WW1 & Germany

Egert PärnaForm 11

Kanepi Gymnasium

Great War• The world’s first global conflict, the “Great War”

pitted the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against the Allied forces of Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan.

• The introduction of modern technology to warfare resulted in unprecedented carnage and destruction, with more than 9 million soldiers killed by the end of the war in November 1918.

Introduction• The Great War, World War One, consisted of two

stages: conventional warfare that lasted from 1914 to 1916, and a war of desperate expedients, when both sides struggled for their own existences, lasting until the end.

• Though Germany turned out to be the Central Power most involved in the war, there is little or no evidence that the Germans had planned for war.

• There are several fundamental causes that had brought the world to the brink of war: nationalism, imperialist competition, militarism, and the build up of pre-war alliances.

June 22nd - Conflict Begins

• The chain of events that led up to the war began on June 22nd 1914, when a Serbian student named Gavrilo Princip, who was part of the militant group called the "Black Hand", assassinated Austrian archduke Frances Ferdinand and his wife.

• Austria declared that they would go to war against Yugoslavia, but they were hesitant to do so because Yugoslavia held a defensive treaty with Russia.

June 22nd - Conflict Begins

• Germany had made a defensive treaty with Austria, so they promised that if Austria went ahead and made a move against Yugoslavia, Germany would defend them from Russia.

• Germany then told Austria to begin the war, and if it evolved into a larger conflict, Germany would support them.

The Schlieffen Plan• Germany had been developing plans for invasions

into every European country since the time of Bismarck. One of these plans was called the Schlieffen Plan. The plan basically called for quick, encircling movements that would surround and destroy the enemy.

• It was Germany's hope to end this war quickly by attacking France immediately and overrunning it before Russia had a chance to mobilize.

• The plan involved attacking Belgium and then proceeding south into France.

August 3rd, 1914 - World War One Begins• The war began on August 3rd when Germany declared

war on France, saying that they had infringed upon Germany's territory.

• The German army that took the field August 1914 has been described as the most brilliant the world had ever seen.

• The day after the declaration of war against France, Germany moved soldiers into Belgium, and the Belgians resisted. Three days later the Germans captured the stronghold of Liege, and Belgium fell.

• As the opening invasion into Belgium began, England sent an ultimatum to Germany saying that they had to withdraw from Belgium or England would enter the war.

1915 - Germany Slows Down

• The situation at the beginning of 1915 was definitely not in Germany's favour. The western front showed 90 German divisions against 108.5 Allied. On the eastern front, there were 78.5 German divisions against 93.5 Russian.

• Falkenhayn decided to leave only enough soldiers to hold the west and to bring the rest over to the east, to fight the Russians. These soldiers took part in the second battle at Masurian Lakes where the Russian army was again completely destroyed.

• Soon after the Battle of Verdun, the Allies launched their own offensive with 52 divisions at Somme. After two months of fighting, Germany's line had only backed up six miles.

The German Navy – The United States

• The German navy was not very active during World War One.

• In fact, the only major battle, the Battle of Jutland, was fought on May 31, 1916.

• Germany was the victor but was still behind in terms of naval superiority.

The German Navy – The United States

• The Germans initially did not try to get out any further than the Baltic Sea due to an U.S. ultimatum, but in 1917 they began to advance and sink various American ships carrying munitions and reinforcements, thereby drawing the U.S. into the war.

1918 - Germany Makes a Treaty With

The Bolsheviks• By 1917 and 1918 the German people had begun to

lose faith in the war. The government was torn between what the people wanted, a "status quo" peace, and what Hindenburg wanted, a "fruits of victory" peace.

• On November 7-8, 1917, a German encouraged revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, began in Russia.

• Peace talks again resumed with Russia and by 1918 Germany had concluded a peace treaty with the Ukraine.

• On August 27, 1918, the German government decided that they had enough land, and they signed another peace treaty with Russia.

The German Army Is Defeated

• The Germans began their new offensive on July 15th with 51 divisions, this time against the combined forces of the British, the French, and the Americans. The German army was met with strong resistance and many losses.

• Three days later, the French began a counter-offensive lead by 600 tanks. The move by the French took the Germans by surprise and the Allies began to slowly push the Germans out of Marne. The German army suffered 30,000 casualties and lost 800 artillery pieces. The Allies pressed their advantage, and on August 8, 1918, they began a huge offensive that completely broke the German's strength.

• The Germans not only lost their momentum but also began to lose more and more ground.

Conclusion• Germany was a country that had just unified forty

years earlier, after decisively beating almost every European country.

• The downfall of the German people was that they had a leader who was trying to repeat the conquests of the past while lacking the skills to do so.

References• http://

histrodamus.ee/index.php?event=Show_main_layers&layer_id=54&lang=ing

• http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/germanyduringww1.htm#Introduction