UNIT 10
Chapter 29 – The Great War
WORLD WAR I
The Great War, 1914–1918
Several factors lead to World War I, a conflict that devastates
Europe and has a major impact on the world.
SECTION 1
Marching Toward War
SECTION 2 Europe Plunges into War
SECTION 3
A Global Conflict
SECTION 4
A Flawed Peace
Allied soldiers climbing over trenches
on first day of the costly Battle of the
Somme (July 1, 1916).
 CORE OBJECTIVE: Analyze the causes and effects
of World War I.
 Objective 10.2: Describe the military events that developed
on the Western and Eastern fronts.
 THEME: At the beginning of the 20th century, a terrible war begins in
Europe that will claim over 8 million lives.
CHAPTER 29 SECTION 2
EUROPE PLUNGES INTO WAR
One European nation after another is drawn into a large and
industrialized war that results in many casualties.
WAR BEGINS
 Armies on the March
 Russia moves troops to its
borders with Austria and Germany
 Germany declares war on Russia,
quickly attacks France
 Great Britain declares war on
Germany
 Nations Take Sides
 By mid-August 1914, two sides at
war throughout Europe: Central &
Allied Powers
Central Powers — Germany, Austria-Hungary
Allies — Britain, France, Russia
(each side includes other nations)
 By September 1914, the war reached a stalemate, a situation in
which neither side is able to gain an advantage.
STALEMATE
 Western Front — battle zone in northern France
 Schlieffen Plan — German plan to defeat France quickly, then
fight Russia
 With the Schlieffen Plan, Germany nearly takes Paris
 Germany forced to retreat at First Battle of the Marne
 Schlieffen Plan fails; Germany has to fight two-front war
The Battle of the Marne
 Neither soldiers nor officers were prepared for the new, highly
efficient killing machines (ex – machine guns) used in World War I.
 Machine guns, hand grenades, artillery shells, and poison gas killed
thousands of soldiers who left their trenches to attack the enemy.
 New weapons only lead to more deaths
 Massive losses for both sides at 1916 battles of Verdun and
Somme
 Verdun (Feb. 1916): 600,000 die for Germans to gain 4 miles of land
 New Weaponry dramatically increases death totals: Poison
Gas, Machine Guns, Tanks, Submarines
Poison Gas
Machine Gun
By far, the most devastating new weapon introduced was the machine gun. It changed
warfare forever and led to the development of Trench Warfare.
Why staelemate
Machine guns led
TRENCH WARFARE
 Conflict descends into trench warfare — armies fighting
from trenches (ditches dug into the ground)
 Battles result in many deaths, small land gains
 Life in trenches is miserable, difficult, unsanitary
German
Trenches
NO MAN’S LAND
 Opposing trenches were separated by an empty “no man’s
land.”
 This describes the area of land between two enemy trench systems to
which neither side wished to move openly or to seize due to fear of
being attacked by the enemy in the process.
 Small gains in land resulted in huge numbers of human casualties.
FAST FACTS: LIFE IN
THE TRENCHES
 What was life like in a trench?
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8HmPNgOC2Q
WHY STALEMATE?
 Machine guns led to the
creation of trenches
 Trench warfare meant
that no side advanced
very often
STRUCTURE OF TRENCHES
 Structure and
Conditions of
Trenches
 Zig-zag pattern
 Multiple lines
 Wire & sandbag
 Video on
Structure:
 https://www.yo
utube.com/watch
?v=FvYIIuxh2kY
FIGHTING IN RUSSIA
 Early Fighting
 Eastern Front — site of main
fighting along the GermanRussian border
 Russians push into Austria and
Germany, but soon forced to retreat
 Russia Struggles
 Russia’s war effort suffering by
1916; many casualties, few
supplies
 Huge size of Russian army keeps it a
formidable force
 prevents Germany from sending more
troops to the Western Front
The War in Europe, 1914–1918
ASSESSMENT
What is a stalemate?
(A) When countries come together to make treaties outlawing war
(B) a new style of war that uses new technologies like poison gas
(C) a type of warfare fought in underground ditches
(D) a situation in which neither side is able to gain an advantage
Which of these is best describes the eastern front?
(A) German plan to defeat France, then fight Russia
(B) heavy battle zone in northern France
(C) site of main fighting along the German-Russian border
(D) a situation in which neither side is able to gain an advantage
ASSESSMENT
What is a stalemate?
(A) When countries come together to make treaties outlawing war
(B) a new style of war that uses new technologies like poison gas
(C) a type of warfare fought in underground ditches
(D) a situation in which neither side is able to gain an advantage
Which of these is best describes the eastern front?
(A) German plan to defeat France, then fight Russia
(B) heavy battle zone in northern France
(C) site of main fighting along the German-Russian border
(D) a situation in which neither side is able to gain an advantage