world war 1 hsc notes (modern history

8/10/2019 World War 1 HSC Notes (Modern History

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WORLD WAR 1

WAR ON THE WESTERN FRONT

1A: The reasons for the Stalemate on the Western Front

The Western Front Belgium coast through Northern France to

the Swiss Border.

-The war affected everybody.-

Defining traits of the war on the Western Front:

-Trenches

-Artillery-Barbed Wire

WW1 was a battle of Attrition.

An Argument:

-WW1 was the first time every that people from the lower classes were

talking about what life was like. This was the first time social history

emerged, effectively changing literature and the way people thoughtabout war.

Sheet Summary:

" In the early 20thcentury, many people saw war as a heroic

endeavour. (Facilitated by propaganda and the perception of war as

a short and distant battle).

" These views were unrealistic !only one side could win, after initial

German advances the war developed into a stalemate that

lengthened the war for years, not months.

" Once Russia began mobilising its troops, five German armies

advanced quickly, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, aiming to

capture France in six weeks and avoid fighting a war on two fronts.

" The stalemate emerged largely from the failure of the Schlieffen

Plan.

" Helmuth von Moltke (1948-1916), was worried that strict

implementation of the Schlieffen Plan would leave German armies


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vulnerable in battle (against Russia on the Eastern Front and on

Germanys border with Alsave and Lorraine).

" He deviated the plan by ordering troops to Russia and the Alsace

Lorraine area !their absence weakened the impact of the German

armies in France and created communication difficulties between

the armies that remained.

" When the war broke out, the French implemented Plan 17 and

advanced into their former territory in Alsace and Lorraine.

" General Alexander Von Kluck (1846-1934), leader of the first army,

became concerned at the long distance separating his army from

the other German armies. He sent his soldiers to the east instead of

the West of Paris.

"

Belgian, French and British responses also prevented the fulfilmentof the Shlieffen Plan.

" From 4thof Sep 1914 onwards, the British and French fought the

Germans in the Battle of the Marne. By this time, the German

troops were exhausted.

" The German retreat from the river Marne in mid-September cost

Germany the quick victory over France It had expected. (If the

Germans kept on marching, they might have won, but they

overestimated the British and French Armies." The Race to the Sea !Britain and France went on the offensive,

trying to outflank German forces in a race to secure territory on the

way to the English channel.

Reasons for the continuation of the Stalemate:

The Allied and Central powers all attempted to break the stalemate in

1915:

French- through unsuccessful campaign at Champagne

British- March at Neuve Chapelle (heavy losses for only short term

gain)

Germans- unsuccessfully at Ypres in April (poison gas for first time)

British- Loos in September.

In 1916- Germans attempted to destroy the French at the Battle of

Verdun and the British responded at the Battle of the Somme.


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Battles focused on attrition (wearing down) than on achieving a

breakthrough at the resumption of a war of movement. !

breakthroughs were rare.

The stalemate continued until 1918 because:

Mechanisms of trench warfare (barbed wire, artillery and machine gun

fire) more suited to defence than offence.

The continuation of trench warfare made cavalry charges of previous

wars impractical,

The reconnaissance (military observation of a region to locate anenemy) of enemy positions was poor.

Opposing armies had equivalent access to reinforcements and supplies

through railway networks.

Neither side developed either a method or weapon of warfare that

would force the resumption of a war of movement.

Reasons for creation of

stalemate

Reasons for continuation of

stalemate

-Russia mobilisedfaster than

expected and Britain had sent an

expeditionary forceto France

(slowing German advance at

Mons).

-Schlieffen Planmodifiedand

failed.

-German advance stopped

along the Marne and Aisne where

they and the Allies dug infor the

winter.

-TheRace to the Seasaw

trench lines extended North and

South (stretching form English

-The mechanisms of trench

warfare barbed wire, artillery

and machine gun fire,more

suitable to defence.

-Trench warfare meant cavalry

chargesused in previous wars

were impractical.

-Poor reconnaissanceof enemy

positions.

-Opposing armies equivalent

accessto reinforcements and

supplies.

Neither side developedeither a

method or weapon of warfare that


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Channel to Switzerland).

-New technologyfacilitated

defensive war.

would force the resumptionof a

war of movement.

1B: The Nature of Trench Warfare

Terms:

No Mans land- disputed ground between the front lines or trenches

of two opposing armies.

Firing trench/frontline trench-a trench especially constructed for

the delivery of small-arms fire

Support trench- held the back-up forces that could help repel an

enemy attack or move quickly to the front to support a friendly attack.

Reserve trench-

Strong point-

Communication trenches-

Saps and listening posts-

Salient-

INDUSTRIALISATION CHANGED EVERYTHING

Trench warfare was the main form of warfare used during WW1.

The trench system:

Comprised of three parallel linesof trenches:

" The front line(attack and defence)

" The support line(soldiers could retreat during bombardment).

" The reserve line(troops waited for leaders call to battle).

The distance between each of the trench lines differed from army

to army, varied from about 60-90 metres between front line and


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support trenches and 300-500 meters between support and reserve

trenches.

The distance between allied and german trenches was generally

from about 100-300 metres (no mans land).

Trenches formed a zig zag or square tooth line!layout a defensive

measure.

German trenches generally stronger, more complex and better

equipped than the Allied ones. This was because the German army

unlike the British, viewed trench warfare as a long-term rather than

a short term proposition.

Individual nations manned their trenches differently.

GERMAN BRITISH FRENCH

Stronger, more

complex and better

developed than allied

trenches.

Focused on mobility.

Ill-constructed

compared to German

trenches (not

reinforced by

concrete).

Utilised trenches

reinforced with

barbed wire as a

trench warfare tactic.

Ranged from 3.6m 3 stories in depth.

2.4-4.8 m in depth. Relied on artilleryand surprise attacks.

2/3s of men on the

frontline.

Most men placed in

frontline trenches.

French commanders

heavily manned

sections of the

frontline.

British commanders put most of their men in the front line trenches.

French commanders heavily manned some sections of the front line.They left other sections with small numbers of soldiers and reinforced

the barbed wire in front of them.

In 1916, the German commanders, General Paul von Hindenburg and

Erich Ludendorff, began development of the Hindenburg Line, a trench

system that they believed would be impregnable.

The Hindenburg Line shows how the Germans were accepting

the longevity of war.


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Methods of Trench Warfare

War on the western front evolved into a war of attrition rather than

break-through.

New weapons of warfare- machine guns, poison gas, tanks were

either more effective for defence than attack or, at least initially, not

used effectively.

Technological improvements to tanks and improved use of them in

1918 enabled armies to break through trench lines, engage in

offensive tactics and reinstate a war of movement.

For most of the war, commanders continued to rely on:-Massive artillery bombardments of enemy positions.

-Use of infantry to defend (existing entrenched positions).

-Infantry advances over the top (armed mainly with rifles, bayonets

and grenades against their entrenched opponents).

These resulted in massive casualties and failed to achieve significant

breakthrough.


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1B. Life in the trenches: life in the trenches dealing with

experiences of Allied and German soldiers.

Experiences of trench life differed according to nationality, ran, role

and the nature of fighting at any given time.

Officers and Men:

Soldiers NCOs Junior Officer Senior Officer

-The bulk of any

army.-Traditionally

peasants or

working class

youth w/ little

education.

-As the war

progressed men

from all classesand backgrounds

volunteered or

were conscripted

into the army.

-Non-

commissionedofficers:

sergeants or

corporals.

-Promoted from

the ranks of

experienced

private soldiers.

-Officers

traditionally fromupper class.

-Received an

education

intended to train

them to lead

men and make

decisions on

battle field.-WW1- often

young upper

class men

expected to lead

by example.

-Suffered the

highest death

toll of any rank

(inexperience

and

exuberance).

-Prestigious but

safe jobs atheadquarters,

always well

behind the front.

-Some historians

suggest

remoteness of

the generals

from fightingsoldiers

(distance and

social class), was

a reason why

they were so

little influenced

by the impact of

their decisions.

The routine of trench life

Trench life combined feelings of boredom, comradeship, extreme

discomfort, endurance and fear.


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Hard and often dangerous physical labour, hunger, thirst, disease,

poor sanitary conditions, mental breakdown and incidences of

extraordinary self sacrifice and heroism.

Soldiers spent differing amounts of time in each of the different

sections of the trench system. A common pattern across the entire

period of war was: 15% of time in the front line, 20% of time in the

support trench, 30% of time in the reserve trench and 20% of time in

the rest area. Remaining 15% was other activities such as training,

travel, leave and hospitalisation.

MONTH DAY NIGHT-Four days in the

front line trench.

-Four days in the

support trench

-Eight days in the

reserve trench

-Remainder in other

positions.

-Standing for an hour

and a half before

daylight waiting on the

firestep.

-Stood down at dawn.

-Breakfast scarce and

consisted of rations.

-Officers inspection.-1/3 of men given

maintenance jobs

(removing water,

digging latrines- in

ground toilet areas),

filling and moving

sandbags etc.

1/3 men sent for

rations.

1/3 given sentry duty.

-Majority of time:

watching/waiting for

enemies, writing

letters and diary

entries, socialising.

-Most activity

occurred.

-Dangerous trench

maintenance (outside

or above trenches).

-Patrols sent to no

mans land to listen for

enemy movements.-Pairs of soldiers sent

to check on enemy

trenches at night.

-Trench raids

occurred, volunteers

would raid enemy

trenches to invoke

fear and gain

intelligence on

enemys situation.


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Dangers

Onslaughts conducted at times of poor visibility

The deafening noise of shellfire and sniper fire was an ongoing physical

and psychological threat to the soldiers.

Soldiers became distressed/suffered trauma through the dangers of

frontline duty.

Constant exposure to shellfire invoked paranoia and fear causing many

soldiers to suffer shellshock from the very early months of the war.

Shell shocked soldiers who wouldnt or couldnt obey orders sometimes

deserted and even suicided.

Gas warfare was another source of danger and fear. After some early

French and German uses of gas warfare in 1914, the German army

began firing cylinders of chlorine gas in 1915.

By the end of the war, 91 000 soldiers had died as a result of gas warfare

and 1.2 million suffered its effects.

Rations

By 1916, the impact of blockades meant that both Allied and German

commanders struggled to provide soldiers with good diets in both meat

and calorie intake. Most men received less than half of the allocated calories per day.

Food was often stolen in the ranks, butter and milk a rarity and never

met with the common soldiers.

Hot food unheard of until 1916.

Rations so poor that teeth were recorded to be broken by army

biscuits.

Germans suffered greater trouble with food as Allied Blockade blocked

all transit of sustenance.

British soldiers survived on daily rations of corned beef (bully beef),

days old bread and stale biscuits.

A rum ration was given to British soldiers at the standing for an hour

and a half or stand to as well as before going over the top.

French and German soldiers had wine rations.

Food parcels from family/friends supplied the majority of decent food.

Officers ate far more nutritious and tasty meals than common soldiers.

Health and sanitation issues


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The combination of the cold, wet, vermin and poor diet led to sickness

and disease in the trenches.

In the first winter of the war, the British army had to deal with 20 000

cases of trench foot (due to prolonged exposure of the feet to wet

unsanitary conditions causing the foot to become numb and eventually

gangrene through reduced blood flow)!unless they dried their feet

and changed their socks frequently, soldiers might not realise they had

a problem until it was too late to treat it.

Trench fever was a common disease that affected 1/3 of British forces,

1/5 of Germans and many French troops. Caused by lice faeces in

wounds causing infections and eventually fever.

Soldiers suffered continual infestations of body lice and often spent

their spare time discussing and implementing delousing strategies forgetting rid of chats.

Scabies !disease where itch mites lay eggs underneath the skin of a

soldier causing skin irritation and rashes.

Venereal disease (sexually transmitted infections) !illegal and

punishable.

Dysentery, resulting from poor sanitation of the latrines (communal

toilet pits). When water supplies were inadequate, soldiers drank the

often contaminated water from shell holes. The danger of dysenterywas that soldiers could die as a result of becoming dehydrated.

Casualties

On the Western Front, five out of every nine men were casualties.

About a third of these died.

Even though only one in three soldiers serving on the Western Front

were fighting in the trenches, overall casualties were 56%, with 12%

being killed.

The infantry accounted for the overwhelming majority of casualties.

During the war the British identified 80 000 men suffering from shell

shock, a psychological or emotional condition caused by prolonged

experience of artillery barrages.

In 1922 Great Britain had 50 000 registered Great War mental cases.

Major offensives and artillery bombardments accounted for the

horrendous casualties on the Western Front.


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Even when there was no major action, the frontline remained a very

dangerous place due to the commanders insistence on maintaining an

aggressive attitude towards the enemy.

WEAPONS AND TACTICS DEPLOYED:

Evidence of weapons development !in 1914 the BEF used 70

grenades per week, by July 1916 the BEF was issued 800 000

grenades per week.

Patrols and raids ordered on a regular basis to harass Germans in

every possible way.


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1C: OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIES AND TACTICS TO BREAK THE

STALEMATE INCLUDING KEY BATTLES: VERDUN, THE SOMME,

PASSCHENDAELE

War on the western front was largely a war of attrition. The static

nature of trench warfare made it difficult for any nation to achieve

victory.

A variety of tactics artillery barrages, infantry assaults, bite and

hold, leapfrogging and infiltration were employed to attempt to break

the stalemate. New technology also used- machine guns, gas and tanks.

Attempts to break the stalemate on the Western Front

Major Offensives:

After the failure of their initial strike in 1914, Germany occupied parts

of Belgium and France and could afford to defend these whileattempting to defeat the Russians on the Eastern Front. With some

exceptions (eg. Verdun offensive), the Germans remained defensive

until 1918.

The onus was on the Allies to break the stalemate because offensive

strategy was forced upon them due to the occupied territory by the

Germans that the French and British wanted to claim.

The offensive strategy adopted by the Allies required large frontal

attacks on Germanys trenches. (artillery bombardment followed by an

infantry advance with a cavalry charge to complete the breakthrough).

Throughout the period 1914-1917, such offensives failed to achieve a

significant breakthough. The generals plans went wrong at every

stage: (eg. Artillery bombardment did not destroy all enemy defences

esp. barbed wire. German defenders could survive bombardment in

secure dugouts in their trenches. After artillery bombardment German

machine guns were set up).

The generals responsible for planning and organising these assaults

have often been condemned for a seemingly callous disregard of the


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casualties that resulted. [Hindsight judgments are usually harsh

historical context we need to keep in mind the challenge imposed

upon the generals by the need to break the stalemate.]

QUESTIONS:

What are the characteristics of the major offensives in WW1?

The major offensives focused on attrition, aiming to gradually wear down

the opposition until they ran out of men, supplies or the will to

continue. Characteristics include large frontal attacks launched by the

allies which utilised a method of artillery bombardment to destroy

enemy defences, followed by an infantry advance which would deal

with the surviving enemy and take over their trenches, completed by acavalry charge which would complete the breakthrough. However also

a major characteristics of these offensives were their failure due to

flawed and overly-ambitious generals plans.

Were there any offensives that would aid in breaking the

stalemate?

What judgements are unfair to make as historians in the 21st

century?

NEW WEAPONS

Poison gas- used in attacks to clear defences. (remained a weapon of

terror however the provision of gas masks reduced impact as a

weapon of assault).

Improvements in artillery on both sides added to the horrors and

carnage of trench warfare, however neither side gained a significant

advantage.

The tank- developed in large numbers only by the British. Had

potential for great destruction (to cross no mans land, crush barbed

wire, shield forward moving soldiers, clear enemy trenches etc),

however when first used in 1916 they proved unreliable. By 1918

through technical improvements and better tactical use they became

an effective assault weapon giving the Allies a distinct advantage.


