WORLD WAR 1

INTRODUCTION
THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-1918
-In 1914, the most powerful countries in Europe
went to war with each other.
-World War One lasted for four years, from
1914 -1918, and resulted in the deaths of
millions of people.
-Some of the causes of the war dated back to
the 1800s and long-term tensions.
European Map Showing Locations of
Powers During World War One.
 CAUSES OF WORLD WAR 1
1.EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM/ECONOMIC RIVARLY
-In 1900, the UK had the largest empire in the world, ruling over 400 million
people spread across the UK, Africa and Asia. While people around the world
had different experiences of the empire, it brought the UK huge amounts of
wealth and power. France also had a large empire, making them a powerful
European rival for the UK.
-Germany was a relatively new country, formed in 1871. They had ambitions to
grow an empire to compete with France and the UK. Kaiser Wilhelm II made a
famous speech in Hamburg in 1901, saying he wanted Germany to have ‘a place
in the sun.’
-Germany’s ambition concerned the UK and France, as they started to see them
as a potential threat. Germany interfered in French attempts
to colonize Morocco in 1911, sending a gunboat called The Panther to Agadir,
on the Moroccan coast. Germany was eventually forced to back down, but they
had shown their intent to challenge the UK and France
 Fact file Concerning the rivalry between
Germany and France
-During the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-1871 Germany had
attacked France and took their victory as a result Germany
took Alsace and Lorraine provinces belonging to France.
-Demanding their return had been a prominent feature in
French politics ever since.
-Every school child had been taught about their loss.
-A promise was given that anyone who was to succeed in
regaining them would be a national hero.
-It is impossible to overestimated the importance of Alsace
and Lorraine to French politics from the end of the Franco-
Prussian war to end of the WW1
 2.Formation of alliances
• In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy entered into an agreement known as the Triple
Alliance. Germany had been at war with France in 1871(Franco-Prussian war . Germany fought
France over Alsace and Lorraine provinces and Germany won and took them) and feared
further conflict. The Triple Alliance meant the three countries promised to defend each other if
one of them was attacked.
• The Triple Alliance created suspicion in other European countries. In 1894, France and Russia
signed an agreement to support each other, forming the Franco-Russian Alliance, as they
feared the strength of the Triple Alliance.
• In 1904, the UK and France signed the Entente Cordiale. This was important as they had been
rivals for centuries. The fact that the UK and France were willing to put aside their differences
shows how concerned they were about the ambition of Germany. To what extent the
DECLARATION OF WAR BY RUSSIA ON GERMANY CAUSED WORLD WAR ONE
• The Triple Entente was formed in 1907, including the UK, France and Russia. It was a friendly
agreement, and the three members did not necessarily guarantee to go to war to support each
other. This was significant when Germany made the Schlieffen Plan, as they did not believe the
UK would go to war if France was attacked. The Triple Entente was strategically in a better
position, as they encircled the countries in the Triple Alliance. This caused a problem for
Germany and led to them creating the Schlieffen Plan to try and deal with this threat.
Summary on formation of Alliances
Triple entente Allies Triple Alliance (central allies)
Britain and Empire Germany and Empire
France and Empire Austria-Hungary and Empire
Russian Empire The Ottoman Empire from Nov
1914
Serbia Bulgaria from Oct, 1915
Montenegro
Belgium
Japan
Italy
Portugal 1916
Romania 1916
Greece 1917
USA From April 1917
 The Schlieffen Plan by Von Schlieffen.
-With France to the east and Russia to the west, Germany was surrounded by countries who had
united against them in the Triple Entente. Germany created a plan to avoid fighting on their
eastern and western fronts at the same time. They planned to invade France by going through
Belgium and then circling back to fight Russia on the eastern front. This was called The Schlieffen
Plan(1905).
Modification of the plan
Schlieffen died in 1906 and the plan was changed by the new Chief of staff Von Moltke.
The two divisions were withdrawn to defend against the French.
-He also altered the invasion plan to take a more direct route through Belgium
DID MODIFICATION OF THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN RESULT TO ITS FAILURES OR THERE OTHER CAUSES
OF THE PLAN
The Schlieffen plan made several assumptions:
1. There would be minimal resistance from Belgium.
2. Russia would take six weeks to mobilise their army.
3. The UK would not get involved.
4. 10 % of Germany army was kept at the East against Russian advance.
5. The army would swing around the French Army, encircle Paris and France would collapse
 Failures of the Schlieffen plan.
1.The Belgian army resistance . Managed to slow the German advance. Giving the French time
to move their army to the border with Belgium.
Belgian army were outnumbered but it took the Germany army 13 days to capture key fortress
town of Liege.
Brussels was occupied on 20th august. The Belgian resisted by:
* Destroying bridges * Flooding the land * Putting up barricades * Blocking roads

-This slowed German invasion and exhausted it.

