Life in the Trenches

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Life in the Trenches

• A photo presentation

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The War

• WWI is infamously a trench war
• Intractable, stalemate, stuck all words used to
  describe the Western Front.
• The horrific nature of the war, comes from trench
  warfare.

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The War

• European Excitement
• In all participating nations, propaganda,
  militarism, and nationalism had combined to rally
  support for each nations people.
• 2. Many military leaders felt the war would be
  quick (historic evidence supports this belief in
  some ways)
• a. Parades, celebrations, and mass send-offs
  contributed to the festive atmosphere.

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The War

• B. Two Front War
• 1. Western Front
• a. As a result of the Schleiffen Plan, Germany
  marched through neutral Belgium and invaded
  France, pulling up just short of Paris.
• b. First Battle of the Marne (Sept. 6-10, 1914)
• 1. First major offensive of the war!
• 2. Stalemate- Each side began to dig in,
  halting offensive movement.

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The War

• 2. Eastern Front
• a. Much more mobile, traditional in tactics.
• b. Mobile armies attacked at various battle
  points, including Tannenberg, and Misurian
  Lakes, also in September.
• c. These battles were resounding Germany
  victories, crippling Russia with massive
  casualties.
• d. Russia would ultimately have the heaviest
  casualties in the war!

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The War

• c. New Destructive Weaponry
• 1. In each area of warfare, new technology made
  war more destructive and lethal.
• a. Tanks
• b. Planes
• c. Gases (White phosphorous, Mustard gas,
  Chlorine gas)
• d. High powered rifles
• e. Zeppelins
• f. U-boats (submarines)

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The War

• C. War of Attrition
• 1. Victory through casualties/deaths, not
  territory or political gains.
• a. Battle of Verdun- 10 months long, 700,000
  men died.
• b. Battle of Gallipoli- 550,000
• c. Battle of the Somme- 1.2 million
• d. Brusilov Offensive- 1.6 million (ended
  Austria-Hungarys ability to continue to fight)