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QUESTION

Providing evidence, which weapons would help break the

stalemate?

Attrition

Beyond the Western Front, the war of attrition involved maintaining

the effort on your own home front while attacking the enemys home

front through economic blockade and propaganda. !mass

propaganda is an element of total war.

The strategy of attrition is best demonstrated in 1916 with the Battle

of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme.

A strategy of attrition ignored the fact that wearing down the enemythrough major offensives also sacrificed your own men.

On the other hand Haigs commitment to offensives on the Western

Front did force the Germans to expand conscription and devote more

of their economic effort to the war (eventually putting pressure on

German home front).

New Tactics

!

While the allied generals, in particular, persisted with large frontalassaults long after they had proven disastrous, both sides eventually

developed new tactics:

ALLIES GERMANY

! The Creeping Barrage (Britain)-

Infantry would advance just

behind where their own artillery

shells were landing, rather than

waiting for artillery barrage to

stop before advancing (allowing

enemy defenders time to come

out of deep bunkers.

! In late 1918 the Allies combined

creeping barrage with the use of

tanks and planes to support

advancing infantry. (Resumption

of a war of movement possible

! Storm troopers- specially

trained, used in 1918, advanced

in small groups rather than

massed attacks. Quickly moved

on past the frontline trenches to

cause confusion in the rear.

Helped the Germans to break the

stalemate in 1918 and make

large advances before they ran

out of reserves and the Allies

recovered.


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at this time).

THE BATTLE OF VERDUN Feb-Dec (1916)

At Verdun, von Falkenhayn, the German commander, stated that the

aim was to kill Frenchmen, to bleed the French white. (possible

quote).

The Battle of Verdun was a fight for French identity.

The French won a strategic victory (because they held the land they

were on and depleated the Germans).

In 1916 von Falkhenhayn decided to attack Verdun, confident that the

French would defend Verdun at all costs because of its symbolicimportance to France.

German strategy to attack Verdun and bleed the French of manpower.

!Germanys attempt to win the war by attrition.

Germany launched assault on 21 Feb, capturing the defensive lines

around Verdun in 3 days.

At the beginning of attack, France thought about abandoning Verdun in

order to shorten frontlines.

Verdun quickly became symbol of French pride and will to resist. In one week in March, 190 000 Frenchmen marched from Paris to

Verdun along the Sacred Way.

The Germans called of their attack in December. Verdun still held by

French.

French casualties !360,000 German casualties !330,000

SIGNIFICANCE

! Germany stopped (mass artillery use).

! French Morale

! Falkenhayn isolated

! Germany weak in morale

! German morale is cracked for the first time

! Platform for France !reinvigorated to break the stalemate.


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THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME June-Nov 1916

BEF Vs Germany

Key Points:

The objective of the Battle of the Somme was used to draw German

resources from Verdun and was thus considered a victory as it aided

French efforts.

An initial week long artillery bombardment intended to weaken

German trenches was hindered by rain.

Due to diminishing numbers, much of the British Infantry were not

properly trained for battle so war tactic involved marching forward in

straight lines with fixed bayonets, this was mostly ineffective.

The tank was used but were mechanically unreliable and broke down

or were bogged. 400 000 British, 200 000 French and 600 000 German casualties.

There was no breakthrough and Germany was never able to replace

quality of infantry.

In more depth:

Led by Sir Douglas Haig, the British forces wanted to launch a 14 day

offensive which would open up German lines, flanking them, then

cutting the Germans off from supply lines and force a Germansurrender. It was like rounding up sheep.

The British had assembled and trained a New Army recruited by Lord

Kitchener in an unprecedented national campaign.

On the 24thof June the Allies began week long artillery bombardment

from 1350 guns.

Bombardment intended to drive German defenders from their trenches

and destroy barbed wire laid infront.

German frontline trenches destroyed yet most underground and

bunkers survived, after barrage troops able to set up machine guns to

surprise advancing British.

On 1stof July, 14 British divisions (approx.. 280 000 men), went over

the top and forward on 28km front, marching forward in straight lines

with bayonets fixed (as it was decided that they were not trained well

enough to operate in any other way).

Few men returned. As the British advanced, they were mown down by

German machine guns when halted by the barbed wire.


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The New Army suffered 60 000 casualties on the first day. There were

20 000 casualties in the first hour.

There was no breakthrough. Once the British failed to achieve initial

breakthrough, Haig justified the continuation of the battle in terms of

wearing down the Germans.

However if saving Verdun and relieving the drain on Frances resources

were the strategic objectives of the Somme, then it was a success. !

clearly demonstrated Britains commitment to victory on the Western

Front.

Ludendorff claimed Germany was never able to replace the quality of

infantry they lost in the battle.

SIGNIFICANCE! The Battle of the Somme became the symbol for the entire war,

immense casualties and loss of youth.

! The Battle of the Somme demonstrated Britains commitment to

victory on the Western Front.

! Ludendorff claimed that Germany was never able to replace the quality

of infantry they lost in the battle.

! During 1916 the German government felt compelled to introduce

economic measures that would contribute to the long-term collapse ofthe German home front.

! It has been argued that British commanders learnt from the Somme

and this eventually contributed to their successes in 1918.

THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE (Third Ypres) July-Nov 1917

Key points:

General Haigs decided to launch a major offensive near Ypres with the

aim to shorten allied lines in Ypres salient and knock out German

submarine bases in Belgium. (thus ceasing sinking of British ships).

It rained heavily after the first major action and the battlefield became

a sea of mud and water-filled shellcraters.

After numerous advancements of small gains and heavy casualties, the

Allies captured the ridge East of Ypres.

Germans forced off high ground from November.

Some believe that despite heavy losses, Passhendaele was essential to

ensure that the British war effort did not collapse and was a

breakthrough battle as German morale was severely weakened.


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310 000 British casualties, 90 000 British and Australians never

identified, 42 000 never found, 260 000 German casualties.

RESULT

Tactical Victory

Strategical allied victory

Operational Allied failure (they lost a lot of men).

The allied forces suffered over 300 000 casualties and the Germans

suffered 260 000.

The German submarine bases on the coast remained but the objective

of diverting the Germans from the French further south while they

recovered from the failure of the Niville Offensive.

In more depth:

General Haig decided to launch a major offensive near Ypres in late

1917 (probably encouraged by British success at Messines Ridge) and

aimed to both shorten Allied lines in Ypres salient and knock out

German submarine bases in Belgium (the toll on British merchant

shipping in 1917 becoming a major problem).

The French army had been wracked by mutiny since the NivilleOffensive !it was important that Germans got no hint of the problem

and an offensive would distract them

It was also important to act before the threatened Russian withdrawal

from the war freed up a million German troops for service in the west

It became the ultimate act of attrition as Haig, believing the Germans

were near collapse, attempted to strike a blow against their will to

continue the war.

Battle began with a 10 day preliminary artillery strike. Heavy rain

aided the initial bombardment to destroy German training systems.

The battlefield became a sea of mud and water-filled shell craters.

Men carrying 45 kg packs went forward on duckboard paths, if they

slipped and fell they would most likely drown in the mud.

Battle of Langemarck- four days of heavy fighting secured small gains

and heavy casualties. New commander General Herbet Plumber

adopted new tactic of bite and hold.

Eventually Allies captured the ridge east of Ypres, rain commenced.


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On 10thof November Germans forced off the high ground above

Ypres.

SIGNIFICANCE

!

Passchendaele synonymous for pointless slaughter however may have

been essential to ensure the Allied war effort did not collapse.

! The German verdict was that this battle damaged Germanys war

effort.

! Sustained pressure on German economy.

! German military leaders noted impact on the battle front !soldiers

worn down and losing will to continue.

! General von Kuhl later concluded that this battle wore down the

German strength to a degree at which the damage could no longer berepaired.


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d1D: CHANGING ATTITUDES OF ALLIED AND GERMAN SOLDIERS

AT WAR OVER TIME.

