Kayla Lambright 722-736 APEH NOTES

The War
before 1914, leaders thought war not worth risks; others thought diplomats would prevent war

1914-1915: Illusions and Stalemate

-went to war with enthusiasm 1914 (propaganda, please from govts, put aside differences); socialists thought imperialist war blow against uniting working class; used nationalism to unite workers against other countries (German Social Democrats safeguard culture of own country) -new illusions; thought war would last a few weeks; thought modern industry could not support war for more than a few months -new illusions: people attracted to going to war; thought war would eliminate selfishness and emphasize heroism

War in the West

-German Schlieffin Plan failed, needed strong right flank into Paris, but Germans moved troops to strengthen eastern front -German on French soil Aug 4, Brits/French counterattacked under General Joseph Joffre at First Battle of the Marne (stopped Germans); turned to stalemate, trench warfare kept sides in same positions for 4 years

War in the East

-more mobility; Russians defeated by Germans at Battle of Tannenberg (Aug 30) and Masurian Lakes (Sept 15); established reputations of generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff; Russians no longer threat to territory -Austrians defeated by Russians in Galicia, thrown out of Serbia; Italy broke alliance and attacked Austria May 1915; Germans helped, pushed Russians back (2.5 mil Russian casualties); Germany, Austria, Bulgaria eliminated Serbia from war

1916-1917:The Great Slaughter

-moved forces to west, trenches defensive nests with machine guns; enemy troops separated by no mans land -leaders not used to trenches, threw masses of men at the enemies after artillery, millions killed by machine guns; seen as senseless (German offensive at Verdun, British campaign on Somme, French attack in Champagne)

Daily Life in theTrenches

-large confusion when entering no mans land with machine gun fire/artillery -poison gas 1915, dead bodies give diseases, rats, water/floods -soldiers life was routine; ready for attack in morning, breakfast, inspection, restoration of trenches; large amounts of boredom -live and let live system, enemies knew they werent going to move eachother out; arrangements such as not attacking during breakfast, or attacking bathrooms; agreements to make noises before raids to ensure soldiers could get back to bunkers -made own magazines, british B.E.F. Times defines military terms with humor; created own songs

The Widening of the War

-looked for allies to end stalemate, Ottomans joined Germany 1914, Triple Entente declared war on them; Bulgarian entry into war and disastrous campaign at Gallipoli caused them to withdraw; Italian military incompetence forced allies to help Italy

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War

-WWI total war, transformed govts, economies, societies; organize masses of men. Centralization of govt, manipulation of public opinion Total War: Political Centralization and Economic Regimentation -initial enthusiasm wasnt lasting forever; govts thought short term war, didnt focus on economic problems or long term war needs -extension of government power, drafts established in most countries (GB 1916); didnt want to enlist needed workers -govts used planned economics, experimented with price/wag controls, nationalization of transportation and industry; civilians seen as national army dedicated to victory -Germans successful in planned economy (asked head of German General Electric company Walter Rathenau to organize War Raw Materials board to allocate strategic materials); less successful with food, before WWI had to import 20% of food, British blockades/lack of farm labor led to starving -General Paul von Hidenburg (chief of General Staff) and Erich Ludendorff (deputy chief) control German govt 1916, basically military dictators; Auxiliary Service Law of 1016, required all males on homefront to work only in jobs crucial to war effort

-central governments increased; pressure of circumstances led to govt interference with economy, created Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George 1915, managed war materials, took over plants that did not cooperate; rationed food and supplies -France less successful with war govt; German occupation of NE france cost 75% of coal production, 80% on steel-making; struggles between military and civil authorities over who would oversee war; strong leader 1917 Georges Clemenceau civilian control of total war govt -Russia and Austria-Hungary had backward economies, couldnt supply armies; Italians lacked enthusiasm and industrial resources Public Order and Public Opinion -internal dissatisfaction replaced patriotic enthusiasm; 1916 civilian morale cracking -strikes after first 2 years; 1916 50,000 Berlin workers stopped working to protest arrest pf radical socialist leader; France/Britain, strikes increased significantly; Irish Republican Brotherhood and Citizens Army occupied govt buildings in Dublin on Easter Sunday 1916, British forces crushed Easter Rebellion -opposition to war from liberals and socialists; liberals wanted negotiated peace, no land gains (ignored); socialists in Germany/Austria demanded same; mutinies in Italian and French armies 1917; Czech leaders in Austria called for Czech state; 1917 200,000 Berlin workers protested reduction of bread rations; all countries except Russia survived the stresses of 1917 -germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary used force to subdue populations; British passed Defence of the Realm Act (police arrested dissenters of war); censored newspapers; French Georges Clemenceau suppressed liberties for war, editor of antiwar newspaper executed for treason -used propaganda and exaggerations to arouse enthusiasm for war

Civil War
-opposition to Bolshevik regime from bourgeois, artistocratic liberals, anti-Lenin socialists (Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries); allied troops sent to Russia to try to bring back into war -1018-1921 Bolshevik (Red) army fought white (antibolshevik) force in Siberia under Admiral Alexander Kolchak; Whites under Gen Anton Denikin went through Ukraine almost to Moscow; 1920 Ukraine retaken from whites; Communist regime took control in Caucasus (Georgia, Russian Armenia, Azerbaijan) -tsar and family moved to Tobolsk (1917) and Ekaterinburg (1918) where local soviets murdered them all -Red Army well organized (Leon Trotsky: reinstated draft, disobedient soldiers executed); Red Army able to move troops rapidly -political differences in Whites (Admiral Kolchak wanted to restore tsar regime, others wanted democratic govt); difficult for military cooperation -Whites did not have common goal, Red Communists had determination

-war communism (nationalized banks/industries, requisition of grain from peasants, centralized state under Bolsheviks); revolutionary terror (Red Terror) instituted a secret police (Cheka) determined to eliminate enemies (class enemies Bourgeoisie); thousands executed -intervention of Allies (foreign troops, anti-bolshevik) aroused Russian patriotism, but indirectly helped Bolsheviks -1921 Communists retained control of Russia, bureaucratically centralized state with one party; new regime hostile to the Allies, also impossible without WWI and the collapse of Russia

The Last year of the War

-Russian withdrawal resulted in Germany leading grand offensive in West to break stalemate (advanced to 35 miles outside of Paris); Allied counterattack (French General Ferdinand Foch)defested Germans at Second Battle of the Marne; Allies started to advance towards Germany -Sept 1918 Ludendorf demanded a sue for peace, Allies unwilling to make peace with autocratic govt, forced to make reforms; William II left country, Socialists under Friedrich Ebert announced republic; armistice came into effect, war over nov 11 1918 The Casualties of the War -9 million soldiers dead, 22 million wounded; birthrate declined; lost generation of young men accustomed to violence, developed postwar bands of fighters who supported Mussolini and Hitler -civilians died from war, civil war, and hunger; 1915 Armenian uprising against Orromans resulted in Ottomans killing Armenian men, expelling women and children (600,000 killed, 500,000 deported, but 400,000 of those died on the march through Syria); victims of genocide