File

Name:
Global History 10
Date:
Period:
The War to End All Wars
Background: The European powers who entered World War I each believed that the war would be short and decisive. In the late summer of
1914, millions of soldiers marched happily off to battle, convinced that the war would be short. Those who were fortunate enough to survive the
war would be traumatized forever. World War I would be the largest, most destructive war the world had ever seen. Governments waged a total
war. This meant that countries devoted all their resources to the war effort. In Britain, Austria, Russia, Germany, and France the entire force of
government was dedicated to winning the conflict. The wartime governments took control of the economy by telling factories what to produce and
how much to produce. Nearly every able bodied civilian was put to work in some capacity. Unemployment in many European countries all but
disappeared. The results of total war are reflected in the documents you will view today in class.
1. Explain what is meant by total war.
Part II Directions: Examine each document and the pictures accompanying them in your group and then answer the questions associated with
each document below.
Document 1: Trench Warfare
1. What was the purpose of digging trenches along the Western Front?
2. Why was the land in between the trenches known as “No Man’s Land”?
3. Describe the conditions within the trenches.
4. Why do you think soldiers became affected by trench foot so easily? (Use the image on the top right to assist you)
5. Do you think trench warfare is an effective military strategy? Explain your answer.
Document 2: Propaganda
1. What is the purpose of propaganda?
2. How do posters 1 and 3 reflect the concept of British nationalism?
3. Why do you think a young man may feel obligated (forced) to join the war after seeing poster 2?
4. Who is poster 4 addressing and what is the purpose?
Document 3: New Technology
1. How did the new technology developed during (or before) World War I affect the war?
2. Why did machine guns make it so difficult to advance on opposing trenches?
3. What did Germans use their U-Boats for during World War I?
4. How were airplanes mostly used at the beginning of the war?
5. How did tanks affect trench warfare by the end of the war?
Document 4: Poison Gas
1. Explain the effects poison (mustard) gas had on soldiers who were exposed?
2. What impact do you think the threat of poison gas had on soldiers during the war?
3. Using documents 3 and 4, which technological weapon do you think was the most important development used during the war? Explain your
answer.
Document 5: Casualties
1. In terms of war, what is a casualty?
2. Which Allied (Entente Power) suffered the most deaths during World War I? Identify approximately how many.
3. Which Central Power suffered the most deaths during World War I? Identify approximately how many.
4. Why do you think World War I had so many more casualties than most previous wars?
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Final Summary: Why do you think WWI was referred to as the “War to End All Wars”?
Document 1 : Trench Warfare
Within the first year of World War I, opposing armies on the Western Front (French /German border) had dug miles of parallel
(similar) trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire and attacks. Neither side could effectively advance on each other’s trenches.
The opposing armies traded huge losses of human life for small land gains. The space between the opposing trenches was known as
“no man’s land”. Soldiers who ventured out into “no man’s land” faced murderous rounds of machine-gun fire. Staying in the
trenches was not much safer. Aside from facing possible artillery (bomb) shells, soldiers also dealt with filthy conditions ripe with
(ready for) disease. In addition to sick and dead soldiers in the trenches, there was also mud, rats, lice, and the potential for trench
foot (see below) to deal with as well.
Life in the trench …
front of the trench.
Is he smiling??!!!
Barbed
wire in
Trench foot . . . yikes!
Document 2 : Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication (Such as in a poster, a radio broadcast, a video, a play etc.) aimed towards influencing the
attitude of the community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument. Propaganda was used by all
nations in World War I to gain support for their cause. It was used to encourage men to enlist in the military as well as generate
support at home. Below are four examples of British propaganda posters used during World War I.
Poster 1: British Secretary of State for War
Lord Kitchener is the man pointing
Poster 3
Poster 2
Poster 4
Document 3 : New Weapons of War (Machine Guns, Submarines, Airplanes, and Tanks)
New Technology developed by the industrialized nations of Europe played a major role in making World War I one of the most
destructive and deadly wars in history. The automatic machine gun was much improved by the time of World War I. It could wipe
out waves of attackers making it difficult to advance and it made cavalry (soldiers on horse) attacks virtually useless. The Germans
perfected underwater submarine ships (U-Boats) that could launch underwater torpedoes (missiles/bombs). Germany used these
to destroy Allied trading ships. Airplanes became a useful new technology during World War I. Since they were so new, they were
mostly used for reconnaissance (recon), or spying for information, by flying over enemy lines. As the war continued, they
were designed more for dropping bombs on the enemy and to shoot at one another in the sky with a mounted gun. Between the
beginning and the end of war, the total number of planes in use by the major combatants soared from around 850 to nearly 10,000.
Finally, tanks were armored combat vehicles that moved on chain tracks, allowing it to move across many types of terrain/land.
Tanks were introduced by the British in 1916 and would eventually make trench warfare obsolete (outdated). Soldiers could take
cover in tanks and roll directly up to, or even through in some cases, a trench.
Document 4 : New Weapons of War (Poison Gas)
Gases that caused choking, blinding, and/or severe skin and lung blisters was another technology that made World War I more deadly
than previous wars. Gas was in a container about the size of a soda can and thrown, lobbed, or dropped by planes into enemy areas.
Sulfur gas was given the name mustard gas because of its yellow/brown coloring and smell which resembled mustard plants.
Soldiers exposed to high amounts of mustard gas would often suffer for days or weeks before dying. They wore masks to protect
themselves from the gas, but this made it difficult to see who you might be fighting in a close range battle. A British nurse treating
soldiers with mustard gas burns during World War I commented “They cannot be bandaged or touched . . . Gas burns must be
agonizing because usually the other cases (patients) do not complain, even with the worst wounds, but gas cases are invariably
beyond endurance and they cannot help crying out.”
Document 5 : World War I Casualties
A casualty is a person who is killed, severely injured, or missing in a war. The casualty rate for World War I was extremely high. The
total number of casualties was over 37 million. Over 16 million people died during the war, including more than 7 million civilians.
The Allied Powers suffered more than 9 million deaths while the Central Powers suffered more than 7 million. There were also over 20
million people wounded.
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