-This gave German supply problems and causalities.
-Belgians slowed the Germans so much that BEF arrived in time to fight the battle of morns.
2. Russia mobilized their army in ten days. Meaning Germany had to move soldiers to the
eastern front. This caught German with surprise. Two German corps were sent to go and fight
Russia.
3. The UK declared war on Germany. Honoring the Treaty of London, signed in 1839, that said
Belgium should be a neutral country. The UK was also concerned about Germany winning
control of Belgian ports, giving them a base to invade from.
-
4. British Expeditionary Force success.
-Belgian government appealed to Britons for help when German declared war and Britain sent its army the BEF
immediately.
-BEF fought Germans at mons on 23rd August.
-Despite the BEF performing well the Germans pushed forward and the British retreated south of river Marne outside
Paris
-BEF and Belgian army slowed German advance making the war plan impossible to achieve.
-Moltke believed the war almost won by end of August. His forces were no longer strong enough to encircle Paris he
swung them south-east to pursue BEF.
-At the Battle of Marne 5th -12th Sep 1914, the BEF and 150000 French soldiers counter attacked Germans prepared to
attack Paris.
-Germans were close to victory and were only defeated when 600 French reserve troops were brought to the front line
from Paris in 600 taxis.
5. The Battle of the Marne.
-On 8th September Attacked German forces and made them retreat 40 miles and German dug in to the north of River
Aisne and dug defensive trenches.
-The Battle of Marne was a strategic victory for the Allies
-They pushed back Germans and captured lost ground amid heavy losses on both sides
-The Schlieffen plan had failed.
Assignment
Discuss how the Battle of Marne resulted to introduction of trench warfare
 4.The Assassination in Sarajevo of Franz
Archduke Ferdinand.
• In 1908, Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia. This angered many
Bosnian people, who had wanted to join with Serbia, which was also a
Slavic country.
• In 1914, a group was formed called the Black Hand. The Black Hand was
a group of Serbians who wanted Austria-Hungary to leave Bosnia and
planned to assassinate the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz
Ferdinand, the nephew of Austria-Hungary’s emperor Franz Joseph.
• On 28 June, Ferdinand was visiting Sarajevo in Bosnia. The Black Hand’s
first attempt at assassination failed when their bomb exploded and
missed the car he was travelling in.
• When Ferdinand ordered his car to take him to visit the injured in
hospital, it drove back past one of the assassins, Gavrilo Princip. He
fired two bullets, killing both Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.
 The outbreak of the war
• Austria-Hungary’s emperor, Franz Joseph, was furious at the assassination
of his nephew and heir to the throne. He issued a ten-point ultimatum to
Serbia, holding them responsible for the murder. Serbia only agreed to
nine of the points, so Austria-Hungary declared war.
• The German Kaiser Wilhelm promised Austria-Hungary he would support
them in whatever they decided to do, as part of their commitment in the
Triple Alliance. This has become known as the ‘blank cheque’ and could
be interpreted as encouraging Franz Joseph to declare war, as he was
certain of German support.
• Russia entered the war on Serbia’s side. Germany followed the Schlieffen
Plan which involved invading France by going through Belgium. The UK
went to war to protect Belgium, because it had promised to do so in the
1839 Treaty of London, and World War One began.
 Trench Warfare.
Why did both sides introduce trenches?
-When Germans retreated to the River Aisne they dug
defensive trenches.
-Intense fighting and worsening weather and exhausted
soldiers as they begin to dig defensive trenches
-The trenches were used to reduce the impact of the heavy
artillery machines and prevent one from direct gunshots.
-The soldiers could rest inside trenches as they prepare for an
attack.
The trenches overtime stretched 470 km from the English
Channel to Switzerland.
 The first Battle of Ypres
-19 Oct-22 Nov 1914 the BEF held a 35-long
salient(bulge) along a ridge outside Ypres town.
-The aims of the Allies were to retake Lille in
France and Brussels in Belgium.
-The German wanted to capture Dunkirk, Calais,
and Boulogne ports.
The BEF were exhausted by heavy losses on both
sides at Mons and now Ypres. This made British
rely on volunteers.
Why was there Stalemate on the Western
Front?
-Focus points
*Why did war become bogged down in the
trenches?
*What was living and fighting conditions in the
trenches?
*How important was new developments such as
tank, machine guns, aircraft and gas?
*What was the significance of the Battles of
Verdun and Somme?
 Why did the war become bogged down in
the trenches?
-What began as a war of movement now became a
war of attrition(wearing down/gradual reduction).
-Trench warfare developed, as both sides dug
trenches to shelter from enemy fire.
By 1915 it was clear that defense was easier than
attack.
The 2 front lines could be as little as 15 meters
apart, as at Hooge, near Ypres.
