formation of convoys.
This was an immediate
success and the rate of
ship losses fell to only
1%.
The War at Sea - 1917
• By the end of 1917, the
British were sinking
German submarines
faster than they could be
built.
• New technology –
hydrophones and depth
charges – were employed
and an old one –
minefields – extended.
• An attempt to block up
the German U-Boat base
of Zeebrugge was only a
partial success.
War in the Air
• Planes and airships had been
used for spotting duty early in
the war.
• Technological improvements
allowed a wider role for aircraft
by 1917.
• Bombers were used for the
first time by the British against
U-Boat bases.
• German bombers even raided
London.
• Dog-fights above the trenches
provided diversion for the
solders in the trenches, but did
little to alter the balance of
power on the Western Front.
The Middle East - 1917
• British attacks on the
Turks continued, but
with greater success.
– Mesopotamia (modern
Iraq) fell.
– General Allenby
entered Jerusalem
before Christmas,
1917.
The Italian Front
• Italian offenses continued
to find no success.
• In the 10th Battle of the
Isonzo, the AustroHungarians were hardpressed, but German
reinforcements saved
them.
• The Central Powers’
counter-attack was
successful and British
and French
reinforcements needed to
prevent Italian collapse.
1918 – Operation Michael
• The Russian collapse presented the
Germans with a final chance to win the
war.
• While garrison troops were still needed to
hold down territory in the chaos of a fallen
Russia, large units could be transferred to
the Western Front – before the Americans
could arrive in numbers.
1918 – Operation Michael
• Ludendorff’s offensive
brought collapse in 1/3 of
the British front in March,
1918.
• In May, the French were
pushed back.
• However, the Germans
lacked the reserves
needed to exploit their
success and had to
pause in June.
• American reinforcements
arriving at 300,000 a
month made this delay
deadly.
1918 – Operation Michael
• When the attack resumed in July, the German lines of
communication were stretched beyond their breaking
point.
• A French counter-attack in the Champagne, aided by
many light tanks, drove the Germans back.
1918 – Operation Michael
• A British counter-attack,
also supported by tanks,
overwhelmed the
Germans near the
Somme.
• After the Battle of
Amiens, Ludendorff
realized the war could not
be won.
• By September, the
Germans were back
behind the Hindenburg
line.
Argonne Offensive
• The Americans lost
heavily in their attack
on the Argonne.
• Inexperienced leaders
waited for the mist to lift
before attacking.
• Soldiers understood
little about how to act in
the trenches.
• 100,000 men were lost.
Allied Victory
• In 1917 the neutralist
Greek king was
deposed and Greece
joined the Allies.
• An Allied push from
Salonika was now
possible and troops
pushed into Serbia
and Bulgaria.
Allied Victory
• On September 26
the Bulgars sued
for peace.
• On September 29
Bulgaria pulled out
of the war.
Allied Victory
• The autumn of 1918
brought continued trouble
for Turkey.
– Allenby pushed north
from Palestine.
– The Arab revolt could
not be contained.
– The British advance
continued in
Mesopotamia.
• In October, Turkey
realized it was defeated.
Allied Victory
• Allied propaganda –
particularly Wilsons 14 Points,
which called for national selfdetermination, caused great
internal dissent in AustriaHungary.
• The Italian success at Vittorio
Veneto broke AustroHungarian resistance at a time
when mutiny was beginning to
break out in the AustroHungarian army.
• On November 4, AustriaHungary dropped out of the
war and the empire dissolved.
Allied Victory
• Germany too was in dire
straits from September,
1918.
• In the last 100 Days
Campaign, the Western
Front was steadily
pushed back.
• On October 3-4 the
Germans sought peace
according to the
principles of Wilson’s 14
Points.
Allied Victory
• Negotiations throughout October made it
clear that the Allies would only accept an
armistice that made further German
resistance impossible.
• Revolution and mutiny in the fleet made it
abundantly clear that Germany could not
fight on.
Allied Victory
• Kaiser Wilhelm
abdicated on
November 9, 1918,
and fled to neutral
Holland to avoid
capture by the
Allies.
Allied Victory
• A Social Democratic
government hastily
established a republic
and accepted Allied
terms – unable to
fight on.
• At 11:00 a.m. on
November 11, 1918,
the guns fell silent.