The War to End All Wars

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The War to End All WarsThe Battle Rages
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THE WESTERN FRONT
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Germanys Plan of Attack

• The Germans had a TWO FRONT warenemies in two
  geographical areas
• They couldnt deal with both at the same time, so
  they came up with the
• Schlieffen Plan

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Lets Go Through Belgium

• Most of the French fortifications were on the
  border with Germany
• The Germans decided to avoid those and go through
  Belgium to get to France
• They thought it will take us 6 weeks to defeat
  France and then we can go fight Russia

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Germans in Belgium

• The Belgian Army was no match for the Germans
• When the Belgian Army was forced to surrender,
  the citizens started shooting at German soldiers
  from their windows and doorways
• In retaliation, the Germans said they would kill
  10 civilians for every 1 German soldier
  killedand they did

The Belgian Army
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Problems with the Plan

• The Belgians fought like crazy to defend their
  homesthe Germans were slowed
• Russia mobilized its army faster than Germany
  expected and the Germans had to go fight on the
  Eastern front as well as the Western one

• 3.When the Germans finally got to Northern France
  around August 20th, there were British troops
  waiting to fight them
• 4. The French attacked another wing of the German
  army along with the British

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Schlieffen Plan fails, BUT

• The Germans still defeat the French and British
  in France
• The Allies pull back to Paris to defend the city
  with everything theyve got
• General Joffre of the French Army

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1st Battle of the Marne

• The defense of Paris is called the Battle of the
  Marne
• The French army used TAXIS to get their army to
  the battle quickly
• The Germans are pushed back and Paris is saved-
  YEAH PARIS!

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Verdun

• France v. Germany
• Germany stages a surprise attack on the French
  forces at Verdun
• General Henri Philippe Petain in charge They
  shall not pass
• France holds firm and Germans eventually withdraw
• One of the bloodiest battles of the war

• General Petain

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Why the Somme?

• England needs to attack the German lines to take
  the pressure off of the French at the battle of
  Verdun
• This was to be the major push to win the war

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The Plan

• The British thought that they could use artillery
  shells to destroy the enemy.
• A massive one week bombardment would be used to
  smash the German trenches

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New Weapon

• Tanks will be used for the first time in the
  Battle of the Somme
• 18 out of 36 tanks make it to the battlefield

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Over the top

• After a week of bombarding the Germans with
  millions of shells the British climbed out of
  their trenches to attack the Germans.
• The Germans have deep shelters that have
  protected them.
• The Germans rip them with machine gun fire
• G.B. loses 58,000 troops in one day
• Despite the loss of life, Allies push Germany
  back 7 miles

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America Gets Involved

• In 1918, allies are reinforced by the U.S.
  (turning point in war)
• led by General JohnPershing and A.E.F.- American
  Expeditionary Forces
• or doughboys

• General Pershing

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Reasons for American Entrance into the War
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Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

• Germanys interference with freedom of the Seas
• Sinking of passenger liners such as the Lusitania
  and the Sussex as well as other merchant ships

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Allied Propaganda

• Most news about the war came from Great Britain
• Exaggerated German atrocities against defenseless
  citizens (especially in Belgium)

It should be Americas duty to help us subdue
the mad dog of Europe
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Hostility toward Germany

• Invasion of Belgium
• Unrestricted sub-warfare
• Zimmerman telegram

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Economic Interests

• U.S. private banks/corporations lent money to
  both sides until
• U.S. begins to trade more more with Great
  Britain because of blockade of Germany
• Many goods bought on credit wanted to insure
  repayment

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Idealism

• The world must be made safe for democracy
• -Woodrow Wilson

• The world would be a much better place if the
  allied nations won

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Security

• If Germany were to win, they would replace
  Britain as the dominant nation in Europe

or
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The Eastern Front
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Russias War Effort

• Russia is not industrialized- as a result the
  Russian army is continually short on weapons,
  food, guns, clothes, etc.
• German blockade on Baltic Sea and Ottoman control
  of the Mediterranean kept Allies from supplying
  Russia
• The only thing Russia had going for them was
  numbers (2 million killed, wounded or captured in
  1915 alone, but still kept building ranks)

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Battle of Tannenberg

• 1914 (Russia v. Germany)
• Disastrous loss for Russia, led by General
  Samsonov who killed himself in the retreat
• 92,000 Russians captured- 30,000 killed
• Germany lost 13,000

• General Samsonov

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The Gallipoli Campaign

• 1915- Australia, New Zealand and G.B. V. Ottoman
  Empire
• Winston Churchill (head of the British Navy)
  favored an offensive on the Dardanelles Strait
  hoping to take Constantinople and put the Ottoman
  Empire out of the war (the straight was a way to
  supply Russia)
• Campaign failed as did the next battle on the
  Peninsula
• This is the last effort in the east and the
  Allies withdrew their troops

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Treaty of Brest- Litovsk

• Ended war between Russia and Germany
• Germany gains lands from Russia (Finland, Poland,
  Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania)
• Even though the treaty became invalid after the
  war, these nations still gained their
  independence

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And The Revolution Begins....