Download World War I - Humble ISD

World War I:
The War To End
All Wars…
or something.
Early
1900’s:
Alliances
formed
throughout
Europe
Two “isms” rear their heads:
Nationalism:
Militarism:
Result: Europe is a powder keg!
The Spark
Who:
Where:
Why:
Who else: Gavrilo
Princip
What
happened:
The leaders were unable to back away from their
national "honor" and the entangling alliances they
had agreed to.
•Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, who they
believed had supported the assassins.
•Russia, the traditional friend and ally of their
fellow-Slavs, the Serbians, came to their support.
•Russia's ally France also mobilized for war.
•Germany, the ally of Austria Hungary, then
came to the aid of their ally and invaded neutral
Belgium to get to France.
•When the French violated Belgian neutrality,
Great Britain entered the fray.
•Other nations followed. What should have been
a small local war became the first world war.
“Choosing Teams”:
The Central Powers
•
•
•
•
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
(Turkey)
“Choosing Teams”:
The Allies
•
•
•
•
•
Great Britain
France
Russia
Italy
20 other nations
U.S. NEUTRALITY
ADVANTAGES:
CENTRAL POWERS
• Germany, AustriaHungary-single
connected territory
• Efficient railroads
• Rapid movement of
troops and supplies
• Submarines
ADVANTAGES: ALLIES
• Control of the seas
• Blockaded Central
Powers
• Access to vital
supplies
• Number of troops
THE
GERMAN
STRATEGY
Schlieffen Plan:
Delay the Russians
in the East, hit the
French HARD in the
West, then focus on
the Russians
(Avoid fighting on
two fronts)
SCHLIEFFEN PLAN
• Violate
Belgium’s
neutrality
• First defeat
France
• Full scale attack
on Russia
THE WESTERN FRONT
(“All Quiet on the Western Front”)
• Stalemate-neither side
able to gain land
• Trench Warfare: 600
miles of ditches from
the Alps to the North
Sea
• Distance between
opposing ditches- “No
Man’s Land”
TRENCH WARFARE
TRENCH WARFARE
TRENCH WARFARE
Meanwhile, back in the Batcave...
U.S. positions:
Official:
Unofficial:
Examples:
Why Did The U.S.
Enter The War?
Two Major
Reasons:
Unrestricted Submarine
Warfare
International Rules:
German Point of View:
Goal: Starve the British and force them to
release the British Navy blockade
Sinking of Lusitania
The Zimmerman Telegram
What it said:
What it did:
Two Surprises For The
Central Powers:
1. United States enters the War
on the Allies’ side (Bad!)
2. The Bolshevik Revolution
ends the Rominov (Anastasia)
Dynasty, brings Marxism/
Leninism to Russia, and Russia
exits the war. (Good!)
WORLD WAR I
WEAPONS OF WAR
WEAPONS:CHLORINE
GAS
Had to wear gas masks
Caused blindness, severe blisters, or death by choking
First introduced by Germans; used by both sides
WEAPONS: TANKS
Introduced by the British
Early tanks slow and clumsy
Moved on a chain track
WEAPONS: AIRPLANES
•First time used in combat role
•At first, used to take photographs
•Soon, both sides used them to
drop bombs.
•Later guns were attached to fight in the air.
WEAPONS: U-BOAT
Submarine introduced by Germans
Primary weapon-torpedo, self-propelled missile
WEAPONS: MACHINE
•Fired 400
GUN
•Much
improved by
World War I
rounds in a
minute
•Helped create a
stalemate
WEAPONS: HOWITZER
First seen in fall of
1914
Austrian artillery