Transcript The Western Front

13.2 Homework
1. Allies: France, Britain, and Russia(Italy joins
later). Central Powers: Bulgaria, Ottoman
Empire, Germany, and Austria-Hungary
2. Bloody and Brutal. Outside trenches, soldiers
faced powerful weapons: machine guns, poison
gas, and tanks
3. Weakness: undeveloped industrial economy and
troops had inadequate supplies. Strength:
Russia’s huge population provided millions of
soldiers.
World War I
Strategies and Battles of WWI
The Schlieffen Plan
• General Alfred von Schlieffen was the top officer in the
Germany army.
• He was head of the German General Staff.
• He knew Germany would have to fight both France and
Russia.
• He did not want not want to fight them at the same
time.
• He did not want Germany to be caught in a vise fighting France in the west and Russia in the east.
• In 1905, he drew up a two-punch plan: Conquer France
first, then conquer Russia.
• (If this sounds bold, this is what Hitler succeeded in
doing during World War II.)
The Western Front
• First, the General drew up a plan for Germany to
invade France.
• Germany has a border with France. The French were
expecting the Germans to come from the east.
• Instead, the German army rolled across the flat North
European Plain and attacked France from the north.
• That meant marching from Germany - through Belgium
- and into northern France.
• Since Belgium was neutral - not taking any side in the
war - there would be little resistance.
The Western Front
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The German plan of attack was aimed at Paris.
The German army would surround Paris.
Once Paris was captured, all of France would fall.
The General estimated that it would take only six
weeks to capture Paris.
• Once the Germans captured Paris, the Germany
army would send everybody quickly to the east.
• To fight Russia.
The Eastern Front
• Six weeks was crucial: It would take the
Russian army that long to mobilize fully for
war.
• Germany did not want to fight a two-front
war:
– France on the west and Russia on the east.
What Went Wrong…
• The Germans moved fast, but not fast enough.
• The Belgians did fight back and slowed the
Germans down.
• This gave the British and French time to dig in in
northern France.
• As a result, Germany faced a two-front war
• On the Western Front, Germany fought France.
• On the Eastern Front, Germany fought Russia.
Battles of WWI
• This was a dreadful war.
• Use blue for the winners (England, France, and
the U.S.) and red for the losers (Germany,
Austria).
Battles of WWI
• Everybody declared war on everybody else, but Germany
was the first to go to war.
• Germany invaded France: Draw a red line from Germany
to Belgium to northern France.
• The most famous battles took place in northern France.
• The French defended Paris. Circle Paris.
• Whenever the French and British tried to break through
German lines, they were defeated.
• Whenever the Germans tried to break through to Paris,
they were defeated.
• The result? Four years of deadlock.
Battle of the Marne
• The Marne is a river east of Paris that leads
directly to Paris, the capital of France.
• The Germans thought taking Paris would be a
piece of cake, but their advance was stopped
here.
• Underline Marne.
• Draw a red line from Chalons-sur-Marne to
Paris.
Battle of Verdun
• The Germans launched a surprise attack on
this city, which lies just 50 miles from the
German border.
• The French fought for 11 months to defend
Paris. Each side suffered 350,000 casualties.
• For defending Paris, the French General Petain
became a national hero.
• Write Verdun just west of the city of Metz.
Battle of the Somme
• The Somme is a river that flows from Lille to the
English Channel.
• The British attacked the Germans, using their
newly-invented tanks.
• Underline Somme.
• Draw a blue line from the city of Amiens to the
English Channel.
• It was a disaster: From July to November 1916,
one million soldiers died on this battlefield 415,000 British and 650,000 German troops were
killed
Battle of Vimy Ridge
• This was a hill in northern France that the
Germans held despite a series of Allied
attacks.
• In a heroic effort, 100,000 Canadian troops
took the ridge, but the French offensive to
break through the German lines was a
disaster.
• Afterward, the French troops mutinied!
• Find the city of Arras and write Vimy near it.
Battle of Ypres
• Ypres was a city in Belgium.
• The Germans controlled Belgium and
executed several thousand Belgian civilians.
• When the British attacked the Germans here,
it was a disaster.
• The battle took months and heavy rains
drowned the British soldiers.
• Find Lille. Find a point northwest of Lille and
write Ypres.
Battle of the Argonne Forest
• So far, all of this fighting took place on the Western Front.
On the Eastern Front, Germany was fighting the Russians.
• Things were bad: The high-tech German army was
smashing the Russians to smithereens.
• The Russian soldiers were deserting by the thousands. In
early 1917, the Russian Revolution began back home in St.
Petersburg. All of a sudden, the Russians pulled out of the
war.
• The Germans, who no longer had to fight on the Eastern
Front, threw all of their force against the Western Front.
• The British and French were on the defensive and it
looked like Germany was going to win the war.
• Underline Meuse and Ardennes.
Hooray for the Americans! They saved
the day!
• In June 1917 (the third year of the war), the U.S. finally
entered the war. The Americans poured into France.
• In the Argonne Forest, 900,000 Americans fought the
Germans. The last battles of the war took place here.
• The Germans could not win, so they asked for a
ceasefire.
• On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice
(ceasefire) and World War I came to an end.
• It became a national holiday: Back then, folks called it
Armistice Day. Today, on November 11th, we celebrate
Veterans’ Day.