Transcript The Great War - Madison County Schools

The Great War
Overview
• This was the first war that was considered Total War
– Total War – the use of ALL of society’s resources to wage
war
• This was the war that changed warfare forever
– New Technology, New Tactics, New Horrors
• This war was one of the first to use widespread
propaganda to encourage people
– Product of Nationalism
• This war saw the emerging role of women
Major Battles of Western Front
• Italian Front (1915) – Italy joins the Russsians,
British, and French against Austria-Hungary
and Germany.
– Italy attacks Austria-Hungary = no gains!!
• Battle of Verdun (1916) – Whole point of this
battle to was to “bleed the French white”
because they had to defend the city
– 400,000 French die
– Nearly the same amount of Germans perish
Major Battles of Western Front
• Battle of the Somme (1916) – British attack
Germans to pull them away from Verdun
– No one wins or gains an advantage
• Third Battle of Ypres (1917) – Another failed
British attempt to push back the Germans in
Belgium
• Three years of battles = unchanged lines
– War became a Stalemate – No nation or side could
gain an advantage over other nation or side
Technology/Innovation of Western Front
• Enfield Rifle – deadly accurate British rifle
• Machine Gun – British invented/German
perfected – changed war forever
• Trench Warfare – complete change from old style
of meeting on the field and charging, instead
troops dig in (causes stalemate)
• Heavy Artillery
Technology/Innovation of Western Front
• Barbed Wire – along with machine gun and
heavy artillery, ended horse mounted calvary
• Tanks
• Planes
• Poison Gas – used to force men out of
trenches
• Military Railroad Use – massive troop
movement for first time
Global Campaigns
• Gallipoli Campaign (1915) – Fought between
the Allies and Ottoman Empire (sided with
Germans) to reopen the Dardanelles
– Dardanelles – waterway Allies used to supply the
Russians
– Allies failed – lost nearly 200,000 troops
– T.E. Lawrence – British commander (Lawrence of
Arabia) led a group of Arabs in an overthrow of
Ottoman Turks in the Middle East
Global Campaigns
• Armenian Massacre (1915) – A group of people
within the Ottoman controlled Caucasus
Mountains were thought to be helping the
Russians fight the Turks, and Turks had them
forcibly removed killing nearly 600,000 – Turks
accused of genocide
– Genocide – deliberate destruction of a racial,
political, or cultural group
Global Campaigns
• Battles in Asia
– Japan declares war on Germany (1914)
• Captured German colonies in Pacific and China
• Battles in Africa
– French and British forces fought against German
colonies in Africa
United States Enters War
• Where have you been USA?
– Declared themselves a neutral country – war was seen
as Europe’s problem
– President Woodrow Wilson saw himself as the
defender and preserver of peace in the United States
• When did we join war?
– April 1917
United States Enters War
• Why did we get involved?
– German use of U-Boats (submarines) to blow
British cargo ships and passenger ships coming or
leaving from the U.S.
• Lusitania – sunk and killed 1200 people including
Americans
– Zimmermann Note – secret message sent to
Mexico by Germans wanting Mexicans to sneak
attack US and promising to give them Texas,
Arizona, and New Mexico
Impact of American Involvement
• Forced Germany to risk everything
– Tried to take Paris – lost 800,000 troops
• Fresh troops for Allies
– U.S. had thousands of troops who had not been worn
down by fighting
– Brought new energy and hope to Allies
Impact of American Involvement
• Brand new resources and equipment and
supplies
– German supplies were gone – Allies got a whole
new supply of food and weapons
• American innovation and industry brought
new ideas and vast amounts of new
technology
– German industry was exhausted but American
industry was now finally at Total War Production
War Ends
• Armistice signed – November 11, 1918
– Germany surrendered following Allied breaking of
the well defended Hindenburg Line
– Armistice – a truce declaring that aggressions will
end and guns will be laid down (Cease-fire)
Propaganda of War
• Propaganda – information designed to influence
people’s opinions in order to encourage support
for the war effort.
• How was this done?
–
–
–
–
–
–
Posters
Fliers
Movie Reels
Newspapers
State sponsored media – radio
Schools taught nationalism and propaganda
Propaganda of War
• Impact:
– People joined army in record numbers
– Created national excitement for war – lengthened
war
– Made surrender or retreat a non-option
– Brought younger and younger kids into war
• Germans had 12-13 year olds in Army
Role of Women
• Women had a key role in this war because of
Total War idea
– Factory workers
– Shipped food and resources
– Served as nurses for the wounded
• Some were battlefield nurses
Role of Women
• Impact of Involvement:
– Transformed public opinion of women’s role
• Seen as workers
• Became more than housewives
– Gained them the right to vote
• 19th Amendment in U.S. – May 1919
Question Set 1 of 2
1. What is Total War?
2. Propaganda was inspired by what key idea from history?
3. What were the major Western Front battles? Did these
battles create major gains for either side? Explain your
answer.
4. What was the Gallipoli Campaign? Why did the Allies take it
on?
5. What is genocide? What major global campaign was
characterized as a genocide?
6. Explain to me why this is a “World” War. What are some
examples that show this to be a World Conflict?
Question Set 2 of 2
7. What was the American view of the war prior to 1917?
8. What caused the U.S. involvement in the war?
9. What impact did the U.S. becoming involved have on the
War?
10. When did the war end? What is an armistice?
11. How was government propaganda distributed? What impact
did it have on people?
12. What role did women play in the war?
13. What impact did women involvement in the war have on
them socially?