Historia Academy

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First Year of the
World War (1914-
1918)
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 The German Drive on parish Checked
at the Marne.
 the vast German Army
Advanced on France in three Divisions,
 One through Belgium
 One through Luxemburg (also a neutral
state) down into Champagne.
 And the third from Metz toward Nancy.

 The Belgians offered a determined

resistance to the advance of the
Northern division and hindered it for ten
days.
 Brussels was occupied by enemy
August 20
 The French Reinforced by English
troops hastily dispatched across the
channel, made their first stand around
Namur.
  This famous fortress,
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however, immediately
collapsed under the fire of
the German siege guns.
 And the French and English
rapidly retreated southward.
 The western division of the
German army had come
within twenty-five miles of
Paris by September 1.
 The headquarters of the
French Government were
moved to Bordeaux, and
the capital prepared for a
siege.
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 The victory of the French,
however, in the famous battle of
the Marne, under the leadership
of General Joffre, put an end to
the immediate danger of the
Germans’ occupying Paris.
 They were compelled to retreat a
little way and took up a position
on a line of hills running from
Soissons to Rheims.
 Here they were able to intrench
themselves before the French
and English could drive them
farther back.
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 Conquest and ill-treatment of Belgium.
 After the Germans had given up their first
hope of surprising Paris, they proceeded to
overrun Belgium.
 They captured Antwerp, October 10, and
conquered the whole country, except a tiny
corner southwest of Ostend.
 It was their hope to push on to Calais and
occupy this port nearest to England as a
base of attack against the British Isles.
 But they were checked at the Yser River.
 They treated the Belgians as a conquered
people, exacted huge tributes, partially
burned the city of Louvain, brutally
executed many civilians, and seized any
machinery or supplies they desired.
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 This treatment of a
peaceful little
neighbor, whose
safety from invasion
they themselves had
solemnly guaranteed,
did more to rouse the
anger of the rest of
the world than any
other act of the
German government.
  The German occupation of
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Northeastern France.
• Thus, the first three months of the war
saw the Germans in practically complete
possession of Belgium and Luxemburg,
together with a broad strip of
northeastern France.
• Filled with prosperous manufacturing
towns, farms and vineyards, and
invaluable coal and iron mines.
• The Germans were ordered to do all
they could to destroy the machinery in
the factories.
• Cut down the fruit trees, and wreck the
mines, to disable and impoverish France
in every way possible.
Permanence
z of the Battle Line in France.
The lines established after the battle of the Marne and the check on the Yser did not
change greatly in four years.
Despite the constant fighting and the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of men on
both sides.
The Germans were not able to push very much farther into France.

And the Allied forces were almost equally unsuccessful in their repeated attempts.

At terrible sacrifice of life, to force the Germans more than a few miles back.

Both sides “dug themselves in” and trench warfare went on almost incessantly, with the
aid of machine guns, shells, and huge cannon.
Airplanes flew hither and thither, observing the enemy’s positions and operations and
dropping bombs in his midst.
Poisonous gases and liquid fire, introduced by Germany, added their horrors to the
situation.
 The war on the East Front (1914-1915)
 On the Eastern front the Russians at first
advanced far more rapidly than had been
expected.
 They succeeded in invading East
Prussia, but were soon driven out by the
German general, Hindenburg, and his
army.
 They made their main attack on the
Austrians in Galicia, but were forced to
withdraw, owing to operations of the
German and Austrian army in Poland.
 During the winter of 1915, the Russians
made fierce attempts to pass the
Carpathians and invade Austria-Hungary.
 They failed, however, on account of lack
of supplies, and hundred of thousands of
lives were sacrificed in vain.
 In August 1915, Russia was forced to
surrender Warsaw and other large Polish
towns to the Germans, who pushed on
beyond Poland and occupied Courland,
Livonia, and Estonia.
• They therefore were able to take
possession of and hold for the time
being very important Russian
territories in addition to their control
of Poland.

 Turkey Joins the Central Powers,

November 1914.
• In November 1914, the Teutonic
allies were reenforced by Turkey.
• The Sultan issued a call to all
faithful Mohammedans to wage a
Holy War on the enemies of Islam.
• But, contrary to the hopes of
Germany, there was no general
rising of the Mohammedans in India
and Egypt against British rule.
• England seized the opportunity to
declare Egypt altogether
independent of Turkey.
• December 1914, and established a
new ruler, who was given the title of
Sultan of Egypt and accepted an
English protectorate over his
country.
• The English also invaded
Mesopotamia, and finally captured
the famous old city of Baghdad, in
March 1917.
• The British also forced back the
Turkish army in Palestine and
succeeded in capturing the holy city
of Jerusalem, in December 1917.
• An attempt of the English a French
in 1915 to take Constantinople
proved, however a terrible failure.
• In April of that year their forces,
greatly strengthened by contingents
from Australia and New Zealand,
who had come to the Mediterranean
by way of the Red Sea.
• Tried to force their way up the
Dardanelles.
• The Turks, well supplied with
German commanders and
equipment, defended themselves
with such success that the Allies,
despite the sacrifice of a hundred
thousand men, killed and wounded,
were unable to hold their positions
on the peninsula of Gallipoli, where
they had secured a footing.
• After some months, the English
government was obliged to
recognize that it had made a tragic
mistake, and the attempt was given
up.
 Italy joins the Allies
 In May 1915, Italy finally decided
that she could no longer remain
out the war.
 Her people believed in the
principles for which the Allies were
fighting and had no love for
Austria.
 Then, too it seemed that the
opportunity come to win.
 “Italia irredenta,” those portions of
the Italian people still unredeemed
from Austrian rule who live around
trench.
 In Istria and seaport of Trieste and
along the Dalmatian coast.
 So this added another “front” which
the Central powers had to defend.
 The Belligerents at the Opening of a nation or person engaged in war or
the Second Year of the War. conflict, as recognized by international
 The line-up at the opening of the law.
second year of the war consisted if
the Central powers___ Germany,
Austria-Hungary and
Turkey___opposed to Russia,
France, Italy, Great Britain (including
Canadians, Australians, New
Zealanders, South Africans and East
Indian Troops, all ready to shed their
blood in the cause of British Empire)
Belgium, Serbia, Japan, and the tiny
countries of Montenegro and San
Marino, twelve belligerents in all,
scattered over the whole globe.
 But the war was not destined to stop
at this point.
 Hundreds of millions of people who
were at that time still neutral later
took up arms against Germain Kultur.