-Elsewhere they could be a kilometer apart.
Typical Trench in the Western Front
 Trenches and the stalemate
-Trenches were dug to shelter from enemy fire.
-When things got tough and soldiers wouldn’t have
the sustainability on the war grounds they retreated
back into the trenches for while hence the stalemate.
-German dug deep trenches because they had already
captured lots of enemy territory and did not need to
move forward, unlike the allies, who needed to push
back the Germans back hence the stalemate.
-To provide relative safety or even boredom.
 What was living and fighting conditions in
the trenches like?
Soldiers did not spend all their time fighting in the
trenches.
-They were organised into platoons of 60 men and
each platoon was supposed to spend 4 days in the
front line, before relieved by replacements.
-They then spent 4 days in a reserve trench and
finally 4 days resting, behind the frontline.
-In practice, some soldiers stayed in the front line
for longer than two weeks before being relieved.
 Trench Conditions
-The big dangers of living in the trenches were:
1.Rats- Thrived in the poor conditions of dead bodies ,discovered food and other
waste.
2.Lice. Lived in soldiers clothes and sucked their blood.
3.Diseases. 6000 British dysentery cases and over and 15000 kidney infection on
the western front in 1917 were registered.
4.The weather. After heavy rains the trenches flooded.
-Wet weather brought the trench foot, that caused gangarene.
-Frostbite affected thousands during winter.
-In summer heat made the smell caused by decaying bodies, horse manure and
soldiers latrines unbearable.
5.The shell shock. This term was later used for people who suffered mental
breakdown.
6.Boredom. During the long wait between major battles, trench life was tedious.
How important were new developments such as tanks,
machine guns, aircraft, and gas?

1.Tanks.
Caused panic in the German trenches. They were capable
destroying both invisible and visible human targets.
They were designed to break through barbed wire, destroy
enemy machine-gun posts and clear the way for the
following infantry.
Problems associated to the tanks
*slow *Unreliable *Frequently got stuck *dangerous for their own crews
Battles fought with tanks
-Battle of Flers in Sep 1916. Out of 59 tanks in France only 49 were serviceable.
-Battle of Amiens in 1918. 430 tanks supported by soldiers and aircraft broke
through German front line. Only six tanks remained in service after heavy losses.
Breakthrough were achieved. Tanks were crucial to the allied victories in 1918,
and the German commander , Ludendorff considered the tank to be the German
2.Aircraft
-Biplanes and Triplanes were used to observe enemy troops, Without radios however, messages could
not be passed on immediately.
-When enemy planes began to observe the front line, fighters aircraft were sent to up to scare them
away.
-Early in the war pilots fired pistols each other in mid air, in 1915 machine guns were mounted on the
upper wings of biplanes.
-In October 1915 Germans developed a reliable synchronised machine gun that enabled the pilot point
his plane at enemy and fire a machine gun through a propeller.
-By July 1916 improved British planes like Sopwiths and SE5 enabled the Royal Flying Corps to take
control.
Conducted air raids
-1914 august Paris.
-1914 German air fields.
-1914 Dec German planes also bombed Dover.
-1915 May Germany Zappelinns also London.
Ways British limited the effects of the raids.
* Blackouts * Searchlights * Night fighter planes
 3.Machine gun
Gun was a defensive weapon of the war. Gun could fire 400-
600 rounds of ammunitions per minute and was deadly at
range of over a kilometer.
-Caused around one third of battle field causalities during the
war.
Germans were equipped with 8 machine gun per battalion
and British 2 per battalion.
-Early models were heavy and large and required a team of 3-
6 gunners to operate.
 Gases
-Poisonous gas was first used at Ypres in April 1915 proofed a deadly weapon.
-Was used until the end of the war.
-Adolf Hitler was blinded by poison gas in October 1918 and spent last weeks of in
hospital for recovery.
-Gas shells, which broke open when they hit the ground , could also be used.
-Early gas masks offered little protection, but later designs proved more effective.
Types of poison gases
a. Chlorine gas- Within seconds of inhaling its vapour it destroyed the victims
repiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks. Killed 1976 and injured 164457.
b. Phosgene gas. Caused less coughing so more of it was inhaled. Had its impact
up to 48 hours of inhalation.
c. Mustard gas. Most lethal. Almost odourless. If burned on contact and caused
serious internal and external blisters several hours after exposure, killed 4086
and injured 16526 during the war.
 What was the significant of the Battle of
Verdun and the Battle of Somme?
-In 1916, Germans and the British each launched
major new offensive designed to break the
deadlock and win the war on the Western Front.
-The Germans aimed to win the war on attrition,
while British hoped for a major break through.
Both attacks were catastrophic failures that
killed our one million at morn
 Battle of Verdun, February-December 1916
-Longest battle of the war was fought at Verdun.
