World War 1 Flashcards
What were the key features of the Schlieffen Plan?
Push through Belgium and The Netherlands towards the French Channel, swing around to the west of Paris and capture Paris
- Bold and decisive initial move against France in the West
- Violation of Dutch and Belgian neutrality
- Capture Paris
- France would not be able to mobilise cause Germany would be so quick
What Modifications did Moltke make to the Schlieffen Plan?
- Abandoned invasion through Netherlands
- Reduced/weakened Hammerswing = Paris not captured, Delays enabled French to mobilise, thrust through Belgium weakened
- Restricted troops to a smaller area = bottleneck & chronic supply problem
- Belgian resistance proved far stouter than anticipated
What did the Battle of the Marne involve?
- 6-12 September 1914
- fought deep into North Eastern France
- Joffre launched a counter-offensive strike=large gap in Germany’s line
- Britain dispatched troops
- Moltke ordered a retreat, Britain & France pursued and they all dug in
- Ended hopes of Germany’s rapid war
- French threw back the German offensive and recaptured lost ground
What did the Race to the Sea involve?
- September-November 1914
- Race to be the first to the channel to capture the ports
- Last mobile phase
- Going north then attempting to cut them off
- Britain and France from the East, Germany from the West
What did life in the trenches involve?
- Barbed wire, No-man’s land, ammunition shelf, dug out, firestep, duckboard
- Mud, Rain & Cold: Frostbite, clay
- Lice & Rats: Constant irritation, trench rats
- Sickness & Disease: Trenchfoot, no antibiotics, infections, meningitis
- Psychological: Shellshock caused by stresses of nature of war stayed even after war
- Bland food & chlorinated water: tea, biscuits, bully beef
- Massive firepower, cratered land, utter fear & terror contrasted by boredom & no action
What Strategies and Tactics were used in attempt to break the stalemate?
- War of attrition-weaken the enemy
- Germany’s Unrestricted submarine campaign: sunk B merchant ship, brought US into the war
- Weapons: Tank, Aeroplane, Gas e.g mustard gas-blisters,irritant
- Popal Peace Note 1917
- Britain imposed a tight naval blockade on Germany
What did the Battle of Verdun involve?
- February-December 1916
- Germany launched an attack on Verdun-symbol of French honour
- captured Fort Douamont enabling men & supplies to reach
- French counter-attacked in April
- Joffre refused partial withdrawal & French re-captured Fort Douamont & battle ended 18 December
- huge casualties
- Primary reason for the Battle of the Somme
- land recaptured was a wasteland, front didn’t move
What did the Battle of the Somme involve?
- July-November 1916
- Offensive to drive through the German lines to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun & cut the Germans off
- Munitions factories were at max capacity & conscription meant a strong army
- Britain attacked, French delayed & then took Germany by surprise
- Broke off in November with no breakthrough
- Enormous casualties
- French very involved in war now and pressure was relieved at Verdun
- Germany’s army was weakened, withdrew to a smaller, easier to defend line
What was involved in the Battle of Passchendaele?
- attempt to relieve the French, break the German line & capture ports
- Land turned to swamp-rain & Allied artillery bombardment
- ANZACs captured Polygon Wood & Passchendaele fell to the British Nov
- =relieved pressure, huge casualties, <8km gains for Britain
- Ports not captured, battlefield turned to muddy wastes
- Germany’s army suffered but had a back up army
How did attitudes of Allied and German soldiers change to the war over time?
- Initial reaction: enthusiasm, excitement, patriotic fervour
- No one knew the nature of modern warfare
- After the Somme + huge casualties, reality set in
- War-weariness
- Recruitment levels decreased
- Mutinies
- Armistice met with relief & resignation
What impact did total war have on Home Fronts?
*Mobilisation of all civilians/entire resources of the state for the war effort*
- Governments took greater control
- Britain: DORA, economic reorganisation, Ministry of Munitions, Land Army, taxes, rationing
- Germany: Patriotic Auxiliary Service Law, Naval blockade took 80% of export market, huge national debt, economic reorganisation, War Raw Materials Department, Rationing, Bad Harvests
How did a variety of attitudes to the war change over time in Britain and Germany?
