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World War I Begins. By August 1914 the battle lines were in place Central Powers (Germany & Austria-Hungary) Bulgaria and Ottoman’s would join later Allies (Great Britain, France and Russia) Italy and Japan would join later Most people felt the war would be short - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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World War I Begins
• By August 1914 the battle lines were in place• Central Powers (Germany & Austria-Hungary)– Bulgaria and Ottoman’s would join later
• Allies (Great Britain, France and Russia)– Italy and Japan would join later
• Most people felt the war would be short• Reality was the war would last for over 4 years
Western Front
British Tank
Canadian Soldiers
Today in France
Today in France
Battle Lines
Schlieffen Plan
• Gen. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen called for an attack & defeat France
• Then rush to the east to fight Russia• By early September of 1914,
Germany had swept into France and reached the outskirts of Paris
• Germans are close to defeating France
Battle of Marne
• Sept 4th the Germans were in the NE of Paris• Every French soldier was put into use (600
French Taxis used to drive soldiers to the front)
• The French were able to force the Germans into retreat after days of fighting
• Quick victory in the west was not possible for Germany
Trench Warfare
• By 1915, the Western Front was miles of parallel trenches
• Worst conditions possible• The space between the
trenches was known as “no mans land”
• Artillery fire would go into the trenches
• New weapons: Machine Guns, Armored Tanks, Poison Gas
Trench Warfare
• February of 1916, Germans launched bloodiest attack on the French near Verdun
• British tried to help the French by attacking the Germans in the NW at Somme River
• British lost 20,000 men on day one alone
• By Nov 1916, both sides lost more than half a million men
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