1.3 The First World War

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Nationalism

Militarism

The murder of Frans Ferdinand

Alliances

Economic Rivalry

Modern Imperialism

What lit the powder keg?

Today:

Sarajevo

The succesor to the Austria-Hungarian throne went to visit the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. 

He was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand. The Black Hand believed that Serbia and Bosnia should join together to become one state. 

Chaos ensues

• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia because they blame them for the death of their crown prince. 
• Russia was an ally of Serbia and they started the mobilization process.
• This upset Austria-Hungary's ally, Germany and they declared war on Russia. 
• France (Russia's ally) was told by Germany to stay neutral. France didn't comply and thus Germany declared war on France. 

Would World War 1 have started if Franz-Ferdinand had lived?

What is the difference between direct and indirect causes?

What do you think is the most important cause of WW1? Explain your answer.

Von Schlieffenplan

• Germany was caught between two enemies: France and Russia.
• To prevent a two-front war, the Germans wanted to quickly defeat France so they could defeat Russia afterwards.
• The French border was heavily fortified so the only way to get to France was through Belgium. 

The Schlieffen Plan

General Alfred von Schlieffen

Problems

The Schlieffen Plan went south because of four reasons:

1. The Russian mobilization went faster than expected. They had to send a bunch of soldiers over to the eastern front.

2. The Belgians put up a much bigger fight than expected. 

3. Great Britain (France's ally) joined the fight, because Germany had attacked a neutral country. 

4. The French army was able to bring soldiers to the northern front to defend Paris. 

And now...

Schlieffenplan

Allies

Central Powers

Germany

England

France

Austria-Hungary

Ottoman Empire

Russia

Trench war

• The Schlieffen Plan fails: The German advance fails and they get stuck in northern France and Belgium.
• Trenches are dug on both sides of the front. 

Trenches

• The weapons have become so powerful that fighting on an open field would be suicide. 

• Trenches help shelter the soldiers.

• They are dug in a zig-zag shape: this prevents a grenade impact from causing (even more) victims.

Trenches (2)

• Generals believe that massive attacks from the trenches are effective. This is rarely the case: many soldiers die trying. 

• The area between the trenches was completely ploughed over: The land between two trenches became no-mans-land. 

Self study + homework

Page 36 and 37

Do exercises: 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 12. 

Zandzakken waren gevuld met aarde en modder, en waren bedoeld om de soldaten te beschermen

At the beginning of the war, rations were still reasonable, but as the war lasted, food became more and more scarce.

When the soldiers did not have to fight, they played cards, for example.

In addition to the enemy, the soldiers had a lot of problems with vermin, such as rats and fleas. Some soldiers passed the time between battles by killing rats.

Dogs not only kept the soldiers company, they also delivered messages between the different trenches.

Soldiers often could only sleep during the day, because night was a good time to spy on the enemy's trenches.

With a periscope the soldiers could view the enemy without taking major risks. A periscope works with mirrors.

Thousands of letters and diaries from soldiers from the First World War have been preserved. These are important and valuable sources.

For the safety of the soldiers, the trenches were dug in a zigzag shape.

40,000 km of trenches were dug between the North Sea and the Swiss border (Western Front).

The area between the trenches will be completely plowed over in four years. A no man's land is created.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/

Standing guard was one of the most important jobs you could be given. There were very severe penalties for falling asleep while on watch.

Besides fighting and keeping watch, there were plenty of other annoying jobs in a trench, such as refilling sandbags, repairing barbed wire or emptying the latrines (toilets).

New weapons

• During World War 1 many new weapons were invented such as mustard gas, air planes, submarines and flame throwers.

• The First World War became the war of the inventors.

Poisonous gas 

• Poisonous gasses like mustard gas had to make sure that soldiers would panic leave their trenches.
• Most gas attacks weren't as effective because of gas masks (and the turning of the wind....). However they did cause fear, temporary blindness and burns. 

Planes

• The first planes were too primitive to make a difference in the war.
• However this still led to dogfights and bombings.

Tanks

• Tanks were made in secret and were supposed to help soldiers reach the trenches of the enemy. 
• They were first used in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Approximately 1 milion soldiers died, but neither the Central Powers nor the Allies had won any ground. 

Submarines

• Submarines had already existed since the 19th century, but were massively used (by Germany in particular) during WW1. 

Effects

• Many soldiers came home disfigured or traumatized.  

• Traumatized soldiers were called shell shocked, but the government ignored these problems. 

What happened if you didn't go?

Why was WW1 a total war?

Chapter 1

1.3 the First World War

Planning

• What do you already know? (+- 10 min)
• Explanation (+- 15 min)
• Exercise (+- 15 min)

Trenches

In 1915 Germany sank the Lusitania

We're staying out of this for now

Woodrow Wilson (President of the US)

Turning point in 1917

Telegram

• In 1917 the Germans sent a secret telegram: The Zimmermann Telegram.
• In this telegram they asked Mexico to attack the U.S and they announced  an unrestricted submarine war. 
• The U.S. got their hands on this telegram.....
  

....so they declared war on Germany

Russian Revolution

1917

The Czar (emperor) of Russia, Nicolas II, was overthrown in February 1917 by the communists led by Lenin. 

Exercise

Go to paragraph 1.3 in your book and read the text ''consequences of the war''. Make your own Treaty of Versailles. Write down all the most important provisions as fancy as you can. Make it look like an actual treaty!

Extra

Plastic surgery during WWI

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