History 102: The Great War, 1914-1918:
Front, Home, and Total War

·       Schlieffen Plan, August 1914

·       Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?

o      Belgium

§       Liege

§       Namur

o      British Expeditionary Force (BEF)

o      Advanced too quickly for soldiers and supply lines

o      Eastern Front drew troops

·       First Battle of the Marne, 6-12 September 1914

·       French General Joffre

·       German General von Moltke

·       “Race to the sea”

 

·       Trench Warfare

o      machine   guns

o      rapid-firing artillery

o      Foxholes

o      Trenches

o      Muck

o      Rats

o      Poison gas

o      The Offensive

o      ‘softening up’

o      ‘over   the top’

·       Battle of Verdun, February-July 1916

o      German General Erich von Falkenhayn

o      Bleed France white

o      French General Henri Pétain

o      337,000 German soldiers lost

o      377,000 French soldiers lost

o      French “won”

 

·       First Battle of the Somme, July 1–November 13, 1916

o      60,000 casualties on the first day

o      Battle of the Somme

o      420,000 British casualties

o      200,000 French casualties

o      About 500,000 German casualties

o      British and French gained 12 kilometers

 

Total War

·       Lack   of clear and achievable war aims

·       No sacrifice too great (as opposed to limited war)

·       Home   Front

·       Whole societies mobilized for war

·       Armaments and uniform production

·       Women involved more in factory production, took over men’s jobs

·       Recruited men

·       Also joined armies

·       Germany

o      Walter Rathenau

o      War Raw Materials Board

·       Russia

o      Military-Industrial Committee

·       Created great divisions

o      Home Front versus Front lines

o      Men versus women

o      Rank and File versus Command