Week 6

~Week 6~

CLASS 11, 17rd February 2014

DAY 1

Two Groups were having class presentations today, we were told not to open our laptops

We were given grading sheets to score other groups’ presentation

It’s our Team’s presentation today.

Discussion and Reflection: Test will be next week and check Schoology for revision.

Homework: Revise textbook pg. 110 -115 and Mr. Rick’s PPT slides. Do Links in Schoology.

Between 1914 and 1918, Britain was involved in a conflict which was called at the time 'the Great War', but which you know as 'the First World War'.

	Overview

Causes

Historians disagree about what 'caused' the First World War, but most trace it in some degree to the growing power of Germany. The 'balance of power' between the nations of Europe became unstable. This led them to form military alliances:

·       The Triple Alliance ‒ Germany, Austria and Italy

·       The Triple Entente ‒ France, Britain and Russia

An easy to remember list of the most important issues surrounding the causes of the war is:

·       Militarism - many countries believed it was important to build large armies and navies.

·       Alliances - the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente were said to have been formed to help prevent war.

·       Imperialism - European nations were creating empires and coming into conflict.

·       Nationalism - all countries were looking out for their own interests.

After the murder of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. The countries of Europe found that the alliances they had formed dragged them into war.

Course

In August 1914, Germany invaded France through Belgium, using its plan for war ‒ the Schlieffen Plan. The German attack was forced back at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. Both sides dug defensive trenches and the war ground to a halt.

For the next four years, the war on the Western Front consisted of a deadly stalemate. The battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916, and Passchendaele in 1917 were key events, where each side tried to wear the other side down.

Conclusion

In 1917, the Americans entered the war. Before they could arrive, the Germans made another attack, in March 1918. It was successful to start with but the Germans failed to break through. They were pushed back in August 1918. Two months later the Germans signed the Armistice.

Films like All Quiet on the Western Front (made in 1930 and then remade in 1979), based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, have led us all to imagine that we know what the First World War was like. We often think of flooded trenches, artillery bombardments, suicidal rushes across No Man's Land, poison gas, mud and gangrene. There were other theatres of war, eg eastern Europe, Gallipoli, the Middle East, Africa and at sea.

Causes

A number of different things contributed to a situation where the First World War could break out.

The Threat of Germany

Germany became a united 'empire' in 1871, by defeating and humiliating France.

·       After 1900 Germany built up its navy – this frightened the British.

·       In 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II demanded an overseas empire for Germany – this frightened Britain and France.

·       Germany wanted to build a railway through the Balkans to Baghdad – this alarmed the Russians, who said they were the protectors of the Balkans.

·       Germany's military defence plan – the Schlieffen Plan – involved attacking France.

The Balkans

The Turkish Empire in the Balkans collapsed:

·       Nationalist interests became clear when the new aggressive nation of Serbia clashed with Austria.

·       Austria and Russia clashed because they both wanted more power in the Balkans.

The System of alliances

Two opposing groups had grown up by 1914, believing that a 'balance of power' would prevent war:

·       The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (1882).

·       The Triple Entente of France, Russia and Great Britain (1907)

The Coming of War, 1914

28 June	Serb terrorists shot the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on a visit to inspect Austrian troops in Bosnia.
5 July	Germany promised total support for Austria
28 July	Austria declared war on Serbia – this angered Russia.
30 July	Russia mobilized her army – this alarmed Germany.
3 August	Germany implemented the Schlieffen Plan and invaded France through Belgium.
4 August	Britain declared war on Germany.

Notes

· First poison gas attack:

·      Known as Chemical warfare

·      e.g. mustard gas and tear gas

·      Only four percent of deaths were caused by this

·      22 April 1915

· British commander of battle of Somme = General sir Douglas Haig

· Soldiers would spend 7-10 days/ 2 weeks per month in front lines.

· 420 000 British Casualties were made in the battle of Somme

· Food soldiers are in the Infantry?

· Cavalry – soldiers who fought on horseback

· Western front is

·   During the First World war, 1914 to 1918, the "Western Front" refered to a series of trench lines that ran from the Belgian coast, to the Alps. It was the result of the stagnation of battle where both sides "dug in" and settled down to a war of attrition, with little movement for over three years. The warfare was intense, with great numbers of men involved on both sides, and the loses were huge.

On the first day of the Battle of The Somme, for example, the British who were attacking the German trenches, lost 60 thousand men killed, and a further 90 thousand men wounded, IN ONE DAY.

The Western Front was eventually broken open by the Canadians, who in one day, captured Vimy Ridge, which led to a general retreat by the Germans, back into open land, and the eventual end of the War in November, 1918.

· Ypres is in Belgium

· Tanks were first used in the battle of Somme

· Sappers are a soldier responsible for tasks such as building and repairing roads and bridges, laying and clearing mines, etc.

· Butcher of Somme – nickname for Haig after battle of Somme

· Front line trenches are 2 meters deep

· A Duck board is the wooden board that lined the bottom of a trench

CLASS 12, 19th February 2014

DAY 2

Lecture:  Team Foxtrot is having a presentation today, we were told not to open our laptops during that. We were given grading sheets to score other groups’ presentation.

We did the html and Battlefield Academy Mr. Rick gave us as a link yesterday, today.

Discussion and Reflection: Next week is our IT based exam.

Homework:

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