War Consumes Europe

WWI – The Beginning

The Alliance System Collapses

O Nearly all the nations of Europe at war

O Schlieffen Plan – Germany’s military plan at the outbreak of WWI, according to which German troops would rapidly defeat France and then move east to attack RussiaO in the event of a two-front war

General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen called to attack France then Russia

O Speed was crucial to implement this plan

Schlieffen PlanO French had troops along the border

with GermanyO In order to bypass, Germany wanted

to go through BelgiumO Who’s side is Belgium on???O Germany invaded Belgium

regardlessO OVERALL EFFECT: brings Britain into

the war – declare war on Germany on August 4

WHY WAS SPEED SO

IMPORTANT TO THE

SCHLIEFFEN PLAN???

Alliances CENTRAL POWERSO Ottoman Empire

would later join

ALLIED POWERSO Japan joins

within weeksO Italy denounces

old ally claiming Germany made an unprovoked attack on Belgium

The Western FrontO region of northern France where the

forces of the Allies and the Central powers battled each other

O Schlieffen Plan working great UNTIL…O intelligence allowed the French to know

the exact direction of the German armyO First Battle of the Marne – one of the

single most important events of the warO pushed Germany further back – the plan

was no longer effectiveO settled into a stalemate

Trench WarfareO form of warfare in which opposing

armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield

O during stalemate on the Western Front miles of parallel trenches dug to protect from enemy fire

O swarmed with ratsO sleep was impossibleO living conditions = horrendous

“No Man’s Land”O space between the opposing

trenchesO stepping on to this part almost

ensured deathO stretched nearly 500 miles

New Weapons of WarO poison gas- introduced by the

Germans but used by both sidesO machine gun – advanced by the

start of the warO how did it create a stalemate??

O tank – armored combat vehicles that moved on chain tracks – introduced by the British

O airplane – 1st time planes used in a combat role – used to take pictures of enemy but later to drop bombs

O submarine – introduced by the Germans (U-boats) were used to wage unrestricted warfare on Allied ships – primary weapon was the torpedo

O OVERALL EFFECT: kill huge numbers of people more effectively

The Eastern FrontO stretch of battlefield along the

German and Russian borderO Russia was having a tough time

O not industrializedO constantly short on food, guns,

ammunition, clothes, boots, and blankets

O death toll steadily rising but Russia’s huge population was the only asset it had

WHY WAS RUSSIA’S

INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR SO

IMPORTANT TO THE OTHER ALLIES???