- Britain: enthusiasm, crowds cheered; Battle of the Somme changed; war-weariness, increased suffering
- Germany: Political Unity then hardship, starvation, disillusion, strikes, peace demonstrations, naval blockade=bitterness towards the government, revolution threatened government, attempts to form peace were largely ignored by governments
How did the Home Fronts utilise Recruitment, Conscription, Censorship and Propaganda?
- Recruitment: posters, meetings, recruiting agents, newspapers
- Conscription: Germany had conscription then broadened it; Britain introduced in May 1916
- Censorship: minimised bad knews, Britain: DORA censored mail, soldiers forbidden to keep diaries, fed sanitised version of the war; Germany: told lies about Britain, emphasised victories
- Propaganda: encouraged recruitment, boost morale, encourage investment, promote hatred of the enemy-illustrated by people who had never been near the battlefield
What impact did the war have on women’s lives and experiences in Britain?
- approx 7 million by November 1918
- most major increase in the munition’s industry-dangerous, long
- in armed services freed up men for the front
- Trade Unions: scared that if unskilled women entered factories, the status of skilled workers would be permanently damaged
- Right to vote in 1918, greater self-respect, position in society improved
- freed from confines of domesticity
- Make up, smoking, short skirts
What was the impact of the US entry into the war?
- opposed entry to war but entered in April 1917 due to the Zimmerman telegraph, German U-boat campaign & Britain controlled the trans-atlantic cable
- fresh troops
- limitless industrial & economic resources
- German morale and discipline fell
What was the impact of the Russian withdrawal from the war?
- morale low by 1917, equipment was poor, desertions high, food shortages, revolt in cities=abdication of the Tsar
- Bolsheviks removed Russia from the war
- Treaty of Breast-Litovsk-lost territories, agricultural & industrial land, 1/3 of its population
- German forces could be moved to the west allowing Ludendorff’s spring offensive
What was the impact of Ludendorff’s Spring Offensive?
- Aimed to breakthrough & force a French surrender before the US arrived
- end of March 1918
- major ops involving 1 million troops, avoiding strong points & moving rapidly=closer to Paris, captured territory
- Exhausted reserves, no men left & armies were tired
What was the Allied Response?
- July 1918
- Fresh US troops, tanks, air support, creeping barrage =success of capturing a village
- Germans were pushed back & demoralised
- Coordinated attacks took them to the Hindeburg Line
- German advance collapsed & forced to retreat
- Hindenburg Line was broken in October
What events led to the Armistice in 1918?
January - 14 points proposed
March - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk & Ludendorff’s Spring Offensive
August - German Retreat
September - Hindenburg Line fell
October - Ludendorff resigned
November - Strikes, mutinies & growing threat of revolt in Germany; War ended & armistice signed 11 November
What were the reasons for the Allied Victory & German Collapse?
- Naval Blockade of Germany
- War on two Fronts
- Morale and condition of German Troops
- Tactics & Strategy
What were the Fourteen points and What was the Paris Peace Conference?
- Wilson’s idea of a joint statement of liberal war aims late 1917
- rejected by all nations as they were too vague
- 8 January 1919
- Post war problems: Communist regime, national boundaries, collapse of empires, mass destruction
- Defeated powers not represented
- Clashes of policy, personalities & vision
What were the roles and differing goals of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson in creating the Treaty of Versailles?
- George Clemenceau: fierce, sought revenge, lost money, land & men, secure France from future attack
- David Lloyd George: practical, largely influenced by public opinion, B’s economy was destroyed, election promise, reparations
- Woodrow Wilson: internationalist vision, not under direct threat but had enormous influence for “winning”the war, believed Germany should pay according to their capacity
Clashes: C & LG irritated by Wilson’s air of moral superiority, alliances changed on reparations and territories
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
- a compromise
- restrictions placed on Germany’s military strength
- Germany suffered territorial losses
- forced to pay reparations
- forced to sign the war guilt clause taking full responsibility for starting the war
