World War 1 Flashcards
(23 cards)
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