Prior to the outbreak of WW1 there was a widespread view that war

was acceptable and even necessary !such views based on

romanticised notions of small-scaled wars involving dramatic cavalry

charges and brief infantry engagements.

The carnage of trench warfare on the Western Front confronted Allied

and German soldiers with the new reality of large-scale warfare in the

industrial era.

The following outline suggests how attitudes changed:

August 1914: Reaction to the outbreak of the war

Most young men marched willingly towards war in 1914, many

believed themselves and their nations to be superior to their enemies

and that might and right were on their sides.

For some motivation arose from peer pressure, a sense of adventure,

the desire to escape family problems or need to gain employment.

Only a minority in any country actively opposed the war: socialists(opposed to the idea of fighting other workers), conscientious

objectors (opposed the war itself) and those with conflicting religious

values.

Christmas 1914

Just over four and a half months later !experiences of warfare

modified nationalistic, pro war attitudes and created a shared sense of

empathy among soldiers.

Soldiers sought refuge from the horrors and discomforts of the

trenches and longed to experience the comforts, goodwill and

camaraderie traditionally associated with the xmas season.

On Christmas day 1914 the Germans and Allied soldiers met in no

mans land to exchange gifts of cigarettes, show photos of their families

and loved ones and communicate through song and words.

Reports of such meetings concerned leaders on both sides who feared

that being on good terms would make it harder to kill each other


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1915: disillusionment grows

By 1915, experienced soldiers and newly arrived volunteers could no

longer automatically associate participation in war with ideas of glory

and national greatness.

It was often easier to make fun of hardships than focus on grim reality,

expressed attitudes in cartoons, newspapers and comedy skits.

1916: Lions led by donkeys

Attempts to achieve breakthrough in 1916 caled into question skilles of

the commanders.

Contemporary journalists had voiced similar thoughts, often

characterising officers (making war plans from the comfort of a Frenchchateau) as largely priviledged, incompetent and uncaring of how

many lives they lost. !reinforces liberalism and dangerous thinking,

reinforces how evidence can lad to civil unrest).

Evidence includes novels like Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the

Western Front.

The battles of 1916 were a turning point in relation to the soldiers

attitudes, from questioning leadership many turned to questioning why

they were there and who indeed was the real enemy.

1917: Mud and Mutiny

The failure and high costs of the 1917 Niville Offensive had a

devastating and lasting impact on the morale of the French army !

French morale was at an all time low.

Military failure and oss of life of the Nivelle Offensive also increased the

hostility towards the autocratic and inflexible discipline exerted within

the French military.

At the beginning of the war, military law allowed the death sentence

for offences including sleeping or being drunk on guard duty, self-

inflicted wounds, disobeying orders, assaulting an officer, desertion,

mutiny and communication with the enemy.

The British imposed the death penalty on 304 soldiers between 1914

and 1918, mostly for offences committed on the Western Front.

1918: Victory and Defeat*


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War weariness affected soldiers of all armies in 1918.

It resulted from: the long period of time that nations had been

engaged in war, the apparent futility of many of the tactics used,

increased difficulties in maintaining supplies to the battlefront as the

home fronts of various nations were at or near collapse.

French commanders could no longer rely on troops to go over the top

on order.

Increasingly, soldiers engaged in munitious behaviour or chose to

desert.

By 1918, the German homefront was no longer either able or willing to

support the war effort. Soldier morale hard to maintain in an

atmosphere where many had come to question what they were

fighting for and why their leaders had not yet made peace. By late 19118, it was clear that Germany was facing defeat and that

the nation was on the brink of a revolution.

EARLY ATTITUDES LATTER ATTITUDES

" Excitement, patriotic fervour,

value of noble self sacrifice." Some pacifist groups and those

opposed the war (socialists,

conscientious objectors)

" Generally people put aside their

political opinions, overwhelmed

by patriotism and nationalism.

" Many women reluctant in

wanting men to go to war-

accompanied with feelings of

pride that brothers, husbands

and sons were fighting for their

nation.

" Poets such as Wilfred Owen and

Rupert Brooke, many war songs,

news reports expressed these

ideas. !evidence of attitudes of

the time.

" Changed as a result of the huge

casualties of 1916-17 and nogains, the realisation of the

horrors of trench warfare.

" People became disillusioned and

cynical- new recruits were not as

fit and healthy and lacked

enthusiasm.

" British people still held some

enthusiasm having not

experienced total devastation of

a war being fought on their

front.

" Many people in Russia and

Germany became disillusioned

and dissatisfied with war

because of the blockades.

" As the war progressed and

women became more involved in


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total war, they began to develop

a sense of independence.

" Anti war poets and painters

included Sassoon, Owen and

Nash. Diaries and memoirs of

thousands of soldiers

corroborate this change in

attitude. !evidence.


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THE HOME FRONTS IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY 2/04/2014 8:10

2A: TOTAL WAR AND ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ON

CIVILIANS IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY.

The expression total war is used to describe WW1 because each

nation became totally involved in the war effort.

The mass conscript armies had to be kept supplied with both men and

the vast quantities of ammunition and resources consumed in an

industrial war. In these circumstances, it was important to maintain

the unified support of the civilian population in the face of hardship,

shortages and the seemingly futile progress of the war.

Indeed, success or failure on the home front was crucial to the

outcome of the war.

Impact on social life (government regulations).

Civilians tolerated and supported measures that limited their freedom,

even denied their democratic rights, because it was in the interest of

the nation and victory to do so.

Britain

On the 27thof Nov 1914 the government passed the Defence of the

Realm Act (DORA).

DORA:

Nationalised coal mines

Government control of railways

Introduced censorship in newspapers, books and letters

Introduced daylight savings

Restrictions on alcohol consumption.

To increase loyalty it was mandated that God Save the Queen be

played after theatre and cinema performances.

Other prohibited activities:

Loitering near railway bridges and tunnels

Flying kites

Keeping homing pigeons

Whistling for taxis

Owning and using binoculars


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A curfew was introduced- lights out at 10pm.

Cinema, Music Hall and theatre performances were to end by

10.30pm.

By Nov 1915, drinking hours were reduced to 12-2.30 and 6.30-

9.30pm.

Germany

Even before the outbreak of the war, Germany was a more

authoritarian society than Britain. Conscription, for example, gave the

government immediate control over the military-age population. This

control was gradually extended over the whole population.

The authoritarian system tightened restrictions on civil liberties-censorship was imposed and opposition to the war suppressed.

Economic reorganisation saw the formation of a War Raw Materials

Department, created to control raw materials and production.

The Hindenburg program- decision by Erich Ludendorff to double

German industrial production to greatly increase munitions which

meant that men, horses and fuel were taken from agricultural

production for the army and munitions !resulting in food shortages

and high food prices. (which by 1918 saw Germany on the verge ofstarvation).

The National Service Law- gave the government power to control all

adult males and to direct them into any part of the economy or

military.

Impact on the economy

In Britain and Germany economic control was centralised under the

national government. All production was directed towards the war

effort. This created shortages in other areas that had to be managed

by rationing.

Governments also attempted to control prices, wages and trade

unions.

Britain

The Ministry of Munitions(est. 1915) was given the power to

requisition raw materials and took control of key factories.


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The War Munitions Volunteer Schemegave the government power to

direct workers, by 1918, 60 000 staff were directing 3 mil workers.

Five new departments of state established- Shipping, Labour, Food,

National Service and Food Production. Each had substantial power to

control there area of the economy !the war led to food shortages and

price increases (biggest cause for complaint from ordinary people,

controversy about price control and rationing).

General food rationing was introduced in February 1918 for London

and gradually extended throughout the country.

Income tax was increased during the war. To pay for the war income

tax was increased from 2.5% to 12.5%.

Germany A new War Raw Materials Department (KRA) centralised control of all

raw materials so they could be used for war production. It also

organised the production of synthetic materials to replace imported

sources such as rubber.

In 1916 the Hindenburg Program, which gave the government

increased control of labour, led to many more men being taken out of

agriculture and transferred to war industries or the military.

