World War 1
• World War 1 started in August 1914 after tension had been building in Europe for the last 30 years • Most of the fighting took place in Belgium and France • World War 1 was stated to be the war that 'would be over by Christmas.' However it dragged on for four long years of bloody stalemate
1914 • Germany invades Belgium • Britain declares war on Germany • Japan joins the Allied forces: Ottoman Empire soon joins the Central Powers • War spreads to the seas
1915 • Women take up men's jobs • Stalemate continues on the Western Front • The Lusitania passenger liner is sunk, with 1,200 lives lost • London attacked from the air by German Zeppelins
1916 • Conscription for men aged between 18 and 41 is introduced • A million casualties in ten months: Germany aims to 'bleed France white'
1916: The Battle • Thethe Battle lasted from July 1 1916of Somme st
November 1916 • On July 1st over 60,000 British troops were killed • In the end over 1 million soldiers were killed on all sides • The Allied troops gained only 6 miles
1917 • German Army retreats to the Hindenburg Line • United States joins the war and assists the Allies • Tank, submarine and gas warfare intensifies • Royal family change their surname to from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor to appear more British
1918 • Germany launches major offensive on the Western Front • Allies launch successful counteroffensives at the Marne and Amiens • Armistice signed on November 11, ending the war at 11am
The Reporting of • Newspapers described troops as War
itching to go over the top • Government reported to the press that life in the trenches promoted good health and clear air • The public was not told about high death toll
•Romanticized the battlefields “soldiers have died a beautiful death, in noble battle, we shall rediscover poetry…epic and chivalrous”
The Realities of War • Trenches dug from English Channel Trenches to Switzerland • 6,250 miles • 6 to 8 feet deep • Immobilized both sides for 4 years
Life in the Trenches • Life was usually grim • Apart from the dangers of the enemy artillery and machine gun fire, soldiers endured plagues of rats and lice • In wet weather the trenches soon became flooded
Life in the • Major offensives were quite rare, so Trenches that for most of the time soldiers waited, sending out patrols into nomans-land, repairing damage and watching for enemy activity • Soldiers in the trenches often complained that boredom was their worst enemy
Life in the • Many soldiers tried to fill their Trenches
time by writing poetry and letters home • They also spent time making things from what was left lying around
by John McCrae, May 1915 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
HERE DEAD WE LIE Here dead we lie Because we did not choose To live and shame the land From which we sprung. Life, to be sure, Is nothing much to lose, But young men think it is, And we were young. A E Housman
Sunday afternoon, 1 Sep, 1918. My dear Father, It is a strange feeling to me but a very real one, that every letter now that I write home to you or to the little sisters may be the last that I shall write or you read. I do not want you to think that I am depressed; indeed on the contrary, I am very cheerful. But out here, in odd moments the realisation comes to me of how close death is to us. A week ago I was talking with a man, a catholic, from Preston, who had been out here for nearly four years, untouched. He was looking forward with certainty to going on leave soon. And now he is dead - killed in a moment during our last advance. Well it was God's will. I say this to you because I hope that you will realise, as I do, the possibility of the like happening to myself. I feel very glad myself that I can look the fact in the face without fear or misgiving. Much as I hope to live thro' it all for your sakes and my little sisters! I am quite prepared to give my life as so many have done before me. All I can do is put myself in God's hands for him to decide, and you and the little ones pray for me to the Sacred Heart and Our Lady. I hope that you will not move out of the old house yet. Write and let me know when anything happens. I see that you went to Preston a few days ago. It seems years and years since I tried to get drowned in the canal. Well I have not much time left and I must end. With my dear love. Pray for me. Your son Frank.
Over the Top • Going “Over the Top” was where soldiers were told to leave their trench and run through No-Man’s Land to attack the opposition trenches • This was little more than asking the men to commit suicide
Trench Foot • One of the main problems for soldiers was stopping Trench foot • This can cause great pain and stop soldiers being able to fight
Dangers • Soldiers faced the threat of death every day • Those that weren’t killed were often left with horrific injuries • Some soldiers had psychological scars that stayed with them for the rest of their lives
Weapons • World War 1 saw the development of a range of new weapons