The World of World War IRead or view each resource to answer the questions in each section (on a separate sheet of

paper). Use complete sentences and answer all parts of the questions.

Document A1. In millions of British pounds, how

much did Germany and Austria-Hungary combined spend on armaments in 1890? In 1914?

2. How much did Great Britain, Russia, and France combined spend in 1890? In 1914?3. Is there evidence in the chart to support the argument that the arms build-up (militarism) was an underlying cause of World War I? Explain.

Document B4. What was the total area of British colonies in 1913?5. What was the combined area of colonies held by the nations of the Triple Entente? What was the combined area of colonies held by Germany and Austria Hungary?6. How could one use this document to argue that imperialism (colonization) was an underlying cause of World War I?

Document C

John Singer Sargeant, Gassed, 1918

Document DNewspaper Headline, 1915

Background Information In modern warfare, chemical weapons were first used in World War I (1914–18), during

which gas warfare inflicted more than one million of the casualties suffered by combatants in that conflict and killed an estimated 90,000. The first massive use of chemical weapons in that conflict came when the Germans released chlorine gas from thousands of cylinders along a 6-km (4-mile) front at Ypres, Belgium, on April 22, 1915. Eventually both sides mastered the new techniques of using choking agents such as chlorine and phosgene and launched numerous attacks—though without any militarily significant breakthroughs once each side had introduced the first crude gas masks and other protective measures. Choking agents are delivered as gas clouds to the target area, where individuals become casualties through inhalation of the vapor. The toxic agent triggers the immune system, causing fluids to build up in the lungs, which can cause death through asphyxiation or oxygen deficiency if the lungs are badly damaged. Blister agents were also developed and deployed in World War I. The primary form of blister agent used in that conflict was sulfur mustard, popularly known as mustard gas. Delivered in liquid or vapor form, such weapons burn the skin, eyes, windpipe, and lungs. The physical results, depending on level of exposure, might be immediate or might appear after several hours. Although lethal in high concentrations, blister agents seldom kill.

7. What effect did gases like chlorine gas have on soldiers? Mustard gas?8. Based on the images above, what psychological effect do you think chemical warfare had on soldiers in WWI? Explain.

Document E Unidentified Airplane, c. 1918 Background Information

9. How did the invention of the airplane change transportation? 10. What conclusions can you draw about the capabilities of airplanes during World War I? 11. How did the invention of the airplane change the way that the war was fought?

Document FGerman Submarine – c. 1917

World War I was the first war in which airplanes played a major role. At the start of the war, airplanes were mainly used for reconnaissance. It quickly became apparent however that airplanes could also play a more direct combat role. At first, pilots simply carried pistols or rifles and attempted to shoot at enemy planes. Some pilots even carried bombs to drop on enemy positions. These efforts resulted in limited success. Eventually however, machine guns were mounted on some planes, ushering in the age of the fighter plane and making aerial combat far more deadly. As the war progressed, bombers soon joined fighter planes in the skies. Superiority in the air remained directly related to technologically superiority – meaning that the side with the fastest, most advanced airplanes tended to dominate the skies.

Background Information: Document During World War I, airplanes, mustard gas, machine guns, tanks, and submarines revolutionized warfare. Each new technology had a unique role to play on the battlefield, and German submarines or “U-Boats” were widely regarded as the terror of the seas during World War I. Although U-Boats were clearly able to sink enemy military vessels, as the war went on, sinking Allied or Neutral commercial vessels became their primary objective. By targeting the supply lines and economies of the Allied nations, Germany hoped to be able to cripple the Allies and win the war. The Atlantic and the waters around Great Britain soon became a warzone. The German Embassy in the United States warned those attempting to cross the Atlantic that any vessel flying the British flag or the flag of one of its Allies was liable to be destroyed by a German U-Boat. Despite this threat, trade and travel across the Atlantic Ocean continued. On May 7, 1915, a German U-Boat sank the passenger liner RMS Lusitania off the coast of Ireland – an act that resulted in the deaths of 1,189 passengers. 129 of those killed were Americans. International public opinion turned against Germany in the aftermath of this event. Anxious to avoid war, the United States called on Germany to abandon its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. For a time, Germany did abandon an overt policy of sinking neutral vessels. In 1917 however, Germany returned to this policy – providing the American public with one more reason to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers.

12. Describe the circumstances behind the sinking of the Lusitania. How did this affect people in the United States?13. Should the Lusitania have been targeted by a German U-Boat? Why or why not?

Document G and HFirsthand Accounts of the Battle of the SommeGeorge Coppard was a British soldier who fought during the entire First World War and was twice wounded. He fought at the Battle of the Somme as a machine gunner and wrote about his experiences in his book, With a Machine Gun to Cambrai. In this excerpt, Coppard recollects his experience on July 2, 1916. The next morning we gunners surveyed the dreadful scene in front of our trench. There was