There was a relative neglect of the consumer sector and foodproduction !made worse the shortages created by British blockade

and Germanys lack of support.

Rationing was introduced in 1915 and the years 1916 to 1917 had bad

seasons and poor harvests.

The Turnip Winter of 1917 was followed by further privations and

starvation in 1918. !potatoes and coal were in permanent short

supply.

In the end the German homefront collapsed due to poor planning and

mismanagement on the part of the military dictatorship.

HSC QUESTION:

Outline total war and its social and economic impact on civilians in

Britian and Germany during World War One. (8 marks).

Total war refers to the mobilisation of the population and entire resources

of the state for the war effort. In order for the mass conscript armies to


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"'

be kept supplied with equipment, weapons, ammunition, transport, food

and men it was necessary that the home front effectively maintained

unified support as success or failure of the home front was vital to the

outcome of qthe war.

Both nations recognised this and responded with tightening of

government regulations and restrictions which socially impacted civilians

in Britain, the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) placed restrictions on

Civil Liberties, this included restrictions on alcohol consumption,

introduced a curfew of 10pm, harmless activities such as kite flying were

prohibited and new taxes brought in.

In Germany, as an already authoritarian government also tightened

restrictions on civil liberties and increased censorship. Conscription took

control over the entire military aged population which then extended overthe whole population. The Hindenburg program which gave the

government increased control of the labour greatly diminished the

workers in agriculture as they were transferred to the war industries,

leading to neglect of food production and worsening food shortages.

KEY QUESTIONS TO BETRACHTEN:

What is total war?Total War refers to the mobilisation of all civilians and the entire

resources of the state for the war effort.

What is the home front?

The home front refers to the civilian population and their activities of a

country at war.

What are the social and economic impacts on civilians on both the

British and German home fronts?


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"(

BRITAIN GERMANY

SOCIAL Women entered the

workforce on a

mass scale.

Anti-German

hysteria and feeling.

Class barriers

reduced/not as

separated.

Rationing/meatless

days

DORA (See above). Birth of the queue.

!regulation of

meals in hotels,

restaurants clubs

etc.

Tighter restrictions

on Civil liberties.

Conscription

Women entered the

workforce on a

mass scale.

Decline of male

dominance in

society.

Censorship imposed

and opposition tothe war suppressed.

ECONOMIC Economic

reorganisation

became a priority asall production was

directed towards the

war effort.

The ministry of

munitions

established in 1915

(power to

requisition raw

materials and est.

national factories).

Strikes banned, new

taxes introduced

and existing taxes

increased.

War Raw Materials

Department created

to control rawmaterials and

production.

1916 Patriotic

Auxiliary Service

Law gave gov.

control of labour !

men moved into war

industries (food

production thus

suffered).

Food shortages,

1916 and 17 bad

seasons and poor

harvests the

Turnip Winter.


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")

2B: RECRUITMENT, CONSCRIPTION, CENSORSHIP AND

PROPAGANDA IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY

Recruitment and Conscription

Britain

Britain, unlike most of the European powers, did not have conscription

for military service prior to the war.

Only the BEF could be sent to France in 1914, with the BEF soon

decimated and the Western Front stalemated, it became apparent that

Britain would quickly have to recruit and train a much larger army, this

became one of the major tasks on the home front.

On 5thof Aug 1914 Lord Kitchener was appointed Secretary of State of

War. He immediately launched a recruitment campaign, by lateSeptember 1914, 750 000 men had volunteered to enlist in Kitcheners

New Army !these numbers highlighted the support for the war in

1914.

Despite this relative success, the number of volunteers was still not

enough to meet needs. Young, able-bodied men were put under

considerable pressure to do the right thing and enlist.

Cowardice was expressed at the use of pursuasion when young

women of London and England were targeted in posters that suggestedcowardice and irresponsibility on both parts for men who did not enlist

and women who associated with them.

The existence of large numbers of eligibles who had not enlisted and

the continuing demands of the military now made the introduction of

conscription inevitable. Conscription was eventually introduced on 5th

January 1916 with the passing of the Military Service Bill.

Conscription created a new small group in British society-

conscientious objectors. These were men who were pacifists or who for

personal or religious reasons were opposed to war.

Germany

In Germany there was no need to embark on a recruitment campaign

Conscription had traditionally been accepted in Germany in peacetime.

Consequently, there was a large standing army and pool of trained

reserves when war broke out, In the beginning Germany had large

reserves of manpower but this situation changed as the war

progressed.


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Moreover, because so many men had been diverted into the army or

essential war industries, German architecture suffered.

Propaganda

This was the first modern propaganda war.

Externally the US was the major target of propaganda!both sides

wantng to gain support for their war effort.

BRITAIN GERMANY

! Recruitment:before

conscription introduced,

recruitment posters were amajor part of Britains

propaganda effort. They targeted

not just eligible men but those

who might influence them such

as young women.

! War funding:Civilians

encouraged to contribute to the

war effort by investing ingovernment war bonds.

! Anti-German propaganda:

Invested considerable energy in

spreading anti-German

sentiment. Eg. Atrocity stories

spread, events like sinking of

Lusitania exploited to

demonstrate evil.

! Practical messages:Some

posters focused on practical

messages. Eg. Appeals to not

waste food.

! Morale boosting:Much effort

devoted to sustaining morale

and passing on positive news

from the front.

! War funding:desperate need to

raise funds for war effort.

!

Anti- British propaganda:Anational hate campaign launched

against Great Britain. Germans

taught to recite the hymn to

hate . The motto Gott Strafe

England (God punish England)

was stamped on envelopes,

engraved on Jewellery, stamped

on pots and pans etc.! Morale boosting:As the war

progressed, the Germans

focused less on anti-British

messages and more on

celebrations on the efforts of

their military. Myth-making

devoted to creating a national

hero out of Hindenburg.


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Censorship

Both sides imposed censorship to ensure that only information helpful

to their war effort was spread.

BRITAIN GERMANY

The Defence of the Realm

Consolidation Act (DORA), 1914,

gave the government the right to

regulate mail and newspaper

reports.

Media censorship: Official

historians, photographers andartists limited in what they could

report or portray.

Soldiers forbidden to keep

diaries.

General public fed a sanitised

version of the war to avoid onset

of war weariness. German

victories emphasised, while grimrealities and defeats not

truthfully told. !Eg. the

illustrated war news created to

inform the public did not always

report truthfully or fully.

High command maintained an

even tighter control over

information. Good news (like

early German victories over

Russians) highlighted while bad

news kept supressed.

Misinformation was thus fed tothe people.

HSC QUESTION:

Describe the importance of recruitment, conscription, censorship

and propaganda on civilians of Britain and Germany during WW1.

(8 marks)


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2C: THE VARIETY OF ATTITUDES TO THE WAR AND HOW THEY

CHANGED OVER TIME IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY

Prior to WW1 there was widespread view that war was acceptable and

even necessary.

Subsequently, the prolonged conflict, horrendous casualty lists and the

hardships imposed by total war saw change of attitudes on the home

fronts.

Political systems became strained as war weariness spread leading to

serious consequences, particularly in Germany.

There was a surge in support for pacifism and internationalism.

Politics

The war put enormous strain on the political systems of all countries.Britains democratic system withstood the change; in Germany there

was breakdown and revolution.

Britain

Shortage of guns and shells at the start of the Somme offensive

created a political scandal in Britain. !as a result Lloyd George

replaced Asquith as PM in 1916.

Lloyd George proved to be an effective wartime leader. There was tension between him and General Haig over the latters

costly strategy on the Western Front !nevertheless the traditional

balance between political (Lloyd George) and civilian (Haig) roles was

maintained.

Lloyd George also proved to be effective in dealing with unions and

strikers, he favoured a conciliatory approach in dealing with industrial

unrest (he appeased the people).

Germany

Unlike Britain, Germany had not been fully democratic in 1914. The

elected Parliament, the Reichstag, had little influence over the head of

government, the Chancellor who was appointed by the Kaiser.

