Transcript Chapter 13 Section 2 Europe Plunges Into War

Chapter 13 Section 2
Europe Plunges Into War
Objective: Examine military
actions on the Western &
Eastern fronts
Vocabulary: Central Powers, Allies,
Western Front, Schlieffen Plan,
Trench Warfare, & Eastern Front
Setting the Stage
• By 1914, Europe was divided into
two rival camps
• On one side was the Triple Entente
– Great Britain, France, & Russia
• On the other side was Triple
Alliance – Germany, AustriaHungary, & Italy
• As a result of alliances, nearly
all of Europe soon joined
what would be the largest,
most destructive war the
world had ever seen
The Great War Begins
• Russia expected Germany to
join Austria & they
mobilized along the German
border
• On August 1st, the German
government declared war
on Russia
• Russia rushed to France for
support
• Two days later, Germany
declared war on France &
shortly after, Great Britain
declared war on German
Nations Take Sides
• Central Powers – nations of
Germany & Austria-Hungary
• Allies – nations of Great
Britain, France, & Russia,
along with a few other
nations
• Italy switched sides to the allies
accusing their former allies for
unjustly starting a war
• In 1914, millions of soldiers
marched happily off to battle,
convinced the war would be short
A Bloody Stalemate
• Western Front – region
in Northern France
• Germany developed a battle
strategy to fight a war on two
fronts
• Schlieffen Plan –
Germany’s military plan
which German troops
would rapidly defeat
France & move east to
attack Russia
The Conflict Grinds Along
• Germany swept into France
& days away from taking
over Paris
• 600 taxicabs rushed soldiers
from Paris to the Western
Front, causing the Germans
to retreat
• The German’s Schlieffen
Plan was in ruins after
retreating Paris & Russia
already began their invasion
• The Western Front
turned into stalemate
between Germany &
France
War in the Trenches
• Trench Warfare – form of
warfare in which opposing
armies fight each other from
trenches dug in the battle field
• Life in the trenches was pure misery
with rats, no fresh food, & very little
sleep
• Space between the trenches
was known as “no man’s land”
• New tools of war included
machine guns, poison gas,
armored tanks, & larger
artillery
• Thousands died in the trenches to
only gain a few inches of land
The Battle on the Eastern Front
• Eastern Front – region
along the GermanRussian border
• Russia forces launched an
attack on both Germany &
Austria
• Germans were able to crush
the Russians while the
Russians were originally
victorious against the
Austrians
Russia Struggles
• Russia wasn’t industrialized
unlike Western Europe
• Russia’s army was short on
food, guns, ammunition,
clothes, boots, & blankets
• The army was able to rebuilt its
ranks because of the country’s
enormous population
• Even though Germany was
winning the Eastern Front
they couldn’t put its full
focus on the Western Front