-Germany believed that the French were close to breaking point in early 1916, so the
German commander General Von Falkenhayn chose to attack France at the major fortress
at Verdun.
-The fortress was a symbol of French military strength and Falkenhayn calculated that
French pride would never allow them to surrender it.
-His aim was simply to force France keep reinforcing Verdun, kill as many French soldiers
as possible break the morale of the French army and ‘bleed France white’.
-He expected that France would surrender and Britain would withdraw.
-21ST Feb 1916, German guns shelled the French frontline.
-A gas attack was launched and the 140000 German soldiers with flamethrowers attacked.
-Fort Douaument was captured in the Battle despite outnumbering the French, the
Germans could not make significant break through .Both sides suffered appalling
casualties.
-25th Feb, General Petain was put in chance of defending Verdun. He ordered “they shall
not pass” and French resistance strengthened.
 contuation
-The French only route into the city. ‘THE SACRED WAY’ was widened
and constantly repaired after Germans bombardments so that the city
received 4000 tons of supplies each week and was reinforced by 20000
men per day.
-Harsh discipline was used to put down developing mutiny and 1 in 10
mutinees was shot.
-Verdun showed that as long as the defending side sustain casualties
trench warfare made attacking virtually impossible.
-It was the most the most significant use of attrition during the war, and
Verdun saw some savage fighting.
The Germans did not launch another Major offensive on the western
Front until 1918.
-
Battle of the Somme July-November 1916
-There was widespread belief in Britain that there would be major victory
on the western Front could bring a decisive breakthrough in the war.
-To support this, conscription had been introduced in January 1916 and
100000 reinforcements were arriving every month.
-The British army outnumbered almost 1.3 million men by the spring
1916.
-In 1st July 1916, a new British commander Sir Douglas Haig, launched a
massive attack on German trenches at the River of Somme.
-This was supposed to be limited offensive; 15 divisions would for 14 days
open up a gap in the German lines through which cavalry would pour.
-The German front line, cut off from their supplies would be forced to
surrender.
 The leadership and tactics of Haig at the
Somme.
Fact File about Douglas Haig
 The Big Push plan
-Consisted three parts:
1.Heavy shelling for 7 days designed to;
-destroy German defences
-inflict heavy casualties
- and clear barbed wire
- Detonate five large mines beneath the German trenches.
2. Infantry advance at 7:30 on 1st July.
Soldiers had to walk slowly and clear remaining Germans from
front line trenches.
3. A second wave of attack
- including cavalry would sweep through.
 Failure of the plan
-The attack failed, and 1st July 1916 became the worst day in British Military
history. The campaign was a serious failure for various reasons.
1. The bombardment failed to destroy German barbed wire.
-German soldiers survived the attack because they sheltered in deep,
reinforced and well supplied concrete bunkers. Once the shelling stopped the
Germans knew an attack was coming.
2. The British suffered 57,470 casualities on the first day.
-19,240 killed and almost 40000 wounded.
-Most of these casualities were suffered in the first 20 minutes of battle.
3. When Haig ended the attack in Nov, only seven miles had been gained.
4. The Somme became a battle of attrition that claimed over a million
casualities in total.
5. German forces on the Western front retreated to a strengthened defensive
position(Hindenburg Line) after the battle.
 Why was Haig Criticized for his leadership
and tactics
-Some evidences suggests that he deserves his nickname, the ‘Butcher of Somme’:
1. His planning was poor
2. Allowing the attack to continue long after it was clearly failing led to hundreds of
thousands of additional casualities.
3. Haig was inflexible, unimaginative and did not learn from his mistakes. 1917 he
ordered another major battle attack at Passchendaele, near Ypres.
-In three months of muddy fighting in rainy conditions, the British captured just four miles .
-He remained dedicated to his belief that cavalry would win the war, when he should have
understood that it was impossible.
-He failed to appreciate the potential of the tank.
4. Haig refused Lloyd George's suggestions for a unified Allied command in 1917,.
-failed cooperation with French generals in 1917 and 1918 and only reluctantly accepted
Foch as his superior in 1918.
5.The war was won on the Western Front , not through the Haig’s Big push tactics but with
surprise attacks without massive bombardments- tactics learned from the French.
 Other Evidences Shows Haig does not
deserve this reputation
1.The Battle of Somme was planned at a short notice.
Haig originally planned a major battle near Ypres in 1916, but was forced to rethink
after German attack on Verdun.
2. He was only given about half the forces that believed he needed to win at the
Somme.
3.Haig was not alone in failing to understand how war had changed.
-Most of ww1 commanders used the same tactics as Haig.
4. Haig’s tactics changed at Vimy Ridge, in April 1917.
Tunnels were dug to allow attackers to get closer to enemy lines and soldiers were
issued with maps so that attacks could continue even if officers were killed.
