Section 2
World War I
A New Kind of War
Main Idea
With the introduction of new types of warfare and new
technologies, World War I resulted in destruction on a scale
never before imagined.
Section 2
World War I
The World War I Battlefield
New weapons
• Poison gas, other new weapons response to massive deadlock
• Two systems of trenches stretched hundreds of miles, western Europe
• Millions of Allied and Central Powers soldiers in trenches of Western Front
Trench warfare
• Trench warfare not new idea
• Soldiers had long hidden behind mounds of earth
• Scale of 1914 Europe trench warfare never before experienced
Life in trenches
• Rainstorms produced deep puddles, mud
• Lice, rats, bad sanitation constant problems
• Removing dead bodies often impossible
Section 2
World War I
The World War I Battlefield
Over the top
• Soldiers ordered out of trenches to attack enemy
• Sprinting across area known as “no-man’s-land” a deadly game
• Thousands on both sides died, cut down by enemy guns
New weapons
• Neither side able to make significant advances on enemy’s trenches
• Each side turned to new weapons like poison gas
• Value limited, both sides developed gas masks
More effective
• Other new weapons more effective than poison gas
• Rapid-fire machine guns in wide use
• Artillery and high-explosive shells, enormous destructive power
Section 2
World War I
The World War I Battlefield
Tanks and Aircraft
• Tanks pioneered by British
– Could cross rough battlefield terrain
– Reliability was a problem
• Aircraft most useful
– At beginning of war, mostly for observation
– Soon had machine guns, bombs attached
– Faster airplanes useful in attacking cities, battlefields
Section 2
World War I
War on the Home Front
Government Actions
• Winning new type of war
required use of all society’s
resources
• Total war, governments took
stronger control of citizens’ lives
• New controls changes nations’
industries, economies
• Factories produced military
equipment, citizens conserved
food, other goods
Government Control
• Sought to control public opinion
• Censored newspaper reports
about fighting to keep from
discouraging public
• Created propaganda,
information to influence
opinions, encourage volunteers
• Posters, pamphlets, articles
about enemy’s brutal actions
Section 2
World War I
War on the Home Front
Women in War
• Millions of men at battle
• Work on home front done by women
– Some worked in factories, producing war supplies
– Others served as nurses to wounded
• Contributions of women
– Transformed public views of women
– Helped women win right to vote
Section 2
World War I
Battles on the Western Front
While people on the home front supported their troops, the war in
Western Europe was going badly for the Allied Powers.
The Italian Front
The Battle of Verdun
• Italy joined Allied Powers, May
1915
• Germans planned assault on
French fortress, Verdun
• Sent forces against AustriaHungary at border with Italy
• Believed French would defend
fortress at all costs
• Series of back-and-forth
battles
• Battle of Verdun meant to kill,
injure as many French soldiers
as possible
• Little progress made
• 400,000 French casualties in
10 months of fighting, almost
as many for Germany
World War I
Section 2
The Battle of the Somme
• British launched attack in Somme River area to pull German troops
away from Verdun
• Main assault during 1916, but no major breakthrough
• Both sides lost great number of troops; British suffered nearly 60,000
casualties on the first day of fighting
The Third Battle of Ypres
• Failed French offensive caused rebellion among French soldiers,
spring 1917
• British began offensive near Ypres, Belgium, site of German attacks
• Third Battle of Ypres a disaster for British
• After 3 years of battle, front lines remained virtually unchanged
Section 2
World War I
War around the World
Much of the early fighting took place in Europe, but the conflict quickly
became a true world war as fighting spread around the globe. Over 30
nations officially took sides in the war.
Gallipoli Campaign
Spring 1915
• Ottoman Empire
joined Central
Powers, late 1914
• Allies landed force
on Gallipoli
Peninsula
• Controlled sea
passage,
Dardanelles
• Attempted to
destroy guns, forts
on Dardanelles
• Used by Allies to
ship supplies to
Russia
• Gave up after
months of fighting,
200,000 deaths
Major Loss
• Ottoman subjects
in Arabian
Peninsula rebelled
later in war
• British sent T.E.
Lawrence to
support Arabs
• Arabs overthrew
Ottoman rule
Section 2
World War I
War around the World
Armenian Massacre
Caucasus
• Different conflict elsewhere in
Ottoman Empire during Gallipoli
Campaign
• Mountain region between Black
and Caspian seas
• Russia launched attack in
Caucasus
Use of Force
• Home to ethnic Christian
Armenians, minority in Muslim
Ottoman Empire
Violence, starvation
• Ottoman leaders claimed
Armenians aided Russians
• 600,000 Armenians died in
massacre
• Began forcibly removing
Armenians from Caucasus,
spring 1915
• Ottoman leaders accused of
genocide, destruction of racial,
political or cultural group
Section 2
World War I
War around the World
Other Fighting
• War also fought in Asia and Africa
• Japan declared war on Germany
– Part of military agreement with Great Britain
– Japanese captured German colonies in China
– British, French attacked German colonies in Africa
• Allied colonies scattered around world made
contributions to war
– Some colonists worked as laborers to keep armies supplied
– Others fought, died in battles in hope of winning independence
– Hopes were in vain