WWI: THE GREAT WAR

1914 - 1917

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Life in the
Trenches

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Trench Map

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The tripwire that set off the centurys first global conflict was Austria's
declaration of war against Serbia on July 28, 1914. A war between Austria
and Serbia meant a war between Austria and Russia, Serbia's traditional
ally. That meant war between Russia and Germany. And that meant war
between Germany and France. And that meant war between Germany and
Great Britain. In a flash, the whole continent was at war.
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1914
June 28, 1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir
to the throne of the Austro Hungarian Empire, is
assassinated in Sarajevo.
July 28 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
August 1 - Germany declares war on Russia.
August 3 - Germany declares war on France.
August 4 - Germany invades neutral Belgium &
Great Britain declares war on Germany.

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The Schlieffen Plan required precision timing. In the east, the Russian
army was to be held at bay. In the west, the German army would avoid
Frances line fortifications by sweeping west through neutral Belgium and
then turning in a huge arc south into France. The French army would be
destroyed defending Paris.

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German plans for the Western Front soon began unraveling. As the
German right flank drove deeper, it separated from the rest of the invading
force. Recognizing their vulnerability, the Germans pulled up twenty-five
miles short of Paris. Now, it was Frances chance to attack. What followed
was the Battle of the Marne where the German advance was stopped.
THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE SHOWED THAT THE
SCHLIEFFEN PLAN DID NOT WORK!
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On April 24th, 1915, an amphibious force of British, French, Australian,

and New Zealand troops began landing on the Turkish peninsula of
Gallipoli. Their aim, to knock Germanys ally, Turkey, out of the war.
Only a small Turkish force awaited them on the cliffs overlooking the
shore.

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1915
January 19, 1915 - First German Zeppelin air raid
on England.
February 4 - Germany declares a submarine
blockade of Great Britain. Any boat approaching
England is considered a legitimate target.
May 7 - Sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania.
May 23 - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
August 30 - Germany responds to U.S. anger by
ceasing to sink ships without warning.
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After two years of war,

the battle lines of the
Western front (noted in
yellow) had barely
changed from the first
days of stalemate. This
was modern warfare.
The Eastern front was
a different story, where
battles more resembled
fluid engagements of
the 19th century.

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German General Erich von Falkenhayn developed a battle plan for

attacking Verdun, France, a city protected by a ring of underground forts.

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One hundred and twenty-five miles northwest of Verdun, the British and
French armies joined at the Somme river. A Franco-British offensive was
planned here for 1916 to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun.

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1916
February 21 - December 18, 1916 - The longest
battle of the war, the Battle of Verdun, is fought
to a draw with an estimated one million casualties.
July 1-November 18 - The Battle of the Somme
results in an estimated one million casualties and
no breakthrough for the Allies.
November 7 Woodrow Wilson re-elected
President of the United States.
December 7 - David Lloyd George becomes
Prime Minister of Britain.
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1917
February 1, 1917 - Germany again declares unrestricted
submarine warfare.
March 15 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates
(relinquishes) power. Provisional government is declared.
April 6 - The United States declares war on Germany afte
the Zimmerman note is discovered.
April 16-29 - The French Army launches the Chemin des
Dames offensive, but fails to break through the German
lines. Mutiny breaks out amongst the French troops.
July 16-November 10 - Third Battle of Ypres, known as
Passchendaele, results in minor gains, but still no
breakthrough.
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Over four months in 1918 the German army launched five major assaults
at different parts of the allied line. Initially the plan worked. The British
Fifth Army collapsed. The allies gave ground. But for every allied trench
captured, there was always another for the Germans to take. Soon the elite
German storm troopers were a spent force. In desperation Ludendorff
resorted to the old and murderous tactic of mass assault.

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1918

1918-1919 - Two waves of influenza kill more people than did the war.
January 8, 1918 - President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points as the
path to world peace.
March 21 - Germans launch the first of five major offenses to win the war
before American troops appear in the trenches.
July 16-17 - Former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, children, and members of his
entourage are murdered by the Bolsheviks.
August 8 - Allied counteroffensives on the Somme push the German army
back.
October 28 - Germany's sailors mutiny at port when asked to sail out to fight
again.
November 9 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates.
November 10 - A German republic is founded (Weimar Republic)
November 11 - At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of
1918, the war ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice.

