World War I

1. World War I Characteristics & Technology

2. Essential Question • How did technology change the way that war was fought in World War I?

3. Alliances Central Powers Allied Powers Great Britain France Russia America (Eventually) • Germany • Austria-Hungary • Bulgaria • Ottoman Empire Advantages Central Powers Allied Powers • Geography – Controlled from North Sea to Middle East • Quicker Action – Easier communication & troop movement • Better Trained Armies – Germany had strongest army in world • More Soldiers • Greater Industrialization – Could produce weapons & ammo • Controlled the Seas – British navy moved materials around the world

4. Innovations in Warfare • Weapons were mass produced • Many new weapons were used

5. U-Boats • German Submarines • Caused extensive losses to Allied ships • Germans also used poison gas against infantry

6. Machine Guns • As powerful as multiple rifles • Made infantry attacks against heavily fortified positions costly • Protective trenches were used to combat this tactic

7. Long-Range Artillery • Killed in large numbers • Could attack from long-distances • Defensive weapons

8. Airplanes • Primarily used to observe troop movement • Slow & difficult to maneuver • Sometimes used in air battles called dogfights • Also used to drop bombs • Aces were high skilled fighter pilots • The Red Baron – Famous German fighter pilot

9. Tanks • Introduced by Britain in 1916 • Easily moved over rough terrain using treads • Enabled troops to cut through barbed wire & enemy lines

10. Soldiers • Previous wars in Europe fought by professional soldiers • WWI soldiers were mostly drafted civilians • Undrafted men & women worked at home to support the war effort • Total War – A war in which nations use all their resources to help the war

11. Propaganda • The use of selective bits of information, true or false, to get citizens to support the war • Government set up agencies to control news • Generally showed enemy as brutal while praising own soldiers

12. Early Years • Germany attacked France, & advanced to Marne River, but was stopped by French & British troops – ended German hope of quick victory • Western Front – Trenches stretched from Switzerland to English Channel & North Sea • Eastern Front – Russia attacked to divert German forces from Western Front

13. Early Years • Battle of Tannenberg – August 1914 • Russia defeated by Germany • Half of Russian forces lost • Germans attacked Poland after victory here • Fighting on Gallipoli • Russia lacked weapons to arm soldiers • Britain & France tried to capture Constantinople to create route to get supplies to Russia • Used naval bombardment & infantry but failed to capture Constantinople

14. Naval Warfare • Britain blockaded North Sea to prevent Germany from obtaining supplies • Germany blockaded Britain using U-Boats • May 1915 – U-Boats sinks Lusitania • 1,200 killed, including 128 Americans • Germany reduced blockade after U.S. condemned the attack

15. The Stalemate • By late 1915 the war came to a stalemate • Military leaders on both sides wondered if they would ever break through enemy lines • Many lives lost • Became a war of attrition – slow wearing down process where each side tries to outlast the other

16. United States in World War I • Tried to remain neutral • Were most industrialized neutral nation, & supplied both sides • British propaganda influenced Americans; they didn’t know it was exaggerated or false • America was pushed to war by 3 things

17. America Pushed to War • Germany offers to help Mexico regain Arizona, New Mexico, & Texas if they helped Germany. Message intercepted by British & given to U.S. • Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare • Russia became democracy, so America was more likely to fight for democratic ideals

18. Declaration of War • President Woodrow Wilson told Congress, “the world must by made safe for democracy.” • April 6, 1917 – Congress voted to declare war on Germany