war in the trenches world war i presentation created by robert martinez primary content source:...
TRANSCRIPT
War in the TrenchesWorld War I
Presentation created by Robert Martinez
Primary Content Source: Prentice Hall World History
Images as cited.www.allposters.com
As the war began, German forces swept through Belgium toward Paris. German generals soon violated the Schlieffen Plan. Russia mobilized
more quickly than expected. After Russian forces won a few small victories in eastern
Prussia, Germany hastily shifted some troops to the east. That move weakened German forces in
the west.
www.bbc.co.uk
In September 1914, when British troops
reached France, they joined the French along
the Marne River. The battle of the Marne pushed back the
German offensive and destroyed Germany’s
hopes for a quick victory on the Western
Front.
www.xtimeline.com
Both sides then dug in for the
winter. They did not know that the
conflict would turn into a long,
deadly stalemate. Battle lines in France would remain almost unchanged for
four years. fineartamerica.com
On the Western Front, the warring armies burrowed into a vast system of trenches, stretching from the Swiss frontier to the
English Channel.
www.globeatwar.com
An underground network linked bunkers, communications trenches, and gun
emplacements. There, millions of soldiers roasted under the broiling summer sun or froze
through the long winters. They shared their
food with rats and their beds with lice.
articles.latimes.com
Between the opposing trench lines lay “no man’s land.” In this empty tract, pocked with shell
holes, every house and tree had long since been destroyed. Through coils of barbed wire, soldiers
peered over the edges of their trenches, watching for the next attack. They themselves
would have to charge into this man-made desert
when officers gave the order.
www.worldwar1.nl
Sooner or later, soldiers would obey the order to go “over the top.” with no
protection but their rifles and helmets, they charged across no man’s land
toward the enemy lines. With luck, they
might overrun a few trenches.
djophax.herobo.com
In time, the enemy would launch a counterattack, with similar results. Each side rushed in reinforcements to replace
the dead and wounded. The struggle continued, back and forth, over a few
hundred yards of territory.
morganinaustralia.blogspot.com
In 1916, both the Allies and Central Powers launched
massive offensives to break the stalemate. German
forces tried to overwhelm the French at Verdun. The French sent up the battle
cry. “They shall not pass.” The French defenders held
firm, but the 11-month struggle cost more than a half-million casualties on
both sides. pictureshistory.blogspot.com
An Allied offensive at the Somme River was even more costly. In a single day, 60,000
British soldiers were killed or wounded. In the five-month battle, over one million soldiers were killed, without either side winning an
advantage.
www.bl.uk
Modern weapons added greatly to the destructiveness of the war. Rapid-fire machine guns mowed down waves of soldiers, making it nearly impossible to advance across no man’s
land. Artillery allowed troops to shell enemy
lines and cities from more than 10 miles away.
www.history.com
In 1915, Germany began using poison gas that blinded or choked its victims or caused
agonizing burns and blisters. Later that year, the Allies also began to use gas. Though
soldiers were eventually given gas masks, poison gas remained one of the most dreaded
hazards of the war.
/tsaamericahistory.wikispaces.com
Although poison gas could be fatal, it was an uncertain weapon. Shifting winds might blow the gas back on the side that
launched it.
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In 1916, Britain introduced a new weapon, the armored tank. Mounted with machine guns, the
tanks were designed to move across broken ground and through barbed wire. Still, the first
tanks moved slowly and broke down often. They did little to break the stalemate.
sirismm.si.edu
Both sides also used aircraft. At first, planes simply observed enemy troop movements. In 1915, Germany used
zeppelins, large gas-filled balloons, to bomb the English coast.
www.worldwar1.com
Later, both sides equipped airplanes with machine guns. Pilots known as “flying
aces” battled in the skies. These “dogfights” were spectacular, but had little effect on the course of the war.
muslimsocialservicesagency.org
Submarines proved much more important. German submarines roamed the Atlantic.
These U-boats did tremendous damage to the Allied side, sinking merchant ships that carried
vital supplies to Britain.
www.submarinehistory.com
To counteract submarine warfare, the Allies organized convoys, or groups of merchant
ships protected by warships. Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare would
eventually help bring the United States into the war.
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In August 1914, Russian armies pushed into eastern Germany. Then, at the battle of
Tannenberg, the Russians suffered one of the worst defeats of the war, causing them to
retreat. After Tannenberg, armies in the east
fought on Russian soil.
www.xtimeline.com
As the least industrialized of the great powers, Russia was poorly equipped to fight a modern war. Troops sometimes lacked even rifles. Still,
Russian commanders continued to throw
masses of peasant soldiers into combat.
www.marxists.org
Southeastern Europe was another battleground. In 1915, Bulgaria joined the
Central Powers and helped crush its old Balkan rival Serbia. That same year, Italy declared war
on Austria-Hungary and, later on Germany. Italy had signed a secret treaty with the Allies
to gain Austrian-ruled lands inhabited by Italians.
In October 1917, the Austrians and Germans launched a major offensive against the Italian position at Caporetto. The Italians retreated in
disarray. British and French forces later helped stop the Central Powers’ advance into Italy.
Still, Caporetto proved as disastrous for Italy
as Tannenberg had been for Russia.
www.kingsacademy.com
Though most of the fighting took place in Europe. World War I was a global conflict. Japan, allied with Britain, used the war as
an excuse to seize German outposts in China and islands in the Pacific. It also
tried to impose a protectorate on China.
www.assetstorage.co.uk
The Ottoman empire joined the Central
Powers in 1914. The Turks then closed off Allied ships from the
Dardanelles, a vital strait connecting the Black
Sea and the Mediterranean. In 1915,
the Allies sent a massive force of British, Indian,
Australian, and New Zealander troops to
open up the strait. 24.media.tumblr.com
At the battle of Gallipoli, Turkish troops tied down the trapped Allies on the beaches. In
January 1916, after 10 months and more than 200,000 casualties, the Allies finally withdrew
from the Dandanelles.
www.toptenz.net/wp-content
In turn, the Turks were hard hit in the Middle East.
The Ottoman empire included vast areas of
Arab land. In 1916, Arab nationalists led by Husayn
ibn Ali declared a revolt against Ottoman rule. The British sent Colonel T.E.
Lawrence – later known as Lawrence of Arabia – to
support the Arab revolt.
upload.wikimedia.org
Lawrence led guerrilla raids against the
Turks, dynamiting bridges and supply
trains. Eventually, the Ottoman empire lost a great deal of territory
to the Arabs, including the key city
of Baghdad.
media.iwm.org.uk
European colonies were drawn into the struggle. The Allies overran scattered German colonies in
Africa and Asia. They also turned to their own colonies and dominions for troops, laborers, and
supplies. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand sent troops to Britain’s aid. Colonial recruits
from British India and French West Africa fought
on European battlefields.
People in the colonies had mixed feelings about serving. Some were reluctant to serve the imperial powers. Other colonial troops
volunteered eagerly. They expected that their service would be a step toward citizenship or independence. Such hopes would be dashed
after the war.
en.wikipedia.org