The army held a special position, responsible only to the Kaiser.

The High Command assumed enormous power and was able to bypass

the Chancellor and, eventually, even the Kaiser.

By 1918 Ludendorff was virtual head of a military dictatorship.


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As disillusionment with the war gradually spread, extreme socialists

broke away from the Social Democrats (largest party in the Reichstag)

and began to call for peace and socialism !they provided the

leadership for the revolution that broke out at the end of 1918.

Thus, pre-existing war tensions contributed to the collapse of the

German home front.

While the High Command was military efficient, it was not suited to

dealing with the political and economic challenges of the home front.

The civilian food supply was neglected.

War Weariness

Britain In Britain the burden of sacrifice was carried by the working class.

Costs had risen but not wages !increasing number of strikes.

In 1917 there were 688 industrial disputes in Britain, involving 860

000 workers and the loss of 6 million working days.

Germany

In Germany war weariness proved to be an even more serious

problem. The strain became evident in 1916 and gradually worsened. In August 1916 the government introduced the Hindenburg program !

tigther controls on society and the economy. Created resentment and

eventually led to complete starvation.

The influence of radical socialists showed increasing industrial unrest !

On 1 April 1917 Germany experienced major strikes in metal working

and munitions centres.

In Jan 1918 a dozen major German cities suffered widespread strikes.

On 29thof October 1918 mutinies broke out in the German navy. A

socialist republic was declared in Bavaria. In these circumstances the

Kaiser abdicated and the High Command advised the new government

to end the war.

War weariness contributed to the collapse of the home front, a number

of reasons can be suggested for this:

-Economic hardship, starvation.

-The German High Commands mismanagement of the economy !

they failed to balance the needs of industry, the military and

agriculture.


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-The High Command had little skill in dealing with political opposition.

Peace Movement

As the war went on a number of groups and individuals made attempts

to arrange peace between the belligerents.

The international womens movement was a consistent voice for peace.

In August 1917 Pope Benedict XV made a peace proposal based on

compromise.

HSC QUESTION

Outline the variety of attitudes to the war and how they changed

over time in Britain and Germany (8 marks).


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2D: THE IMPACT OF THE WAR ON WOMENS LIVES AND

EXPERIENCES IN BRITAIN

WW1 created feminism led to women championing feminism

and social equality.

Total war brought a re-evaluation of the role of women in civilian life.

The number of women in employment in Britain increased from just

over 3 million in July 1914 to nearly 5 million by January 1918.

As women were mobilised into the workplace, they gradually took

positions traditionally regarded as mens work, particularly in war-

related industries.

Employment

The highly dangerous munitions industry was the biggest employer of

British women.

There was also demand for women to do havy work !unloading coal,

stoking furnaces, building ships etc.

Women worked as conductors on trams and buses.

A quarter of a million British women worked on the land, with another

half a million employed as clerical officers in private businesses andgovernment departments.

Women were also employed in fields of banking, education and

medicine.

Female doctors and policewomen increased in numbers.

Women were increasingly used in the armed forces in non-combatant

roles such as transport work and nursing.

The three sections that women could join were agriculture, timber

cutting and forage.

A range of services also applied to nursing !women could work in the

Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD).

By the end of the war, over 80 000 women had served in the British

womens forces.

WOMENS JOBS

! Nursing

! VAD (voluntary Aid Detachments)

!

Womens Armed Forces


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! Womens Land Army

! Munitions industry (Munitionettes)

! Heavy work unloading coal, stoking furnaces and building ships.

! Conductors on trams and buses.

!

Working on the land (1/4 million)

! Clerical officers in private businesses and gov. departments. (1/2 mil).

! Fields of banking, education, medicine.

! Increase in doctors and police force.

Unions and job protection

Male trade unionists resisted women taking the place of men in

industry because they feared the jobs would be lost to men in

eacetime. The government and unions made wartime labout agreements to

protect mens jobs and ensure they would be returned to them

For those jobs not rotected by trade union agreements, the

government passed a special Act of Parliament in 1919 called the

Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act. The Act directed women to leave

their jobs when war ended.

Womens participation in the workplace boosted the war effort but did

not bring long-term changes to gender-stereotypes and roles in Britishsociety.

Financial Freedom and Social life

For many women, the new responsibilities of war and financial

independence combined with a wartime atmosphere to redefine ideas

about acceptability for women.

Women now had a disposable income for leisure.

War encouraged romance and leisure activity: dance halls and

nightclubs proliferated, ragtime music, jazz and cinema became

popular !there was new sexual freedom.

For practicality in the workplace, skirts became shorter and women

wore trousers. The brassiere replaced the corset.

The workplace changes and wartime shortages of fabric led to changes

in womens fashions.

A Lasting Impact?

To what extent did the war have a lasting impact on womens lives?


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-Women retained some of the social independence they had acquired

during the war. The change in womens fashion became more or less

permanent. !the roaring twenties are a manifestation of what the

war created socially.

-Little permanent change in area of employment. In most cases

women had to give up male jobs they had once taken on. Secretarial

work was one area that women retained, war confirmed this as a

female job.

-In 1918 the British Passed the Representation of the People act,

giving women the right to voite !this suggests that the vote was

given to women as a reward for their war effort. [Vote only given to

female householders over the age of thirty].-In The Female Eunuch, Germaine Greer highlights the fact that in the

aftermath of WW1 the number of women represented in parliament or

the professions remained very low. For the vast majority the pattern

of female employment had emerged as underpaid, menial and

supportive.

HSC QUESTION:

Assess the impact of WW1 on womens lives and experiences inBritain (8 marks).


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TURNING POINTS 2/04/2014 8:10 AM

3A: IMPACTS OF THE ENTRY OF THE USA AND OF THE RUSSIAN

WITHDRAWAL.

The year 1917 marked two turning points in the course of the war: in

April, the United States broke its policy of isolationism and entered the

war on the side of the Allies in November. Russias Bolshevik party,

having staged a successful revolution, fulfilled its promise to withdraw

Russia from the war.

Impact of the Russian Withdrawal

At the outbreak of war in 1914, Russia had the largest army in the

world (12 000 000-14 000 000) but was also a nation plagued by

serious internal problems. The inadequacies of Russias logistical planning became a catastrophic

short-coming when faced with a highly industrialised and organised

opponent.

With soldiers sent to their deaths on the Eastern Front and economic

collapse at home, discontent among the Russian people grew stronger.

By February 1917, the demoralised Russian army had suffered eight

million casualties and one million more Russian soldiers had deserted.

With the Tsars authority shattered, the government collapsed andRussia was in revolution.

The allies felt betrayed at Russias withdrawal, having not honoured its

military obligations to its French and British allies.

In October 1917, a second revolution gave the Bolsheviks power. The

Bolshevik leader, Lenin, called for a separate peace and signed an

armistice with Germany in December 1917.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Russian governments withdrawal from WW1 in 1917 and the

subsequent treaty of Brest-Litovsk effectively ended the war on the

Eastern Front.

Lenin demanded a peace without annexations or indemnities and

based on Russias right to self-determination.

Germany was determined to assert its authority over Russia and

dictated harsh conditions for peace.

On 18thof Feb 1918, the German forces resumed their advance on

Russia and the Bolsheviks were forced to accept the punishment meted


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out by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The treaty was a national

humiliation for Russia.

Russia lost a quarter of its European territory which meant: 34% of

population, 89% of coal mines, 32% of the agricultural land.

The Russian collapse enabled Germany to shift its military divisions

comprising one million men and resources from the Eastern to the

Western Front.

The Allies predicted they would face a reinvigorated German military

attack in the spring of 1918.

Impact of the US entry into the war At the outbreak of the war in 1914, America declared its neutrality:

public opinion did not favour one side, while its isolationism reinforced

the idea that the war was a European conflict.

In 1917 the German High Command in an effort to break the power of

the Allies at sea, declared unrestricted submarine warfare on merchant

trading ships.

