Strategies of W.W. I

Strategies of WW I

• Propaganda

• War of Attrition

• Trench Warfare

Propaganda

• The spreading of ideas and information to promote a certain cause or to damage an opposing cause

– used by governments to portray the enemy as evil or inhuman

– used to gain support for war effort (recruitment & financial)

– stories were often greatly exaggerated or made up

German Atrocities in Belgium

Recruitment Posters

Recruitment Posters

Financing the War

War of Attrition

• Each side tries to wear down the other side by constant attacks

• Battle of Verdun (German offensive)

• Battle of Somme (Br. & Fr.)

Trench Warfare

• Used mostly on the western front– dug in a zigzag formation so a blast

would be confined to a small area– stretched from the Swiss frontier to the

English Channel (over 400 miles)

• No Man’s Land was the area in between opposing trenches

Inside the Trenches

Trench Warfare

“No Man’s Land”

Technology of Modern Warfare

Heavy Artillery

• Used prior to the attack

• Damaged men’s brains and made their ears bleed

• Could shell enemy lines from 10 miles away

“Big Bertha”

Machine Gun

• Fired 600 bullets per minute

• Made it impossible to cross no man’s land

Poison Gas

• It was an uncertain weapon because of shifting winds

• Blinded or choked victims

• Caused burns and blisters

Flame ThrowersGrenade Launchers

Armored Tank

•Did little to break the stalemate

•Moved slowly and often broke down

Zeppelins

• Used by Germany to bomb the British coast

Airplanes• Used mainly for

observation• Flying aces battled in

dog fights

“The Red Barron”

Submarines

• German U-Boats roamed the Atlantic

• Merchant and Allied Ships were attacked

• Allies organized convoys to combat attacks

Allied Ships sunk by German U-Boats

The Cost of Modern Technology

01,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,0006,000,0007,000,0008,000,0009,000,000

10,000,000RussiaGermanyAustria-HungaryFranceGreat BritainItalyTurkeyUS

Causalities of WW I