2. War’s Beginnings
• WWI was a total war or a
conflict where the countries
involved in the war each use all
of their efforts and resources to
power the war effort.
• Czar Nicholas II led Russia.
• King George V led Great
Britain.
• Woodrow Wilson led the
United States.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II led
Germany.
• Raymond Poincaré led
France.
• Peter I was the leader of
Serbia.
• Franz Josef led Austria-
Hungary.
• Mehmed V led the Ottoman
empire.
3. Fighting
• the fighting took place on
two separate fronts.
• the western front was
where Germany was up
against France.
• on the eastern front the
Central powers faced
Serbia and Russia.
•During the war resources
were needed to fund the
war effort so people
rationed or limited the
amount of resources they
would use.
• during a conflict an
agreement can be made to
stop fighting in order to
begin peace negotiations.
This is called an armistice.
4. Battle of Verdun
• the longest and one of the bloodiest engagements
of World War I. February 1916 – December 1916
• Two million men were engaged.
• The intention of the Germans had been a battle of
attrition in which they hoped to bleed the French
army white.
• In the end, they sustained almost as many
casualties as the French; an estimated 328,000 to
the French 348,000.
• The area around Verdun contained twenty major
forts and forty smaller ones that had historically
protected the eastern border of France and had
been modernized in the early years of the
Twentieth Century.
8. Trench Warfare
• Trench Warfare was a
form of field fortification,
consisting of parallel rows
of trenches. During World
War 1 trenches had
begun to appear by late
1914. On the western
front, trenches ran from
the Belgium border to the
Swiss Border, and they
soon became home to
millions of soldiers.
9. The Battles of the Marne, 1914,
1918
• On September 4, 1914, the rapid advances of the German army
through Belgium and northern France caused panic in the French
army and troops were rushed from Paris in taxis to halt the advance.
Combined with the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) the Germans
were eventually halted and the War settled into the familiar
defensive series of entrenchment's.
• Ironically, by the end of May, 1918, the Germans had again reached
the Marne after the enormous successes of Ludendorff's offensives
of that year. The intervening four years had cost hundreds of
thousands of lives and the armies were still, literally, exactly where
they had started.
10. The Battles of Ypres, 1914, 1915,
1917
• There were in fact three battles fought
around the Ypres salient during the War.
The first, in 1914 was an attempt by the
BEF to halt the rapid advances made by the
Germans. The second, in 1915, was notable
for the first use of poison gas by the
Germans. However, it is the long-planned
offensive of July 31, 1917, that holds the
most significance. Here, a combination of
over-ambitious aims, appalling weather
conditions, and misguided persistence by
Haig led to horrific losses. By the time the
offensive was called off total casualties for
both sides had been approximately
250,000. The horrors of the battle, in which
men drowned in liquid mud has become
synonymous with the images of the War.
One of the central objectives, the village of
Passchendale (eventually taken on
November 6 by the Canadians), lent its
name to the whole conflict.
11. The Battle of the Somme,
1916
• At 0730 hours on the 1st July, 1916, after a weeklong artillery bombardment
launched the now infamous "Big Push" attack across the river Somme. With the
French Army being hard-pressed to the south at Verdun the British intended to
breakthrough the German defences in a matter of hours.
• The mistrust that High Command had of the so-called "New Armies" manifested
itself in the orders to the troops to keep uniformed lines and to march towards
the enemy across no-man's land. This, coupled with the failure of the artillery
bombardment to dislodge much of the German wire, or to destroy their machine-
gun posts, led to one of the biggest slaughters in military history.
• When the attack began the Germans dragged themselves out of their dugouts,
manned their posts and destroyed the oncoming waves of British infantry.
• After the first day, with a gain of only 1.5km, the British had suffered 57,470
casualties. Despite this, Haig pressed on with the attack until November 19th of
the same year. For the meagre achievements, total losses on the British and
Imperial side numbered 419,654 with German casualties between 450,000 and
680,000. When the offensive was eventually called off the British were still 3
miles short of Bapaume and Serre, part of their first-day objectives.
12. Russia Leaves!
• Over the first two and a half years
of the war, Russia had
experienced heavy defeats
against Germany but at the same
time had significant successes
against Austria-Hungary. In any
case, however, the war had
become hugely unpopular at
home. The Russian death toll was
enormous, Russia was
continuously losing territory, and
the war had sparked food
shortages throughout the country.
Although there was a certain level
of popular sympathy for Serbia,
most Russians felt that the country
had little to gain in the war and
much to lose.
14. Wilson’s 14 Points
• 1. No more secret agreements.
• 2. Free navigation of all seas.
• 3. Free trade.
• 4. Reduce weapon numbers.
• 5.Less Colonialism.
• 6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia. Russia should be left to develop
her own political set-up.
• 7. Belgium should be independent like before the war.
• 8. France should be fully liberated and allowed to recover Alsace-Lorraine
• 9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy. Italy's borders are to "along clearly
recognizable lines of nationality."
• 10. Self-determination should be allowed for all those living in Austria-Hungary.
• 11. Self-determination and guarantees of independence should be allowed for the
Balkan states.
• 12. The Turkish people should be governed by the Turkish government. Non-Turks in
the old Turkish Empire should govern themselves.
• 13. An independent Poland should be created which should have access to the sea.
• 14. A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial
independence of all states.
15. Paris Peace Conference
• The Conference was
The Big 4 dominated by the big four:
U.S. Britain, France, & Italy.
Italy would not play much of a
role in the final adoption of
the Treaty of Versailles.
• The conference was marked
by 6 months of arbitration
and the unconditional
blaming of the war on
Germany. They had to pay
massive amounts of war
debts in reparation.
David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando,
George Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson • The allies dictated how world
from left to right. politics would proceed.
16. Terms of the Treaty
The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]
The first 26 Articles of the Treaty set out the
Covenant of the League of Nations; the rest of
the 440 Articles detailed Germany's
punishment:
1. Germany had to accept the Blame for
starting the war (Clause 231). This was vital
because it provided the justification for...
2. Germany had to pay £6,600 million (called
Reparations) for the damage done during the
war.
3. Germany was forbidden to have
submarines or an air force. She could have a
navy of only six battleships, and an Army of
just 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was
not allowed to place any troops in the
Rhineland, the strip of land, 50 miles wide, next While the U.S. felt that true peace could only be
to France. reached by equals and that we shouldn’t rub
4. Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe Germany’s face in the loss, both France and Great
(see map, below). Germany’s colonies were Britain supported making Germany solely
given to Britain and France. responsible for fiscal reparations for the war.
(Also, Germany was forbidden to join the
League of Nations, or unite with Austria.)