Merchant ships were sunk in an effort to deprive Britain of food and

munitions. British supply lines and sea routes were secured when a convoy

system was established that was supported by US destroyers.

On 2ndApril 1917k President Woodrow Wilson appeared before the

American Congress and asked the to make the world safe for

democracy by declaring war against Germany. America thus entered

the war.

Americas massive industrial and economic resources were now

available to the Allied war effort (although it was not immediate).

The American decision to declare war on Germany was evolutionary,

and not triggered by a single event.

Culminating Factors for US entry

! U boat sinking of British liner Lusitania (May 1815) !Anti German

feeling, 1924 lives lost, 128 of them Americans.

! Unrestricted warfare infringing the freedom of the seas and the loss of

further American lives from sinking American ships by German U-


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boats.

! Large sums of money loaned by the Americans to Britain (British

defeat would result in financial loss for the US).

! Allied propaganda (presenting Germany as aggressor).

!

Release of the Zimmerman telegram German attempt to negotiate

an alliance with Mexico and Japan against the US.

! With German victory, Mexican territories would be restored to Mexico.

American Expeditionary Force

American forces were given a mandate to cooperate with Allies, but

fought under their own flag under American leadership.

The build-up of American forces and strength in Europe was slow and

did not provide the immediate Allied salvation that many had hopedfor.

President Wilsons declaration of war committed American supplies,

extended loans, supply of naval power and the call-up of half a million

American conscripts.

However, America was not a military force on the Western Front until

1918, so their contribution to fighting was limited.


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3B: LUDENDORFFS SPRING OFFENSIVE AND THE ALLIED

RESPONSE

Ludendorffs Spring Offensive (Kaiserchlacht the Kaisers

Battle)

Germanys last major offensive was timed to take advantage of the

window of opportunity provided by Russias surrender of the arrival of

German reinforcements in the months before the large numbers of

American troops could be trained and put into the Allied frontlines.

Ludendorff abandoned the straight line of advance, instead specially

trained and equipped storm troops were used !objective to destroy

specific objectives and then move on quickly without any attempt to

consolidate. Ludendorffs offensive comprised five major attacks launched between

March and July.

Each attack was initially successful: German troops advanced 65km.

They were closer to Paris in August 1914 and Allied casualties were

heavy as were Allied POWs.

The Kaiserschlact series of offensives had yielded large territorial gains

for the Germans, in First World War terms.

However, victory was not achieved and the German armies wereseverely depleted, exhausted and in exposed positions. (They were

exposed due to their decisiveness).

The territorial gains were in the form of salient which greatly increased

in length of the line that would have to be defended when Allied

reinforcements gave the Allies the initiative (the Germans have

stretched themselves too thin along the line).

In six months, the strength of the German army had fallen from 5.1

million fighting men to 4.2 million.

German manpower was exhausted.

German political ambitions remained extravagant until the very end.

The German army still believed they could gain all the territory they

needed.

The Allies had been badly hurt but not broken.

American troops were for the first time used as independent

formations and had proven themselves greatly. Their presence

counterbalanced the serious manpower shortages that Britain and

France were experiencing after four years of war.


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The Allied Response (Hundred Days Offensive) (July 18-November

11, 1918).

The stalemate on the Western Front had been broken by the great

German offensives of the spring and summer of 1918, which ha

dpushed the Allies back up to 65km and created a series of huge

salient in the Allied line. (German objective)

They had failed to achieve their main objective, which had been to

separate the British from the French and capture the channel ports,

and had drained much of the strength out of the German army.

The American Expeditionary Force was now present in France in large

numbers, and their presence invigorated the Allied armies. Their commander, General John J. Pershing (Johnny Pursestrings) was

keen to use his army in an independent role.

The British Army had also been reinforced by large numbers of troops

returned from campaigns in Palestine and Italy, and large numbers of

replacements previously held back in Britain by PM David Lloyd

George. [Counter offensive = The Big Push]

A number of proposals were considered, and finally Foch agreed on a

proposal by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, the commander of the British(BEF), to strike on the Somme, east of Amiens and southwest of the

1916 battlefield of the Battle of the Somme.

The BEFs objective = drive German army away from Amiens-Paris

railway.

The Allies chose battlefields and areas where they could use tanks and

target weak German positions.

Amiens

The Battle of Amiens (with the French attack on 8 August 1918, with

an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions including Australian,

Canadian, British and French forces with more than 500 tanks).

The Allies achieved complete surprise through careful preparations.

The attack broke through the German lines and tanks attacked

German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion.

The Allies had taken 17 000 prisionors and captured 330 guns. Total

German losses were estimated to be 30 000 on 8 August, while the


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Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded and missing. This

marked collapse in German morale.

The advance continued for three more days where the Allies had

managed to gain 19km and the Germans began to pull out of the

salient back towards the Hindenburg line.

Second Somme

On 15 August 1918, Foch demanded that Haig continue the Amiens

offensive, even though the attack was faltering as the troops outran

their supplies and artillery and German reserves were being moved to

the sector.

Haig refused and instead prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the

British Third Army at Albert (the Battle of Albert), which opened on 21August. The offensive was a success, pushing the German Secon Army

back over a 55km front.

Battle of the Hindenburg Line

Foch now planned a series of great concentric attacks on the German

lines in France (sometimes referred to as the Great Offensive) with

the various tactics of advance designed to cut the Germans lateral

means of communications, intending that the success of a single attackwould enable the entire front line to be advanced.

The first attack of Fochs Grand Offensive (launched 26thSept by

French and American Expeditionary forces) involved attacking over

difficult terrain, resulting in the Hindenburg Line not being broken until

the 17 October.

Two days later, the Allied army launched an attack near Ypres in

Flanders (the Fifth Battle of Ypres). Both attacks made good progress

initially but were then slowed by logistical problems.

By the 5thof October, the Allies had broken through the entire depth of

the Hindenburg defences over a 31 km front.

Subsequently (on October 8), led by Canadian Corps, the 1stand 3rd

British armies broke through the Hindenburg Line at the Battle of

Cambrai. This collapse forced the German High Command to accept

that the war had to be ended.

The evidence of failing German morale also convinced many Allied

commanders and political leaders that the war could be ended in 1918.


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!had the Germans not shown marked signs of deterioration during the

past month, I should never have contemplated attacking the Hindenburg

Line. Had it been defended by the Germans of two years ago, it would

certainly have been impregnable


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ALLIED VICTORY

4a. Events leading to the Armistice, 1918

American President Wilson had been exploring a peace-making role for

much of the war. At the start of 1917 he was promoting the idea of

peace without victory.

Finally on 8 January 1918, he announced his Fourteen Points as a basis

for world peace.

Ludendorffs Peace Offensives from March to July 1918 dominated

German affairs.

It was their belief that they could force the Allies to accept their terms

if they could win enough territory or threaten victory. The successful

Allied offensives that followed in August changed German attitudes

quickly. With the Allies rapidly gaining the upper hand on the Western Front,

the German High Command was now forced to consider Wilsons

demands that they evacuate all occupied territory and install a new

government before there could be peace.

The choice now seemed to be a just peace based on Wilsons

proposal, or a punitive peace at the hands of a vengeful Britain and

France if they were made to fight their way into Germany.

In October 1918, the German High Command requested that thepoliticians seek an armistice and peace negotiations based on Wilsons

proposal.

With unrest and eventually revolution spreading on the home front, the

Germans sought an armistice from the Allies. On 9 November Kaiser

Wilhelm II abdicated and a new provinsional government was formed

with Social Democrat leader Freidrich Ebert as leader.


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WILSONS FOURTEEN POINTS

# No secret agreements between nations

# Freedom of the seas

# Removal of economic barriers

# Disarmament

# An impartial adjustment of colonial claims

# The evacuation of all Russian territory

# The evacuation of all Belgian territory

# The evacuation of French territory and the restoration of Alsace

Lorraine.

# The adjustment of Italys borders.

# An opportunity for the various people of Austria-Hungary to seek

autonomy.