Haig’s tactics were costly, but they did wear down the German forces and contribute
tot their defeat 1918.
5. Haig was a caring man and his private papers now show that he felt deeply sorry
about the loss of his men.
How important were other Fronts?
Focus Points
1. Who won the war at the sea?
2. Why did the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915 fail?
3. Why did Russia leave the war 1918?
4. What was the impact of war on civilian population?
-In addition to the western Front there were other
fighting fronts around the world. Many people believed
that a breaking through on one of the other fronts had
a potential to end the war.
 Who won the war on the sea?
-Britain's navy was seen as the most important armed forces before
1914.
-It was the strongest navy in the world, and it was vital to the creation
and strength of the British Empire.
-The British government was determined to protect it.
-In the before 1914, the major powers had devoted resources to
developing large, powerful navies.
-Germany’s naval construction programme sparked an arms race with
Great Britain that significantly increased tension.
-Both sides built as many dreadnoughts as possible.
-There were view major naval engagements during the First world war.
-Neither side really won the only major battle.
What Activities of the British Royal navy on the sea that are termed to have given
her its eventual victory?

1.Britain’s ability to control the English Channel and the North sea
played a significant part in its eventual victory.
British priority was to keep open the lines of supply between Britain and
its trading partners, and between Britain and France.
2.Blockade of Germany. This was to starve Germany and make it
surrender.
-When war broke out in 1914 the Royal Navy expected that there would
be a major battle with the German High seas fleet.
-The German Navy’s dreadnought-class battleships were too valuable to
loose , so they were mainly used as a deterrent, to carry out small
attacks on the Royal Navy, to bombard English seaside towns, or to lay
mines.
-The German Navy used submarines more than surface ships.
A series of minor naval Battles in 1914-1916
a. 28 August 1914: Battle of Heligoland Bight. The British attacked
Germany,s Heligoland naval base, killing over 700 sailors and
destroying 6 ships. They lost only 35 British sailors.
b. 1 November 1914: Battle of Coronel. German cruisers under admiral
von Spee sank 2 British cruisers killing 1600 British sailors near Chile.
c. 8 December 1914: Battle of the Falkland Island. British cruisers sank
four German ships and killed 1871 sailors. Only 10 British men died.
d. 16 December 1914. The German fleet bombarded Scarborough,
Whitby and Hartlepool on the Yorkshire coast, killing 137.
e. 24 January 1915: Battle of Dogger bank. Royal Navy battle cruisers
sank a German armoured cruiser and the Germans lost 954 men.
 The Battle Jutland and its Consequences.
-The only major sea battle during the First world war was at Jutland on 31st May
1916. It involved 25O ships and 100000 men and lasted for 3 days.
-German Admiral von Scheer’s plan was to tempt British Grand fleet from its base at
Rosyth, trap them and destroy as many ships as possible.
-The aim was to reduce the British numerical advantage and end the Royal Navy’s
blockade of German ports.
-Commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Jellicoe, was aware of the plan.
-He sailed out of port earlier than Scheer expected and lay wait.
-Jellicoe’s fleet outnumbered Scheer’s, with faster and better armed ships, though
with some weaknesses in their armour.
-Fighting was intense and, realising that he was sailing into a trap, Scheer sailed
home as night fell, using his submarines for cover.
-The result was indecisive and both sides claimed victory.
An American journalist wrote at that time: The German fleet has assaulted its jailer,
but it is still in jail’.
Consequences of the Battle of Jutland
Submarines, the U-boat Campaign and the
Convoy system.
-After 1916, the Royal Navy blockaded Germany, causing
severe food and supplies shortages.
-At the same time the German fleet was attempting to
blockade Britain.
-Britain was Vulnerable to a possible Germany blockade
in 1914, since 60% of Britain’s food was imported.
-Germany was outnumbered in surface ships, so the
Germans used more submarines.
-They were effective . Just one U-boat sunk three British
warships in September 1914.
 Unrestricted submarine warfare.
-Initially, Germany avoided targeting non-military ships especially those
from neutral nations.
However, failing in its attempt to starve Britain, 1915 Germany turned to
a campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare.
-German ships now targeted both military and merchant ships around
Britain.
-The effect of the campaign on Britain was devastating.
-In early 1917 the Germans had 120 submarines at sea, and Germany
believed that losses of 600000 tons of shipping per month would be
enough to cause British collapse.
-During spring and summer 1917 Britain and her allies lost 1505
merchant sailors and 2.78m tons of shipping, forcing Britain to
introduce food rationing, but it did not lead to surrender.
 Range of strategies deployed by Britain to
counter the threat of the U-boats:
1. Q-ships
Disguised as merchant vessels, but with guns hidden under fake lifeboats and
funnels, Q ships were deployed to lure submarines to the surface where they could
be attacked.
