THE AEF in the Trenches OVER THERE

WHY TRENCH WARFARE?

...its a miserable life, shivering in these wretched holes in the dirt...living in our own holes in the ground, only showing our heads outside to fight and to

GOT ANY QUESTIONS?

THE FIRST MODERN WAR

DAILY LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

"I had been scared several times in my life before, but now that I could hear these shells coming over I really began to know what fear was..." Quiren M. Groessl

It was forty days of unremitting hell. In fact, the comparison is hardly fair to hell. WWI Soldier

I must have inhaled a lot of gas. I suddenly found myself on my back, gasping for breath, unable to get any air into my lungs, and deftly sick at my stomach. I was able to get my gas mask on, and a few whiffs of air put me right again.

Most o! the time our biggest e"citement #as rat shooting. God they #ere big$ Some look like small dogs.% Sargent Earl Goldsmith, &'nd di(ision

Some of them cursed and raved some shook violently some trembled while others simply stood speechless. Major William E Boyce, speaking about shell shock

Over There
George M. Cohan, 1917 Perhaps the most famous American song of the WWI era was O er !here" , written #$ composer George M. Cohan in 1917. When American ha% &ust entere% the war, Cohan suppose%'$ wrote the song on a train to (ew )or* Cit$ after 'oo*ing at the ma&or hea%'ines of the passengers+ newspapers. Accor%ing to Cohan, I rea% those war hea%'ines, an% I got to thin*ing an% humming to m$se'f, an% for a minute, I thought I was going to %ance. I was a'' finishe% with #oth the chorus an% the erse #$ the time I got to town, an% I a'so ha% a tit'e., -ase% on a simp'e three note #ug'e ca'', O er !here" has #een %escri#e% as a simp'e an% catch$ tune. !he song #ecame a nationa' hit once it was recor%e% #$ a er$ popu'ar singer of the times, (ora -a$es. !he song ref'ecte% the enthusiasm of the so'%iers tra e'ing to .rance to fight in the Great War. O er !here" #ecame a s$m#o' for the American war effort as home as we''. In 19/0, Cohan+s contri#ution to the American war effort was officia''$ recogni1e% as Presi%ent .ran*'in 2. 3oose e't presente% him with the Congressiona' Me%a' of 4onor. Over There 5ohnnie, get $our gun, 5ohnnie, get $our gun, Get $our gun, get $our gun, Get $our gun, get $our gun, !a*e it on the run, 5ohnnie show the 4un On the run, on the run. Who7s a son of a gun. 4ear them ca''ing, $ou an% me, 4oist the f'ag an% 'et her f'$, 6 er$ son of 'i#ert$. )an*ee 2oo%'e %o or %ie. 4urr$ right awa$, Pac* $our 'itt'e *it, (o %e'a$, no %e'a$, :how $our grit, %o $our #it. Ma*e $our %a%%$ g'a% )an*ee 2oo%'e fi'' the ran*s, !o ha e ha% such a 'a%. .rom the towns an% the tan*s. !e'' $our sweetheart not pine, Ma*e $our mother prou% of $ou, !o #e prou% her #o$7s in 'ine. An% the o'% 3e%, White an% -'ue. 8chorus9 8chorus ; twice9 CHORUS O er there, o er there, :en% the wor%, sen% the wor% o er there;; !hat the )an*s are coming, !he )an*s are coming, !he %rums rum;tumming 6 7r$where. :o prepare, sa$ a pra$7r, :en% the wor%, sen% the wor% to #eware. We7'' #e o er, we7re coming o er, An% we won7t come #ac* ti'' it7s o er O er there.
Aftermath. O er !here ; !he stor$ of America7s most popu'ar WW1 song". March <, <00=. >http?@@www.aftermathww1.com@o erthere.aspA 3usie, 3o#ert. O er !here". !a'*in+ -roa%wa$ B !he 4istor$ of the Great White Wa$. March <, <00=. >http?@@www.ta'*in#roa%wa$.com@#wa$101@=.htm'.A

Letters HOME from the Trenches

What #as it like to be in the )merican E"peditionary !orce* +ope!ully today,s class ga(e you a little idea -ugh. o! the e"perience that soldiers had #hen they #ent /(er 0here%. 1sing the in!ormation !rom today,s class e"perience, 2hapter '3 Section ', and as any other resource you may #ant to consult, your task is to #rite a letter home to your !amily !rom the trenches on the Western 4ront. 5our letter must be hand6#ritten -type#riters #ere not usually !ound in the trenches. and must include the !ollo#ing aspects7
A Doughboy from World War I 8escribe ' !acts about coming to Europe 8escribe 3 !acts about modern warfare 8escribe 3 di!!erent aspects of daily life in the trenches 8escribe ' o! the battles in(ol(ing the )E4 -p. 9::69;<. and your reaction to them 8iscuss your emotions as you sit in the trenches Include = or ' hand6dra#n illustrations to better con(ey li!e in the trenches OPTIONAL 6 Include bet#een 9 and =< lines o! ORIGINAL poetry -that you #rite. !rom the trenches OPTIONAL > Include and actual primary source ?uote -not already pro(ided. in your letter

5our letter should only be about one to t#o pages, hand6#ritten. Include it in your 1nit 9 @otebook, due a!ter the WWI test ne"t #eek. 0he rubric is also online > make sure you care!ully consult it$ I! you need some more in!ormation, you can consult 0a!t,s World War I #ebsite. 0here is a link on the )merican +istory Aules #ebsite #ith a ton o! interacti(e material to help you$

Topics from class and readings

:e'ecti e :er ice training of troops 4owit1ers f'amethrowers poison gas %$senter$ %isease water'ogge% trenches Marne 3i er Chateau;!hierr$ %i ersit$ of troops getting O er !here" machine guns air warfare she'' shoc* #ore%om rats trench foot Cantign$ Meuse;Argonne