# The evacuation of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro; Serbia given

access to the sea and issues in the Balkans resolved.

# Autonomy for different nationalities within the Ottoman Turkish

Empire.

# An independent Poland

# The formation of a general association of nations to ensure that

all nations had protection against aggression.


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4b. Reasons for Allied Victory and German Collapse

Strategic Advantages and Disadvantages

At the outbreak of war Germany had a number of advantages:

It had the strongest economy in Europe; its factories were well

suited to producing massive quantities of armaments demanded by

an industrial war.

It had a large standing army that was well equipped, well trained

and well led.

It occupied a position on Central Europe that was strategically

compact and relatively easy to defend. From the first days of war

the fighting took place on Allied territory and the challenge wasalways for the Allies to find a way of forcing Germany to retreat. On

the Western Front German generals could adopt a largely defensive

strategy that often saw them holding the high ground and building

complex trench lines with secure dug-outs.

By contrast, Allied powers such as Britain and Russia were relatively

poorly prepared for a land war in Europe. Moreover, forced to take

the initiative on the Western Front, Allied generals adopted costly

offensive strategies and took a long time to come to terms withtrench warfare.

On the other hand, Germany faced a number of disadvantages that

became more significant the longer the war went on:

Germany had planned on the success of the Schlieffen Plan to

achieve a quick victory. Once this plan had failed it faced a long war

on two fronts. Even though the German Army dominated the

Eastern Front, it was not able to force Russia out of the war until

early 1918. Any advantage this might have given Germany at this

late stage was more than cancelled out by US entry into the war on

the Allied side.

While Germany had a strong industrial economy, the British naval

blockade effectively cut off its world trade. By contrast, while

Germanys submarine campaign against Britains merchant vessels

resulted in enormous British losses, the end result was to ensure US

entry into the war rather than Britains defeat.


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Whereas Britain and France could rely on their global empires to

provide significant military an economic support, Austria-Hungary,

Bulgaria and Turkey provided limited military or economic support

for Germany. And, even before it entered the war in 1917, Us trade

had massively favoured the Allied Powers.

In the long term, Germany was unable to match the technological

and industrial potential of the Allies and their empires.

The longer the war, the more the blockade on raw materials would

disadvantage Germany.

When the Allies began to produce tanks and aircraft in largenumbers, for example, the Germans were unable to match them.

Collapse of the German Home Front

The demands of a war economy, Allied blockade and inflation led

to food shortages by 1916 !led to starvation in 1918.

The German High Commands control of the economy meant that

it was able to insist upon shifting manpower away from

agriculture to industry and military!

Disatrous impact on theproduction of food in the long term.

At the outbreak of war a political truce (Burgfrieden) had been

declared in Germany with all parties offering support to the war

effort. However old political tensions between socialists and the

conservative government re emerged and the truce broke down

!In 1917 the Reichstag supported a Peace resolution.

Subsequently influenced by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,

revolutionary socialists emerged to lead strikes and mutinies. By

late 1918 !Political breakdown and revolution on home front.

Evidence of the growing discontent can be seen in a dramatic

increase in the number of stikes in Germany: from about

1000/month in 1915 ti 100 000/ month in 1918.

US Entry Into the War

The entry of the USA on the side of the Allies was perhaps the most

critical factor In the war. The industrial might of the USA with its massive


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potential for the provision of resources both material and human, was a

major blow to German morale.

Other Considerations

The most prominent reasons for the Allied victory are:

The US entry,

the successes of the Allied counter Offensive in 1918

The collapse of the German Home Front

Germanys long term strategic disadvantage.

It is suggested that victory in WWI was a close rung thing:

It was Ludendorffs Spring Offensive that broke the stalemate on

the Western Front !it threatened Paris and the whole Alliedposition on the Western Front.

Even though the US declared war on Germany in April 1917, only

187, 928 American troops had landed in Europe by the end of 1917

as they took time to mobilise. This was a window of opportunity for

the Germans to force the issue before the American reinforcements

could mobilise and overwhelm them.

While the German Home Front had collapsed so had Russias.

Moreover, it became evident in the 1920s that the Great War had adevastating effect on the Allied economies.


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4c. The roles and differing goals of Clemenceau, Lloyd George

and Wilson in creating the Treaty of Versailles

The Paris Peace Conferece

Following the conclusion of WWI, the Allies faced the challenge of

making peace with their former enemies. This task was begun on

18 January 1919 when the Paris Peace Conference was convened.

Delegates from all of the victor nations attended the conferece but

it was dominated by representatives of the Big Three !President

Woodrow Wilson of the US, PM David Lloyd George of Britain and

Premier Georges Clemenceau of France. The aim was to deal with the defeated nations and establish

conditions for world peace, it was made more complex by the

circumstances of Europe and the world in the immediate aftermath

of WWI:

The Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires had collapsed.

There was a need to redraw boundaries and create new

nations in a way that would satisfy the many ethnic groups

inhabiting the area. Yugoslavia (new nation created in the Balkans) was unstable

in the long term.

Poland was established as a homeland for the Poles, at the

expense of dividing Germany.

Germany resented the fact that Austria and Germany were

not aloud to unite. This appeared the Germans denial of the

right to self determination.

In Russia, following the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, there

was a new communist government !Western powers feared

the spread of this doctrine.

The Ottoman Empire had collapsed and Germany had lost its

colonies

The war had caused widespread suffering and even Allies

were close to economic collapse.


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The Big Three

THE BIG THREE MOTIVATIONS AND GOALS

WILSON LLOYD GEORGE CLEMENCEAU

PERSONAL-

ITY

#

An academic

with genuinely

internationalist

vision.

# Limited

appreciation of

the complexity of

European

disputes and

border issues.

#

Shared some of

Wilsons

farsighted

concerns,

however also

practical and

influenced by

the home front

and need to

compromise.

#

Fierce

French

Patriot

# Sought

revenge for

both WWI

and Prussian

invasion

1871.

WAR

INFLUENCE

#Winning the

War gave Wilson

enormous

influence.

# US enriched by

the war.

#

Lost 114,095lives.

# Lost 761,213

lives

# War pensions at

enormous cost

# War almost

ruined economy

for Britain.

# Lost

1,358,000

lives.

# War

pensions

enormous

cost.# War

destroyed

factories,

farmland,

forests.

HOME

FRONT

INFLUENCE

# Republicans won

recent

Congressionalelections !not

strong support in

US

# Isolationism

undermined his

own

internationalism.

# Just won Khaki

Election end of

1918,highlighting

victory in War,

strong mood to

make Germany

pay.

# France had

suffered

more thanBritain !

more

pressure to

punish and

weaken

Germany.

SECURITY # US under no

threat.

# Once German

navy was

# Germany

was a long


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%"

# Agreed to the

return of Alsace

and Lorraine to

France.

#

Offered France

security

guarantee.

# Felt that League

of Nations would

safeguard all

nations against

aggression.

destroyed,

Britain had little

to fear.

# Did not want to

see Germany

weakened to

France could

dominate.

# Opposed the

separation of

Rhineland

# Offered to

support Wilsonin safeguarding

French borders.

term threat.

# Sought to

weaken

Germany by

setting up

Rhineland

border

region as

separate

state.

# France was

largely left

to defenditself.

NATIONAL-

ISM AND

INTERNATI-

ONALISM

# Wilson gave way

to Britain and

France in many

matters but

insisted on the

establishment ofthe League of

Nations.

# In carving up

Germany and

Turkeys former

colonies

between them,

Britain andFrance largely

followed on

national

interest.

# New borders

seen as a

way of

weakening

Germany,

creating newallies or

building

buffer zone

between

communist

Russia and

the rest of

Europe.

# Little faith in

League of

Nations.

REPRARA-

TIONS

# Recognised that

Germany should

pay according to

capacity to pay

# Sought

reparations

from Germany,

partly in order

to pay US war

loans.

# Demanded

reparations

to cover war

damage,

pensions and

debt.


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# R

world war 1 hsc notes (modern history

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