World War 1: III

Question 1

“Total War”

Answer 1

• phrase used to signify that every effort (domestic and foreign policy) is about war
• • rationing, production, mobilizing, etc.

Question 2

Locations of War

Answer 2

• France - Plan 17
• • to go on the offensive, but very costly and deadly
• Germany - Schlieffen Plan (prepared in early 1900’s)
• • never fight a two front war
• • must attack France through neutral Belgium where it was unexpected and gain a quick victory
• • then turn attention to Russia and defeat them
• • the attack on Belgium brought England into war
• • plan is eventually a failure as Germany had more resistance on the Western Front than expected and was not fighting Russia on the East

Question 3

Major Western Front Battles

Answer 3

• Battle of Marne (September 1915)
• • French were able to stop the Germans
• • pushed Germans 50 miles away from Paris
• • Saved Paris
• – Since Paris is safe, a great morale boost
• Battle Verdun (February 1916)
• • One of the longest battles, yet it was a stalemate
• • sneak attack
• • 6 months long
• • Germans abandoned attack
• • ended in stalemate (lost 500,000 casualties on each side)
• Battle of Somme (July 1916)
• • Over 1.1 million dead (battle included British helping the French) (500,000 German, 400,000 British, 200,000 French)
• • no advancement or gain on either side

Question 4

Eastern Front - Germany vs. Russia

Answer 4

• Russia goes on the offensive and get off to a strong start
• • Forces Germany to divert troops from the Western Front
• • Russia lacked resources to continue to fight
• – Loss of men and resource - lowers morale

Question 5

Remember this…

Answer 5

• Despite Russia’s losses, it would be a lesson for them that they were behind in military might and industrialism and that would change after this war

Question 6

war socialism

Answer 6

• governments take more control over the economy during the war; to get needed war supplies

Question 7

Problems with the Schlieffen Plan

Answer 7

• the Germans met much more resistance in Belgium than they anticipated
• • this slowed the Germans down
• • this depleted German resources, troops, etc.
• the slowdown in Belgium gave British troops a chance to come over and join the French troops for support

Question 8

The Russian Disaster (August 1914)

Answer 8

• Russians invaded eastern Germany
• diverted German troops from the Western Front
• Russia ended up suffering a disastrous defeat
• 32,00 killed, 92,000 taken prisoner

Question 9

one reason Americans experienced shortages of goods during World War I was ______

Answer 9

• factories switched from producing household goods to producing items related to war

Question 10

during World War I, the term _____ was used to describe the new reality of fighting

Answer 10

• “nuclear war”

Question 11

which of the following was NOT a result of the Schlieffen plan during World War I

Answer 11

• the U.S. joined the war

Question 12

during world war I, rationing was practiced in many countries because ______

Answer 12

• resources and raw materials were needed on the battle front

Question 13

the main purpose of war socialism is _______

Answer 13

• to ensure that the government has access to all of the materials it needs to successfully wage war