a pair of binoculars in the kit, and, under the brazen light of a hot mid-summer's day, everything revealed itself stark and clear. . . . Immediately in front, and spreading left and right until hidden from view, was clear evidence that the attack had been brutally repulsed. Hundreds of dead, many of the 37th Brigade, were strung out like wreckage washed up to a high-water mark. Quite as many died on the enemy wire as on the ground, like fish caught in the net. They hung there in grotesque postures. Some looked as though they were praying; they had died on their knees and the wire had prevented their fall. From the way the dead were equally spread out, whether on the wire or lying in front of it, it was clear that there were no gaps in the wire at the time of the attack. Concentrated machine gunfire from sufficient guns to command every inch of the [barbed] wire, had done its terrible work. The Germans must have been reinforcing the wire for months. It was so dense that daylight could barely be seen through it. Through the glasses it looked a black mass. The German faith in massed wire had paid off. How did our planners imagine that Tommies [British soldiers], having survived all other hazards - and there were plenty in crossing No Man's Land - would get through the German [barbed] wire? Had they studied the black density of it through their powerful binoculars? Who told them that artillery fire would pound such [barbed] wire to pieces, making it possible to get through? Any Tommy could have told them that shell fire lifts [barbed] wire up and drops it down, often in a worse tangle than before.

Otto Lais was a soldier in German Infantry Regiment 169. He was a machine gunner and fought at the battle of the Somme. Here is an excerpt from his memoir recounting his experience during the battle’s first day. The date of his memoir is unknown. It was originally published in 1935. Wild firing slammed into the masses of the enemy. All around us was the rushing, whistling, and roaring of a storm: a hurricane, as the destructive British shell rushed towards our artillery which was firing courageously…The machine gunners were earning their pay today. Belt after belt was fired, 250 rounds – 1,000 – 3,000. . . . The British keep charging forward. Despite the fact that hundreds are already lying dead in the shell holes to our front, fresh waves keep emerging from the assault trenches…18,000 rounds! The other platoon weapon (machine gun) has a stoppage. Gunner Schwarz falls shot through the head over the belt he is feeding. The belt twists, feeds rounds into the gun crookedly and they jam! Next man forward. The dead man is removed.The gunner strips the feed mechanism, removes the rounds and reloads. Fire; pause; barrel change; fetch ammunition; lay the dead on the floor of the crater. That is the hard unrelenting tempo of the morning of 1st July 1916. The sound of machine gun fire can be heard right across the divisional front. The youth of England bled to death in front of Serre [our position].

14. How does Coppard describe the dead of the Somme?15. What German tool does Coppard say “paid off?” What makes it so effective?16. What German tool does Lais say was effective?17. What do these accounts tell you about the Battle of the Somme?

Document I and JPlaster casts for early prosthetics, facial masks Anna Coleman Ladd completes a facial mask for a WWI veteran

Background InformationWorld War I caused the death of millions of combatants and civilians, while countless soldiers suffered from injury and disfigurement. Perhaps the most disheartening were facial injuries, as soldiers had to not only deal with the physical loss, but also the constant psychological stress of wondering how people would react to their changed appearance. These men worried about their homecoming— how would strangers react, but more importantly how they would be treated by friends and family. Surgery and skin grafting was an option for some, but many sustained injuries that went beyond the ability of surgery to repair. These unfortunate soldiers turned to portrait masks. Pioneered by English sculptor Captain Derwent Wood, and improved upon by American sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd, portrait masks were modeled from photographs taken before the injury and were painted in oils to resemble the former features of the patient. –American Red Cross

18. What about the type of combat and weapons used in WWI would make facial injuries more prevalent (common) than in earlier wars?19. What might motivate a soldier to get a facial prosthetic?

Document K, L, and MAccounts of the Armenian GenocideAn account by William Ramsey, British Observer (Edited), March 1915The Turkish had utter contempt (hatred) for the Armenians. The Armenians were dogs and pigs to be spat on. For the Armenian, neither his property, his house, his life, his person, nor his family was safe from violence and to resist meant death. I do not mean that every Armenian suffered so; but that everyone lived in conscious danger.

Letter from an Ottoman (Turkish) Soldier, February 1916My brother, if you want news from here we have killed 1,200 Armenians, all of them as food for the dogs… Father, 20 days ago we made war on the Armenian unbelievers…There is a rumor that we will kill all the Armenians.

New York Times, October 4, 1915 Headline “800,000 Armenians counted destroyed”The customary procedure was to round up the whole of the population of a designated town. A part of the population was thrown into prison and the remainder were marched out of town and in the suburbs the men were separated from the women and children. The men were then taken to a convenient place and shot and bayoneted. The women and children were then put under a convoy of the lower kind of soldiers and dispatched to some distant destination.

Background Information In 1915, leaders of the Turkish government set in motion a plan to expel and massacre Armenians living in the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. The Turkish government was predominantly Muslim, and the Armenians were Christians. The Turkish Government feared that Armenians were helping Russia fight against the Ottoman Empire. Though reports vary, most sources agree that there were about 2 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the time of the massacre. By the early 1920s, when the massacres and deportations finally ended, some 1.5 million of Turkey’s Armenians were dead, with many more forcibly removed from the country. Today, most historians call this event genocide. However, the Turkish government does not acknowledge the enormity or scope of these events. Despite pressure from Armenians and social justice advocates throughout the world, it is still illegal in Turkey to talk about what happened to Armenians during this era.

20. Based on Documents K and L, how were Armenians viewed by Turks/Ottomans?21. What about the Armenians made them different from other inhabitants of Turkey, and therefore thought less of? (You may need to also think back to the textbook). Which of the passages supports this reason for genocide?22. What event does the New Your Times story describe? What do they mean by “customary procedure?”23. In your view, why might the Turkish government refuse to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide?