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World War I

Explore the events leading up to World War I, including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Schlieffen Plan, and life in the trenches. Discover the social and psychological impacts of the war on the home front.

jenniferbell
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World War I

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  1. World War I

  2. Archduke Franz Ferdinand & His Family

  3. Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia

  4. “The Spark” • The Balkan countries, including Bosnia, wanted to form their own separate country, but Bosnia was still controlled by Austria-Hungary. • A radical group called,“the Black Hand” wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina to leave the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

  5. The Assassination: happens in Sarajevo, a city in Bosnia

  6. The Assassin: Gavrilo Princip

  7. War is About to Happen • 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria assassinated • Germany pledges military assistance if A-H goes to war against Russia • Austria issues Serbia an ultimatum

  8. The inevitability of war • July 28, 1914 A-H declares war on Serbia • Russia orders full mobilization of its troops • Germany declares war on Russia • Germany demands Belgium declare access to German troops

  9. The Schlieffen Plan

  10. “Belgium is a country, not a road!!” • King Albert I of Belgium denied permission • Germany declared war on France • Why??? • The Schlieffen Plan! • Great Britain declared war on Germany for violating Belgian neutrality

  11. German Atrocities in Belgium

  12. 1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • Many Europeans were excited about war • “Defend yourself against the aggressors” • Domestic differences were put aside

  13. 1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • War would be over in a few weeks • Ignored the length and brutality of the American Civil War (prototype to World War I)

  14. Mobilization • Home by Christmas! • No major war in 50 years! • Nationalism!

  15. 1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • Belief that Modern industrial war could not be conducted for more than a few months • “Home by Christmas”

  16. 1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • “Fatal attraction of war” • Exhilarating release from every day life • A glorious adventure • War would rid the nations of selfishness • Spark a national re-birth based on heroism

  17. The Trenches • Trenches dug from English Channel to Switzerland • 6,250 miles • 6 to 8 feet deep • Immobilized both sides for 4 years

  18. The Trenches

  19. Life in the Trenches • Elaborate systems of defense • barbed wire • Concrete machine gun nests • Mortar batteries • Troops lived in holes underground

  20. Life in the Trenches • Boredom • Soldiers read to pass the time • Sarah Bernhardt came out to the front to read poetry to the soldiers

  21. “Death is everywhere” • “We all had on us the stench of dead bodies.” Death numbed the soldier’s minds. • Shell shock • Psychological devastation

  22. Life in the Trenches • Trench warfare baffled military leaders • Attempt a breakthrough • Then return to a war of movement • Millions of young men sacrificed attempting the breakthrough

  23. The changes of war • New weapons crippled the “frozen front” • Poison gas (mustard gas) • Hand grenades • Flame throwers • Tanks • Airplanes • Machine Guns • Subs

  24. “Death is everywhere” • Mustard gas • Carried by the wind • Burned out soldier’s lungs • Deadly in the trenches where it would sit at the bottom

  25. The changes of war • Airplanes • Dog fights in the air • Bombing inaccurate • Romanticized the battlefields • Paris and London bombed • Pilots fired pistols and threw hand grenades

  26. The Eastern Front & the Western Front • .

  27. The Home Front • Women took war factory jobs • Received lower wages than males • Food shortages made running a household difficult

  28. The Home Front • Censorship • Not told about high death toll • Romanticized the battlefields “soldiers have died a beautiful death, in noble battle, we shall rediscover poetry…epic and chivalrous”

  29. The Home Front • Censorship “Newspapers described troops as itching to go over the top.” “Government reported to the press that life in the trenches promoted good health and clear air”

  30. The Home Front • “On Leave” Troops would stay together so they could sympathize with each other

  31. The Home Front • Impossible to hide death • Women in mourning • Badly wounded soldiers returned home • Opposition began to emerge

  32. The war ends • 1917 – Russia surrenders (a separate peace) • U.S. joins the war on the Allied side • Nov. 11, 1918 Armistice

  33. Death Toll of War

  34. Social Impact • Men lost limbs and were mutilated • Birthrate fell markedly • Invalids unable to work • Ethnic hostility • Influenza epidemic

  35. Psychological impact • “Never such innocence again” • Bitterness towards aristocratic officers whose lives were never in danger

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