-23 Q ships were sunk by U-boats in 1917, but Q ships only sank 6 U-boats.
2.Mines
1000s mines were laid across the North sea.
3. Convoy System.
-From summer 1916, David Lloyd George, the British Prime minister, ordered the
Navy to sail battleships in convoys with merchant ships across the Atlantic.
-Between May 1917 and November 1918 only 168 merchant ships out of 16 539
were sunk by U-boats in the Atlantic.

By October 1917 the Germans had lost more than 50 submarines and the danger
was over.
-The failed tactic had provoked international outrage
when a German U-boat sank the British passenger
liner Lusitania on 7th May 1915, as among the 1198
lives lost 128 were Americans.
-Pressure on the US government to declare war
increased when American liner, the Arabic, was sunk
in August 1915.
-Germany temporarily abandoned the policy but
Germany’s unrestricted use of submarines drew USA
into the war.
Why did the Gallipoli Campaign conducted?

-The British planned a naval attack on the Turkish capital, then called
Constantinople(now Istanbul), to force Ottoman Empire to surrender.
-The British government wanted to send military aid to Russia through the
Dardanelles straits.
-It was intended to send/force Germany ally, Turkey out of the war.
-Allies hoped to seize control of the strategic Dardanelles strait and open the way
for their Naval forces to attack Constantinople the capital of Turkey and the
ottoman Empire.
-Allies wanted to wrest control of the Dardanelles and re-establish sea
communications with Russia through the Black sea and end the Ottoman
empire’s role in the war.
-Safeguard Suez canal from attack and open up trade routes through Dardanelles.
-Also wished to open a new front through the Balkans to attack Austria-Hungary.
The Gallipoli campaign was to allow them attack from the south.
 Failures of the Gallipoli Campaign
1. Failure of the minesweepers to destroy all the Turkish guns.
-Obsolete British and French battleships, accompanied by fishing trawlers converted into minesweepers
and manned by civilians, were expected to clear the straits of mines and destroy the Turkish defences
easily.
2. Land invasion campaign was badly planned.
-British did not know how many Turkish troops were in the area.
-Used inaccurate maps
-relied on old tourist guidebooks for intelligence.
3. Used inexperienced troops.
-Troops from Australia and New Zealand(Anzacs Army Corps), 2 British divisions and a French colonial
division. They were less 78000 were used instead of 150000 as advised by the Greek military
4. It took allies long time to prepare.
-They took five weeks preparing and the ottoman forces used this time to strengthen themselves.
5. Faced by high cliffs and narrow beaches.
-Turkish soldiers well trained by Germany general had well dug in.
-Strong currents carried the boats around a mile from the drop-off point.
-This made landing of the of the Anzacs, at Cove, as Kabatepe became known, also failed.
-Over 2000 Australians became casualities.
6. Poor communications .
-Made it hard for her to change plans anyway.
Junior officers were too inexperienced and several opportunities to advance
inland before the Ottoman defenders reorganized were missed.
7. The Allies underestimated the Turkish soldiers.
-Ottoman army proved itself brave and effective.
8.Shortages of fresh water and poor foods supplies.
This caused malnutrition; and flies, rotting unburied corpses and poor
sanitation led to diseases.
9. Intense heat and torrential rains and winter snow and frostbite.
The harsh climatic conditions also affected them.
10. Withdrawal of the entire force by the new commander 1916.
-The evacuation was completed without loss of life by January 1916.
 Results of the Gallipoli campaign
1. Over one third became casualties. Allies lost
over250000 men. The Easterners planned.
2. The Ottoman Empire lost a similar number, and they
fought on.
3. The expedition’s failure also led to a number of
political consequences.
- The head of royal navy resigned in May.
- Nov 1916, Churchill resigned from government
- In Dec 1916, Asquith resigned as prime minister and
was replaced by Lloyd George.
 Why did Russia leave the war in 1918?
-World war one saw a different but vitally important series of battles in the east, between Russia,
Austria-Hungary and Germany.
Events on the Eastern Front and the defeat of Russia.
-A patriotic upsurge, and a speedy mobilisation that surprised Austria and Germany, meant that
the war started well for Russia.
-Despite the early success against the Germans in the north and the Austrians in the south, it
became clear that the:
Russian army had had some significant weaknesses.
-Russian commanders Samsonov and Rennenkampf failed to cooperate.
-Russian army was short of rifles, ammunition and boots.
-Russian soldiers were brave, but many officers had little training in modern tactics or weapons.
-Russian wireless messages were not encoded and the Germans could read them.
The Russians suffered two huge defeats at German hands before the end of 1914:
-At battle of Tannenberg (23-30 August 1914), the Russian losses were 170000 killed, wounded or
captured and the loss of 350 big guns. The Germans suffered 20000 casualties.
