The document provides an overview of Germany during World War 1, including: 1) Germany was initially supportive of Austria-Hungary against Serbia but was soon fighting on two fronts against Russia and France as well. 2) Interpretations of why Germany went to war ranged from defensive to aggressive motives around domestic politics and imperial ambitions. 3) The Schlieffen Plan to quickly defeat France failed and the war devolved into trench warfare by late 1914 across hundreds of miles. 4) Hindenburg achieved victories against Russia in 1914-15 but the home front struggled with shortages, inflation, and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths by 1918.

1. HI136 The History of Germany Lecture 6 The First World War

6. Popular enthusiasm and support for Austria (Berlin, 4 August 1914) August 1, 1914, in Berlin (1914) by Arthur Kampf

11. German troops charging into battle (above) and digging in to defensive positions (below) in the west, 1914 Failure of the Schlieffen Plan The invasion of Belgium made Germany seem like the aggressor and brought Britain into the War. The plan had not been updated to take recent Russian and French military reforms into account. Moltke weakened the thrust through Belgium by diverting troops to Alsace and Lorraine and East Prussia. The Germans faced stiffer resistance than anticipated – in particular they had not expected to have to fight the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The German advance halted at the First Battle of the Marne (4-10 Sept. 1914) and the Battle of the Aisne (15-18 Sept. 1914). September-December: The ‘race for sea’. By December 1914 the front had stagnated into a 400 mile system of trenches running from the Swiss border to the North Sea.

15. The ‘Easterners’: Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Hoffmann and Mackensen by Oskar Bruch

17. Trench Warfare Postcard: Resting in the Trenches, c. 1914 The Battlefield in the Argonne Forest (1916)

19. Trench Warfare German troops attacking, July 1916 (Top Left), posed photograph of a ‘Storm Trooper’ (Bottom Left), German soldier wearing First World War trench armour (Above)

21. Erich Maria Remarque

25. Food Shortages By the autumn of 1916 food shortages, Inflation and mounting casualties beginning to effect the public mood. 1916-17: The ‘Turnip Winter’ – exceptionally cold weather and a poor potato harvest lead to a severe food and fuel crisis. Between 1916 and 1917 deaths from hypothermia and starvation rose from 121,000 to 293,000. Infant Mortality at 50% by 1918. Above Left: The first mobile kitchen ( Gulaschkanone) in Berlin, c. 1916. Below Left: Queuing for food, 1917.

27. Propaganda

28. Propaganda “ Help us to Triumph: Buy War Bonds!” Poster by Fritz Erler (1916) Poster showing Wilhelm II and his assertion that he had never sought war (1915)

30. 1916

32. Verdun (1916) Offensive against the fortress of Verdun intended to ‘bleed the French white.’ Feb.-June 1916: 315,000 French and 281,000 Germans killed, but the French held on.

34. 1917

38. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) Source: G. Layton, From Bismarck to Hitler: Germany, 1890-1933

40. The Kaiserschlacht (‘Kaiser’s Battle’), March-July 1918 Source: P. J. Haythornthwaite, The World War One Sourcebook

42. CASUALTIES OF THE WORLD WAR 5,983,600 14,002,039 6,295,512 9,998,771 Total 3 907 ........ 300 Japan 200 12,000 5,000 4,000 Portugal 45,000 30,000 10,000 15,000 Greece 10,825 852,339 300,000 101,224 Bulgaria 4,912 148,000 43,000 107,284 United States 10,000 100,000 40,000 267,000 Belgium 116,000 ...... 200,000 339,117 Rumania 103,731 300,000 107,772 436,924 Turkey 1,359,000 462,196 500,000 507,160 Italy 100,000 28,000 322,000 707,343 Serbia 64,907 1,441,394 617,714 807,451 Great Britain 443,000 2,150,000 850,000 911,000 Austria-Hungary 453,500 2,344,000 700,000 1,427,800 France 772,522 2,183,143 1,600,000 1,611,104 Germany 2,500,000 3,950,000 1,000,000 2,762,064 Russia Prisoners or missing Otherwise wounded Seriously wounded Known dead