A brief overview of the Great War… Part I: Immediate Causes of WW1 There are many reasons why the World went to war in 1914. Three of them are : -­‐
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Germany and France wanted to build an empire in Africa they fought for Morroco for example. Britain had a strong navy to protect its overseas empire ( India, Africa, Australia, Canada…). When the Germans started to build new super battleships, the Dreadnoughts, Britain objected and thought Germany wanted to control the British colonies. Austria-­‐Hungary ( friends with Germany) wanted to control the Balkans, Russia was interested by this region too but was afraid of Germany. So they started to build a strong army. The spark that caused war : The atmosphere was very tensed in Europe when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-­‐
Hungray was shot in Bosnia. Serbia was accused. Russia wanted to help Serbia. So Germany declared war to Russia, then to France. As a consequence Britain declares war to Germany and Austria-­‐Hungary to Russia. WW1 began. During the war, the two alliances fighting against each other were the Triple Entente which consisted of France, Britain, Russia and the Triple Alliance which consisted of Germany, Austro-­‐Hungary, Italy. Part II: a Chronology of the Major Events Five major events of WW1 -­‐
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28/06/1914 : Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria assassinated in Sarajevo. Declarations of war began in the Balkans. 04/08/1914 : The United Kingdom declared war on Germany, after Germany invaded Belgium. 21/02/1916 : Germans launched the battle of Verdun 06/04/1917 : The U.S declared war on Germany 11/11/1918 : Germany signed the armistice ending the First World War. The cost of the Great War Troops fighting: 65 million men Troops killed: 8 million Troops wounded : 21 million Civilians killed: 6.6 million Soldiers taken prisoners: 7.8 million
Part III: Life in the Trenches
By the end of the war, each side had dug at least 12,000 miles of trenches. Trenches were long narrow ditches
used for concealment and protection ( to hide and shelter troops) in warfare. Three characteristics of life in the trenches were : -­‐
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The smell (waste water and excrement) Rat infestation ( causing damage and disease) Boredom ( feeling bored) Part IV: The Weapons of WW1
Weapons used during World War I
Mustard gas : a colourless oily liquid whose vapour causes severe irritation and blistering of the skin, used in chemical weapons. Zeppelins : a large German dirigible airship of the early 20th century, long and cylindrical in shape and with a rigid framework. Zeppelins were used during the First World War for reconnaissance and bombing, and after the war as passenger transports until the 1930s. Tanks : heavy armoured fighting vehicle carrying guns and Dreadnoughts ( fear nobody) : a type of battleship moving on a continuous articulated metal track. introduced in the early 20th century, larger and faster than its predecessors and equipped entirely with large-­‐
calibre guns. U-­‐boats : a German submarine used in the First or Second Machine guns : an automatic gun that fires bullets in rapid World War. succession for as long as the trigger is pressed. Shells : an explosive artillery projectile or bomb: the sound Torpedoe : a cigar-­‐shaped self-­‐propelled underwater of the shell passing over, followed by the explosion. missile designed to be fired from a ship or submarine or A container for fireworks, explosives, or cartridges. dropped into the water from an aircraft and to explode on reaching a target. Part V: A new Weapon: Propaganda
Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view . During the war, Propaganda posters were used to justify involvement to their own populace, but also as a means of
procuring men, money and resources to sustain the military campaign.
Part VI: The End of the War
World War One ended on 11/11/18 . Few people believed that there would be another war after such death and destruction. In fact, it was called for a time, ‘The war to end all wars.’. Although the war was over, a peace settlement still had to be made. In Versailles, in 1919, the leaders of the victorious countries met to discuss this. They were dominated by ‘The Big Three’ who were G. Clémenceau of France, the American President, W.Wilson. and David L.George, Prime Minister of Britain. Germany was not invited to the peace conference. After months of dispute, a Treaty was finalized. On June, 28th 1918, the Germans signed the Treaty of Versailles But they were not happy with it. In the following years, they faced one crisis after another and they blamed the Treaty for those crises. The seeds were sown for a more catastrophic war, just one generation later… Part VII : DORA
The lettters stand for the British government act called : Defense Of the Realm Act, it means the legislation introduced by the government aimed at defending the country ( the realm = an old word for the kingdom). It was passed in August 1914 and lasted during WW1. It gave the government more powers to control the country and its citizens. DORA listed everything that people were not allowed to do in time of war : it meant that the
government could take control of any buildings or industries, government controlled food and drinks
(production and consumption), it controlled information ( propaganda and censorship ), people could
be imprisoned without trial. EX : no-one was allowed to talk about naval or military matters in public places, no-one was allowed to
light bonfires or fireworks, no-one was allowed to use invisible ink when writing abroad, the government
could take over any land it wanted to…
DORA was very much like a dictatorship, this would not have been possible in peace time.. The censorship reduced people’s right, rationing was introduced on food and alcohol (beer especially). Buildings, animals and resources were requisitioned. Very few people could oppose these marshal laws because Britain was at war. Moreover, the people who disagreed could not really be heard because of the censorship.
Créé par Isabelle Simon et Cécile Clavel
Académie de Toulouse