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1919
1919 - Demobilization of the armies.
1919-1921 - Russian civil war fails to unseat the
Bolsheviks.
February - Allies' military intervention in Russia
is secretly agreed to.
June 28 Peace Treaty signed by Allies in
Versailles and forced upon Germany.
August-September Woodrow Wilson brings his
campaign for the ratification of the Treaty of
Versailles to the American people.
September 25 - Wilson collapses.
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Post 1919
1920-1922 - War cemeteries created on the fronts; war
memorials dedicated in villages and cities at home.
March 19, 1920 - The US Senate fails to ratify the Treaty.
April - Disgruntled officers fail in an attempt to overthrow the
Weimar Republic in Germany.
March 1921 - American food aid helps save millions of famine
victims in Russia.
1924-1925 - Adolf Hitler imprisoned for sedition; writes Mein
Kampf
January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler named Chancellor of Germany
by President Hindenburg.
September 2, 1939 - Second World War begins
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MAKING THE PEACE

Armistice: An agreement to end fighting
Mandates: territories that were administered
by the western powers
After the war, Ottoman lands were divided
into mandates
Reparations: Payments for war damage
The Allies insisted that the losers make
reparations the Central Powers who viewed
their armistice as a cease-fire, not a
surrender were stunned by this
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COSTS OF WAR

The involvement of the United States had the greatest impact on the
outcome of World War I
In 1918, Europe was in ruins
Costs of World War I:
the death of more than 8.5 million people
more than 20 million wounded and handicapped for life
famine threatened many regions
financial burden of reconstruction of almost all of Europe war debts
governments in Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman
empire had collapsed
colonies saw that Europe was weak and were ready to fight for
independence

Conservatives feared the spread of communism would happen in the

chaotic climate after the war.
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PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE

David Loyd George (Britain), Vittorio Orlando (Italy),

Georges Clemenceau (France), and Woodrow Wilson (US)
Germany and Russia not invited
to attend
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WILSON:
Spoke of democracy and self-determination became a
symbol of hope
The establishment of the League of Nations was
Wilson's most important goal at the peace conference
GEORGE & CLEMENCEAU:
One goal for postwar peace shared by the British and
French leaders was to weaken Germany and make it
pay for the war.
OTHERS:
Italy had signed a secret treaty with the Allies during
the war and wanted Italian lands once ruled by AustriaHungary (violated Wilsons principle of selfdetermination)
Others who had been ruled by Russia, Austria-Hungary,
or the Ottomans Empire demanded national states of
their own but the territories claimed by these people
often overlapped so it was impossible to satisfy
everyone.
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TREATY OF VERSAILLES
June 1919 Germans ordered to sign Treaty
of Versailles against their will.
The Germans resented the terms of the Treaty
of Versailles)

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The Treaty of Versailles imposed the

following on Germany:
Germany had to accept full blame for causing the war
(and all damages done)
Germany had to pay HUGE reparations (not only for
the destruction, but also pensions for millions of
Allied soldiers or their widows and families)
Total cost of German reparations over $30
billion!!! did great damage to already poor
German economy
Germany had to put limits on the size of its military
Germany was stripped of much of its land and all of
its colonies
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OTHER SETTLEMENTS/TREATIES
The Allies drew up separate treaties with the other
Central Powers these redrew the map of Europe
New Nations emerged from German, Russian, and
Austrian Lands:
Baltic States Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
Poland regained its independence
Austria- Hungary became 3 new republics
Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary
In the Balkans peacemakers created a new South
Slav state, Yugoslavia, dominated by Serbia

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MANDATE SYSTEM:
European colonies in Africa, Asia, and the
Pacific wanted Wilsons self-determination
and an end to imperial rule they did not
get it
The Allies added to their overseas empires
by creating a system of mandates (see
above)
Britain & France took German colonies in Africa and
Ottoman land in the Middle East

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UNFULFILLED GOALS:
Germany was not the only country upset by the
Treaty of Versailles
Italy was angry b/c they didnt get all the lands
promised to them in their secret treaty with the Allies
Japan protested because western nations refused to
recognize Japans claims in China
China was forced to accept Japanese control over
some former German holdings in China
Russia was excluded from the peace talks and
resented the reestablishment of Poland and the Baltic
states (it was Russian land)
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LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Formed to keep peace in the world agreed
to negotiate rather than resort to war;
promised to take common action, economic
or military, against any aggressor state.
More than 40 nations joined but the US
Senate refused to ratify the treaty and the US
never joined the League (ironic b/c it was
President Wilsons creation and dream)
However the League was powerless to
prevent aggression or war hence WWII!
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