20c - A Global Conflict (Lesson)

A Global Conflict

War of Attrition

By 1915, each side on the Western Front had built a network of tunnels, shelters, and trenches.

Photograph of a WWI trenchTrench Warfare:

  • Trenches stretched more than 600 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss border.
  • In between the trenches was an area known as no man's land.

 WWI was an industrialized war:

  • New weapons on land
    • Automatic machine gun
    • 1915 Poison gas used by the Germans
      • Mustard and chlorine gas
      • An unpredictable weapon as the wind could change the flow of gas
      • Gas masks were invented to counter the unpredictability
      • British began to use gas
    • 1916 Tanks invented by the British
      • First tanks were crude and often got stuck in the mud
      • Were used in the Eastern front as it was a more mobile war
  • New inventions in the air
    • Airplanes used for the first time
      • Mainly for scouting, photographers would be sent up to acquire information
      • Later both sides used to drop bombs, often by literally dropping them over the side of the plane, early pilots would also throw bricks at one another
      • Germans devised a way to mount a machine gun to the plane that would allow it to fire through the propeller which ushered in the "Age of the Dogfight"
  • New inventions on the sea
    • Great Britain used her navy to blockade the North Sea, hoping to keep supplies from getting to the Germans
    • Germans fought back with submarines or U-Boats (Unter den see or "Under the Sea")
    • U-boats attacked British ships carrying supplies to Britain

 

Total War

WWI was fought as a total war meaning all countries put total assets into war.

This was the first real war not fought by professional soldiers. The vast majority of soldiers were men between the ages of 20 and 40 who were in military service for the duration of the war. With the men fighting, women took over their responsibilities in the factories in order to keep the giant war machine going. Prior to the war, many believed women to be incapable of handling certain jobs - the time spent in the factories proved otherwise and also led to women being granted the right to vote after the war. At the onset of the war, labor unions pledged not to strike so that vital needs could be met without interference. As the war continued with no end in sight, strikes did begin to occur, but the spirit of unity for the first two years was unprecedented in Europe.

During the war, the government took more control over the economy, determining what to produce and how much. Rationing was instituted in order to limit goods needed for the war effort. Germany created the War Raw Materials Board headed up by Walter Rathenau which cataloged and limited every possible substance that could be used.

The governments also controlled the news, issuing propaganda to keep citizens supportive of the war effort. Posters and movies told of evil enemies, designed to arouse hatred and invoke patriotism. Newspaper accounts spoke of how wonderful life at the front was with the soldiers experiencing "fresh air and exercise." But as the years dragged on and the death toll mounted, the horrors of war became inescapable.

 

The Eastern Front

  • Was more of a war of movement than the west
  • Russians and the Serbs fought the Germans, Austrians, and Turks
  • At the beginning of the war, the Russians penetrated the German and Austrian borders
  • In August of 1914, the Germans pushed the Russians back at the Battle of Tannenberg
  • Russia is short of food, guns, boots, and blankets; its only asset was the unlimited amount of soldiers
  • Despite its lack of supplies, the Russians tied up 100,000's of Germans for more than three years, keeping them away from the Western front
  • Revolution in Russia eventually resulted in Russia withdrawing from the war, signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1917

 

War with the Ottoman Turks

In October of 1914, the Ottoman Turks entered the war - opening a third front. The British and French attempted to take over the straits linking the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, hoping to open a supply link to Russia. What followed was the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign where, after a year of unsuccessfully trying to take control, the British are forced to give up. They then turned their attention to the Middle East hoping to rally the Middle Eastern Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman Turks controlling them. Lawrence of Arabia traveled throughout the Middle East, offering self-determination to the states if the revolt was successful. It works as Baghdad and Damascus come under Allied control. The campaign results in tensions within the Middle East for years afterward as the British do not uphold their end of the bargain at the end of the war.

 

War in Asia and Africa

  • Japan declared war on Germany and took over German possessions in China and many Pacific island colonies.
  • British and French took German African possessions.

 

Colonies

Each of the imperial nations called upon their colonies to provide troops and supplies for the duration of the war. Download and read a USA Today article that discusses this a bit more in-depth. Links to an external site.

Also download and read this New York Times article. Links to an external site. It discusses a movie based on the real life story of the Tirailleurs, African colonists who were conscripted to fight in WWI and WWII, along with the struggles many have faced in getting those efforts recognized.

 

 

 

Question Mark Icon

In your notes, respond to the following.

With the exception of one Zulu defeat of the British in 1879 and then the Italian invasion of Ethiopia that commenced in 1935, European militaries, because of their overwhelming technological superiority, as a rule, did not lose battles in the expeditionary warfare of imperialism. How did World War I’s evolution into the first truly global total war affect Europe’s relations with its colonies and thus set the stage for future developments? Consider the contribution of colonial troops to the fighting in Europe, the course of warfare outside of Europe, the role the Japanese played in Asia, and the rise of appeals to national self-determination within Europe.

 

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