WWI-The Great War

1914-1918

Total War

German Propaganda Poster/WWI •Post 1800’s new nations emerge, the rise of nationalism •Germany and Italy become new nations •Germany united under Prussian Count Von Bismarck •Demand for land and colonies grows after Industrial Revolution •Competition between nations for “world power” •Colonialism led to military build up….

•ALLIANCES were born…..

Germany, Austria Hungary, and Italy =

Triple Alliance

France, Russia, Britain =

Triple Entente

Australian Propaganda Poster/WWI

Europe in 1914

Australian Propaganda poster/WWI •Eastern Europe/”Powder Keg” •Sarajevo, Bosnia 1914 •Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand •Heir to the Austria Hungarian Throne •Serbians accused of plot •Russians allied with Serbs •Germans back up Aust-Hung.

•Declare war on Russia, August 1, 1914

World War I Erupts 1914-1918

 > 20 nations involved  Four years  Central Powers: Germany, Ottoman Turks, Austria-Hungary  Allied Powers: Britain, France, Russia  Eastern and Western Front  Millions of lives lost over gain of yards, feet, inches

Military Casualties in World War

: @ 9 million

Belgium 45,550, British Empire 942,135, France 1,368,000, Greece 23,098, Italy 680,000, Japan 1,344, Montenegro 3,000, Portugal 8,145, Romania 300,000, Russia 1,700,000, Serbia 45,000, United States 116,516, Austria-Hungary 1,200,000, Bulgaria 87,495, Germany 1,935,000, Ottoman Empire 725,000

•New Technology/Tactics/Terms •Trench warfare/No Man’s Land •Mines/barbed wire •Aircraft •Submarines •Machine guns •Genocide •Poison Gas •Armored Tanks

French soldiers going over the top

Periscope Rifle

•New Technologies: Machine guns Required a gun crew of 4-6 men to operate

American soldiers in the trenches with gas masks.

Poison Gas arrives on the scene….

Weapons of War

Genocide

: Armenians massacred by Turks

Soldiers recovering from gas attack

Treating Mustard Gas victim

Life in the Trenches:

•“Stand to”-hour before dawn/enemy raids •Morning Hate-barrage of artillery •Breakfast “Unofficial Truce” •Chores: refill sandbags, repair floor boards, drain trenches, clean weapons •Dusk: most activity under cover of darkness •Penalty for falling asleep on duty: death by firing squad •Patrolling “No Man’s Land”: hand to hand combat if enemy encountered

RATS

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Millions infested trenches

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Gorged themselves

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Size of cats

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Spread infection

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Food contamination LICE

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Trench Fever TRENCH FOOT

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Fungus-cold, damp, unsanitary conditions

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Gangrene/Amputations

•Death a constant companion.

•Bombardment by snipers and shellfire.

•Estimated one-third of deaths were in the trenches •Stalemate on the Western Front from 1914-1918… …and the smells…rotting carcasses (Battle of Somme: 200,000 dead), shallow graves, overflowing latrines, no bathing for weeks, creosol/chloride of lime, cordite (poison gas), rotting sandbags, cigarette smoke, cooking……

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Soldier with “shell shock”

By the end of World War One the British Army had dealt with 80,000 cases of shell shock.

...everyone had a 'breaking point': weak or strong, courageous or cowardly war frightened everyone witless...'

•Russia withdrew with massive losses on Eastern Front •Influenza virus worldwide helped bring WWI to an end •November 1918 •Treaty of Versailles-harsh punishment, heavy reparations on Germans demoralized •Everyone thought this would never happen again on such a scale….

To explore: What connections can you make between WWI and the world in 2012?

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How high a price is victory?

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The question stays with us today.

Russian Soldier/WWI

Europe Re-aligned 1919