-At the first Battle of Masurian Lakes (7-14 September 1914), the Russians lost another 125000,
while the Germans 10000. The Russian Commander, Samsonov, shot himself.
The Russian army fared better against Austria-Hungary, but by
1915 the war was going badly.
-1 million men had been killed and the Russians had retreated
600 miles.
-There were shortages of shells and poor coordination on the
frontline.
-The government was unable to organise the war effort
effectively.
-When the army’s commander resigned, Tsar Nicholas decided
to appoint himself as commander-in-chief.
Now every military problem reflected badly on the Tsar himself.
-In 1916, General Alexei Brusilov planned a major attack designed to knock Austria out of
the war and divert German forces before the Somme offensive in July 1916.
-The offensive lasted three months, and it was initially a great success. The Russians
advanced around 30km along a 400km front, and took 400000 prisoners.
-The Austrian army never recovered , but the Russians lost over 1million men and could not
launch another offensive.
-The offensive relieved pressure on the Allies on the Western front as Germany had to rush
in troops to prop up Austria’s army.
The war had a serious impact on all aspects of life in Russia:
-Russia’s military campaign was disastrous.
By Jan 1915, 25% of the Russian army had been killed, wounded or captured.
-Caused Inflation in Russia. Prices of foods rose to 900%.
-Resulted to food shortages.13 Million soldiers were conscripted creating labour shortages
in country side hence food shortage.
-The conduct of the war reflected badly on the government and the Russian royal family, as
the Emperor was commanding the army.
In February 1917, a revolution forced Nicholas II
to abdicate and a provisional Government tried
to maintain the
 What was the importance of the Eastern
Front?
1.Resulted to the failure of the Schlieffen plan.
-Russian attack in 1914 helped defeat the
Schlieffen plan because it forced Germans to
withdraw the troops from the west before they
had defeated France.
2. It forced German to fight a war on two war
fronts.
 ‘Pals battalions’ of war on civilian
populations.
-The British government decided to allow the
hundreds of thousands of volunteers to serve
alongside friends and neighbours.
-These were known as the ‘Pals battalions’.
-Units like Manchester Pals were in first wave at the
Somme.
-This meant that if a unit suffered heavy losses, all the
young men from a town were killed at the same time,
with devastating effects on the areas they came from.
 Why did Germany ask for an armistice in
1918?
Focus points
1. What was the importance of USA’s entry into
the war?
2. Why was the offensive of 1918 unsuccessful?
3. Why did revolutions break out in Germany in
October 1918?
4. Why was the armistice signed?
 What was the importance of USA’s entry into the war?

What prompted USA to join world war?

1.USA commercial links with Britain and France.
-By 1917 USA had loaned Britain and France 850(sterling bounds).This would be a loss to USA if Germany
won.
2. USA had no wish to see Europe dominated by a single power, especially an autocratic one.
3. Germany sinking of USA ships during the unrestricted submarine warfare.
-May 1915, British passenger liner was sunk by German U-boats out 1198 lives lost 128 were Americans.
-By 1917 Germany had sunk 4 US ships.
4.Arthur Zimmerman's telegram.
-Arthur Zimmerman’s was a Germany foreign ambassador in Mexico.
-He sent a secret telegram to the Mexican government to attack USA from the south in return Germany to
reward her American territories at the end of the war.
-The British intercepted this telegram and leaked it to the USA government and this outraged USA public
opinion.
5.USA sympathized for Britain and France , as a democratic countries fighting autocratic empires.
-After abdication of the Nicholas tsar 1917 it was no longer contradictory to fight alongside Russians.

6th April 1917, Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany.

 The Offensive Spring 1918
-Entrance of US in the war eventually it forced the German High
command to launch the Ludendorff offensive.
Why was the German offensive of 1918 unsuccessful?
German Spring Offensive 1918
-At 4.40am 0n 21st March,1918 the Germans launched a massive
surprise attack.
-Germans bombarded a 60km line of British trenches with 3.5
million shells in just five hours.
-They used special trained storm troopers, armed with light
machine guns, light trench mortars, grenades, and flamethrowers.
-They employed creeping barrages and poison gas in devastating
highly coordinated surprise attacks.
 Four Major attacks During the German
Offensive Spring.
1. 21st-30th March, German attacked Somme, advancing 65km in 3 weeks, inflicting 250000
casualties, capturing 1000 big guns and destroying 200 tanks.
-They lost almost 240000 men. Haig Petain were unable to cooperate, so Marshall Foch was
appointed supreme commander of all allied forces in France.
2. 9th-3oth April, The German attack in Belgium cost the Allies over 100000 men(similar losses
on the Germans).
-Although the Allies were under pressure, they survived with the help of 300000 American
Soldiers who arrived just in time.
-The Germans, who were tiring, failed the break through.
