2. The Western Front
At the beginning of the war the Germans came up
with the Schlieffen Plan in which they would rush
to France on the western front for a quick victory,
then move on to the eastern front. This didn’t
happen.
The first battle of the Marne was a loss for Germany,
which foiled the Schlieffen Plan. By this time the
Russian forces in the east were already invading
Germany.
Germany had no choice but to split their army and
fight a war on two fronts.
3. Trench Warfare
By early 1915 the Allies
and Central Powers had
dug miles of parallel
trenches along the
western front.
This was known as
trench warfare,
soldiers remained in the
trenches for long periods
of time and fought from
in them.
4. Life in the Trenches
Life in the trenches
was completely
miserable.
The trenches were
often infested with
rats and other vermin.
Even in the trenches
they weren’t
necessarily safe from
enemy fire.
6. The Eastern Front
At the beginning of the
war Russia had launched
an attack on both Austria
and Germany.
For a while Germany was
occupied with France so
Russia was able to push
Austria back quite a bit.
Eventually Germany
returned and pushed the
Russians out of Austria.
7. Russia Struggles
Unlike most of Europe
Russia had not yet
industrialized.
They were not able to
produce supplies quickly
enough.
Russia’s one advantage
was their large numbers.
They lost 2 million
soldiers by 1915 and were
able to keep going.
8. The Total War Hits Home
World War I was a total war which meant it
touched every aspect of life. The whole government
was devoted to winning the war.
In a total war the government controls the economy
to benefit the war effort.
People were even recruited from other countries to
come help in the war effort. Germans forced people
from France and Belgium to work in their factories.
The French and British recruited people from their
colonies to help.
10. Rationing
Since many goods were
in short supply
governments turned to
rationing which is
when people could only
buy small amounts of
certain goods that were
needed for the war effort.
People were encouraged
to have their own
gardens so they’d take
less food away from the
soldiers.
12. Censoring and Propaganda
Governments attempted to
suppress anti – war activity
to keep morale high.
Leaders also censored news
about the war so people
only heard the positive
news.
Governments also used
propaganda – one sided
information designed to
persuade someone.
War posters portraying the
enemy in a negative light
became very popular.
13. Silent Conversation Directions
1. Get in groups of 2 -4.
2. You will be shown an image up on the projector.
3. In your groups take turns writing/circling/drawing
on the matching image you have in your packet
following the prompts/questions given. DON’T
TALK OUT LOUD.
4. When time is up you may be asked to share your
group’s conversation.
14. Image # 1
Label the picture using the
following words:
Good/Hero
Bad/Villain
What is happening in this
image?
15. Image # 2
Label the picture with the
following:
British
German
Victim
Perpetrator
What is being implied
about German women
(people in general)?
16. Image # 3
Label the image with the
following:
Strong/Powerful
Weak
What is being implied
about Germany’s
“We teach you to run!” enemies?
17. Image # 4
Who does “the Hun”
represent?
What makes “the Hun”
intimidating to the
audience?
What is the desired
result from this image?
18. “Humorous Map of Europe” – Who is portrayed as good? Who is portrayed as
evil? How can you tell?
