World War I

“The Great War”--the war to end all wars--

1914-1918

Fighting the WarLevel 2

Essential Question

• How did warfare change in World War I

European Countries Mobilizefor War

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

France Germany Russia Britain

Mil

lio

ns

Soldiers Mobilized

The Schlieffen Plan

Germany Attacks France Through Belgium

August 4, 1914

Two Front War Developsin Europe

1) Eastern FrontGermany & Austro-Hungary push deep into Russia -

then slows

2) Western FrontGermany Attacks France through Belgium

- Allies stop the German offensive just outside of Paris as the attack bogs down

• Trench War – Stalemate (attack-retreat)

Trench Warfare

“No Man’s Land”

Major Trench Battles in WWI

1) Battle of Verdun (Feb-July 1916)

1 million men – killed/wounded/missing

2) Battle of the Somme (July-Nov 1916)

60,000 British Casualties in one day

1 million killed

The Western Front

Fighting Took place in the

Colonies too - Africa

British Sikh

Mountain Gunners

Black Soldiers in the

German Schutztruppen

[German E. Africa]

T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

& the “Arab Revolt”, 1916-18

Weapons of War

The Great War saw destruction on the field of battle like never before

1) Old-Fashioned Strategies

2) New Technologies

German U-Boats

Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats

Poison Gas Attacks

The three main types of Poison Gas

Chlorine - a greenish, yellow heavier than air gas which in its

pure form is an oxidizing agent. This means that it will react in the presence of water to cause a chemical burning effect on organic matter.

Phosgene - a colorless, odorless, heavier than air gas formed

by heating carbon tetrachloride. It is highly poisonous in that it will preferentially replace oxygen in the cells and quickly causes an oxygen debt within the body, unconsciousness and death.

Mustard gas - gas with a distinctive mustard smell, it causes

blistering and huge sores on any exposed tissue, internal or external.

Gas attack seen from an airplane

Machine Gunsshoot thousands of bullets per minute

Barbed Wire

Flamethrowers

Phosphorus Grenade Exploding

Krupp railroad gun “Big Bertha”-named after his wife / hard to locate on rail / could shoot

over 60 miles from behind German Lines

British Mark I tank

French Renault Tank

The Zeppelin

The Airplane

The Flying Aces of World War I

Eddie

Rickenbacher, US

Francesco

Barraco, It.

Rene Pauk

Fonck, Fr.

Manfred von

Richtoffen, Ger.

The {Red Baron

Willy Coppens de

Holthust, Belg.

Eddie “Mick”

Mannoch, Br.