3. 26TH-30TH May, The Germany attack advanced 18km in one day on the road to Paris, and both
suffered over 100,000 casualties.
4. 9TH-12TH June, German attacks pushed the Allies back to within 50km of Paris. The Allies lost
over 200000 men

-By August, The German casualties during the 1918 offensives had reached 1million. These men
were highly trained and their replacements were not as good. The Germans failed to split the
British and French troops, which had been their main intention.
 The Failures Ludendorff Spring/Offensive
spring 1918
1. Germans abandoned the Hindenburg line which was their
biggest advantage.
2. Operation of Michael transformed the war into a single
movement. British army had more men, tanks, and aircraft
that proved to be decisive.
3. Unpreparedness of the troops from the Eastern front to fight
in the Western Front.
-Were not given time to rest, arriving at the west they had low
morale. Alcoholism, avoiding duties and desertion became
common.
4. Difficult to defend on counter attacks as Germany army
advanced into new territories.
 Allied counter attack
-18th July the French stopped Germany advance outside Paris.
-At Amiens, Foch’s major counter began. British, French, Canadian, Anzacs launched surprise attacks by:
*creeping barrages
*tanks
*aircrafts supporting infantry attacks.
-Allies intelligence was precise and effective it devastated the Germans
-Germans lost 75000men, 50000 men taken as prisoner.
-Allies advanced 11km in one day and Germans retreated to Hindenburg line that continued to October.
-Foch launched a final assault on 29th September.
-Hindenburg line was broken for the first time, as Australian, American, British troops were supported
by tanks, attacked St Quentin Canal.
-Ludendorff’s confidence was gone: he asked the New German chancellor Prince Max of Baden, to
request an armistice.
-By the end of October the Hindenburg line had been breached in numerous places and Germany army
were in full retreat.
-By the time the armistice was signed on 11th November, all the German troops had left French territory.
 1918 Revolutions in Germany.
-Official statistics show that the blocked struck German with the following effects.
* Over 750000 Civilian deaths.
*Rationing and food shortages hit urban workers hardest.
*Working conditions worsened(hours increased).
*Wages had fallen.
*Prices had risen.
*Increase of taxation
*Increase national debts-due to borrowing
*Conscription of strikers (were sent to the front line).
Strikes
-1916, 30000 people attended peace demonstrations, socialists groups passed Peace Resolution 1917, which
called ending of fight without punitive terms.
-Taxes did not cover the costs of the war, so the German government took loans. By 1918, the national debt had
risen to 250 billion marks. In January 1918, 500000 went on strike in Berlin, demanding political change.
-In Sep 1918, Hindenburg and Ludendorff persuaded Kaiser to appoint a civilian government under Prince Max
von Baden.
-This would create the appearance of a democratic government, and it was hope d that in the armistice
negotiations the Allies would be more lenient than if they were dealing with Kaiser or the army.
-This would also deflect blame for defeat on to the new government.
Kiel Mutiny and the German Revolution
-The German revolution occurred in two stages:
1. The Political Stage
-3rd -26th October Prince Max of Baden asked president Wilson Woodrow of USA for an armistice.
-Wilson refused to negotiate with the generals of Kaiser.
-Kaiser therefore passed the October reforms, transferring power to the Reichstag, creating a parliamentary
monarchy.
2.The military stage
-28th October- 9th November, Wilhelm II and the head of the German navy ordered the German fleet to
launch a huge naval assault.
-Angry at being sent into battle against the Royal Navy when the war was clearly lost, German sailors at the
main naval bases of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven mutinied.
-Inspired by this and by 1917 Russian Revolution, workers and soldiers councils(soviets) seized major cities.
-Protests, food riots and strikes followed in Berlin and other cities.
-The Kaiser abdicated and fled to Netherlands

*On 9th November, Von Baden gave control of the government to Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the largest
party in the Reichstag.
-Ebert immediately asked for a ceasefire.
 Signing of the armistice
-Armistice between the allies and the Germans was signed at 5am on 11 Nov, 1918
and got effected at 11am Germany surrendered unconditionally.
What were terms of the armistice?
1. Germany would evacuate all occupied territories.
2. Treaties already negotiated with Russia were annulled.
3. Germany would hand over military equipment-including the entire submarine fleet.
4. Germany’s surface fleet to go to British Navy base at Scapa Flow in Scotland. (When
they arrived the Germans scuttled their ships rather than hand them over).

-Many Germans thought the terms harsh, but the government wanted peace, so the
Armistice was signed anyway.
-After such a long and destructive way, why did the German war effort collapse? Even
1919, it was so obvious : Field Marshall Haig asked a friend: ‘Why did we win?’
• Why the Big push tactic failed
• Bombardment failed destroy German barbed
wires
• British suffered huge casualties on the first
day.
• Somme battle had million casualties.
• German forces from the western front were
not ready for another battle.