1. World War I Section 2
A New Kind of War
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• The World War I Battlefield
• War on the Home Front
• Battles on the Western Front
• War around the World
• Map: World War I Battles, 1915-1917

2. World War I Section 2
A New Kind of War
Main Idea
With the introduction of new types of warfare and new
technologies, World War I resulted in destruction on a scale
never before imagined.
Reading Focus
• How was the World War I battlefield different than those of
earlier wars?
• How did the war affect the home front?
• What happened on the Western Front?
• How did the war spread around the world?

3. World War I Section 2
The World War I Battlefield
New weapons
• Poison gas, other new weapons response to massive deadlock
• Two systems of trenches stretched hundreds of miles, western Europe
• Millions of Allied and Central Powers soldiers in trenches of Western Front
Trench warfare
• Trench warfare not new idea
• Soldiers had long hidden behind mounds of earth
• Scale of 1914 Europe trench warfare never before experienced
Life in trenches
• Rainstorms produced deep puddles, mud
• Lice, rats, bad sanitation constant problems
• Removing dead bodies often impossible

4. World War I Section 2
The World War I Battlefield
Over the top
• Soldiers ordered out of trenches to attack enemy
• Sprinting across area known as “no-man’s-land” a deadly game
• Thousands on both sides died, cut down by enemy guns
New weapons
• Neither side able to make significant advances on enemy’s trenches
• Each side turned to new weapons like poison gas
• Value limited, both sides developed gas masks
More effective
• Other new weapons more effective than poison gas
• Rapid-fire machine guns in wide use
• Artillery and high-explosive shells, enormous destructive power

5. World War I Section 2
The World War I Battlefield
Tanks and Aircraft
• Tanks pioneered by British
– Could cross rough battlefield terrain
– Reliability was a problem
• Aircraft most useful
– At beginning of war, mostly for observation
– Soon had machine guns, bombs attached
– Faster airplanes useful in attacking cities, battlefields

6. World War I Section 2
Summarize
How did new technology affect the World
War I battlefield?
Answer(s): New technologies such as poison gas
and rapid-firing machine guns made the battlefield
more dangerous; faster airplanes proved useful in
attacking battlefield positions, factories, and cities;
neither side was able to gain an advantage.

7. World War I Section 2
War on the Home Front
Government Actions Government Control
• Winning new type of war • Sought to control public opinion
required use of all society’s
• Censored newspaper reports
resources
about fighting to keep from
• Total war, governments took discouraging public
stronger control of citizens’ lives
• Created propaganda,
• New controls changes nations’ information to influence
industries, economies opinions, encourage volunteers
• Factories produced military • Posters, pamphlets, articles
equipment, citizens conserved about enemy’s brutal actions
food, other goods

8. World War I Section 2
War on the Home Front
Women in War
• Millions of men at battle
• Work on home front done by women
– Some worked in factories, producing war supplies
– Others served as nurses to wounded
• Contributions of women
– Transformed public views of women
– Helped women win right to vote

9. World War I Section 2
Find the Main Idea
In what ways did the war affect the home
front?
Answer(s): The government took over factories;
civilians conserved food and materials;
propaganda was produced; women joined the
work force.

10. World War I Section 2
Battles on the Western Front
While people on the home front supported their troops, the war in
Western Europe was going badly for the Allied Powers.
The Italian Front The Battle of Verdun
• Italy joined Allied Powers, May • Germans planned assault on
1915 French fortress, Verdun
• Sent forces against Austria- • Believed French would defend
Hungary at border with Italy fortress at all costs
• Series of back-and-forth • Battle of Verdun meant to kill,
battles injure as many French soldiers
as possible
• Little progress made
• 400,000 French casualties in
10 months of fighting, almost
as many for Germany

11. World War I Section 2
The Battle of the Somme
• British launched attack in Somme River area to pull German troops
away from Verdun
• Main assault during 1916, but no major breakthrough
• Both sides lost great number of troops; British suffered nearly 60,000
casualties on the first day of fighting
The Third Battle of Ypres
• Failed French offensive caused rebellion among French soldiers,
spring 1917
• British began offensive near Ypres, Belgium, site of German attacks
• Third Battle of Ypres a disaster for British
• After 3 years of battle, front lines remained virtually unchanged

12. World War I Section 2
Summarize
What was the result of the battles on the
Western Front?
Answer(s): Both sides suffered extreme
casualties, but the front lines remained virtually
unchanged.

13. World War I Section 2
War around the World
Much of the early fighting took place in Europe, but the conflict quickly
became a true world war as fighting spread around the globe. Over
30 nations officially took sides in the war.
Gallipoli Campaign Spring 1915 Major Loss
• Ottoman Empire • Allies landed force • Ottoman subjects
joined Central on Gallipoli in Arabian
Powers, late 1914 Peninsula Peninsula rebelled
later in war
• Controlled sea • Attempted to
passage, destroy guns, forts • British sent T.E.
Dardanelles on Dardanelles Lawrence to
support Arabs
• Used by Allies to • Gave up after
ship supplies to months of fighting, • Arabs overthrew
Russia 200,000 deaths Ottoman rule

14. World War I Section 2
War around the World
Armenian Massacre Caucasus
• Different conflict elsewhere in • Mountain region between Black
Ottoman Empire during Gallipoli and Caspian seas
Campaign
• Home to ethnic Christian
• Russia launched attack in Armenians, minority in Muslim
Caucasus Ottoman Empire
Use of Force Violence, starvation
• Ottoman leaders claimed • 600,000 Armenians died in
Armenians aided Russians massacre
• Began forcibly removing • Ottoman leaders accused of
Armenians from Caucasus, genocide, destruction of racial,
spring 1915 political or cultural group

15. World War I Section 2
War around the World
Other Fighting
• War also fought in Asia and Africa
• Japan declared war on Germany
– Part of military agreement with Great Britain
– Japanese captured German colonies in China
– British, French attacked German colonies in Africa
• Allied colonies scattered around world made
contributions to war
– Some colonists worked as laborers to keep armies supplied
– Others fought, died in battles in hope of winning independence
– Hopes were in vain

16. World War I Section 2

17. World War I Section 2
Summarize
In what areas of the world did the war take
place?
Answer(s): Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific