WORLD WAR I LESSON THREE

BATTLES OF 1914

The declaration of war sent waves of excitement throughout Europe. Men volunteered to
fight. Parades of marching soldiers were greeted with cheers. Everyone thought the war
would be over by the end of 1914. No one, especially the Germans, had any idea that World
War I would drag on for four long years.

THE SCHLIEFFEN (SHLEE•FEN) PLAN

Count Alfred von Schlieffen, a German general, planned to knock France out of the war
in just 42 days. General Schlieffen’s plan involved sending German troops through Belgium
and into northern France to capture the city of Paris. If the plan worked, France would
be forced to surrender. This would allow Germany to spend all of its energy fighting the
Russians in eastern Europe.

GREAT NETHERLANDS
BRITAIN
GERMANY
NEL
AN
H CH
BELGIUM
IS
GL
EN

AISNE RIVE
R

FRANCE Paris MARNE

RIVER

MAP KEY
SCHLIEFFEN PLAN ROUTE SWITZERLAND

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THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE
Things went well for the Germans in the beginning. They used powerful guns to
destroy Belgian forts. The Belgians fought back, but they were not able to defeat the German
Army. On August 22, 1914, the British Expeditionary Force, or BEF, arrived at Mons in
Belgium with 100,000 men. The BEF was able to delay the German Army for a few days, but
once again, the Germans were too powerful.
By September 1914, the Germans had traveled 31 miles a day toward Paris. They were
exhausted and out of supplies. More than 100,000 German soldiers had been lost in battle.
German general, Alexander von Kluck, decided to change the Schlieffen Plan. Instead of
marching west toward Paris, he ordered his German troops to travel east toward the Marne
River.
British and French troops gathered along the Marne River. They planned to take a stand
against the Germans. The Battle of the Marne lasted five days. In the end, the Germans were
pushed back 37 miles to the Aisne River. The Allies called their victory “the miracle of Marne.”
Paris had been saved from capture. Germany’s plan to quickly knock France out of the war
had been crushed.

THE RACE TO THE SEA

The Battle of the Marne was a turning point. Until now, the goal had been to move
quickly across the open countryside, shooting and killing the enemy. It was impossible to
avoid being shot. The guns were too powerful. There was no place to hide out in the open.
In what became known as the “race to the sea,” both sides hurried to dig a line of
trenches from the English Channel to Switzerland. By the middle of September 1914, “trench
warfare” had begun. Instead of attacking their enemies out in the open, soldiers fought each
other with machine guns and grenades from the safety of their trenches. Neither side could
move. The war became a stalemate.

GREAT NETHERLANDS
BRITAIN
GERMANY
L
NE
AN
SH
CH BELGIUM
L I
NG
E Mons

AISNE RIVE
R

Paris
FRANCE MARNE
RIVER

MAP KEY
SCHLIEFFEN PLAN ROUTE
GENERAL VON KLUCK’S ROUTE
SWITZERLAND
LINE OF TRENCHES

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THE BATTLE OF TANNENBURG
While Germany was trying to capture the city of Paris, its army was being attacked by
Russia in eastern Europe. In August,
1914, two large Russian armies invaded
East Prussia (PRUSH•uh), a kingdom
of Germany.
With an army of five million SWEDEN
men, the Russians hoped to quickly
destroy the Germans and Austrians and
I C SEA
take control of the war on the Eastern
B ALT
Front.
During the Battle of Tannenburg,
the Germans surrounded the first of the
E AST PRUSSIA
USSIA R
two Russian armies and drove them
Berlin Tannenburg
into the swamplands. MASURIAN
As the Russian soldiers LAKES
struggled in the water, the Germans G
ERMANY
fired their machine guns, killing about
30,000 and capturing 100,000 more.

THE MASURIAN LAKES

One month later, the Russians
tried again to defeat the Germans and A
USTRIA UNGARY-H
take control of the war on the Eastern ROMANIA
Front.
The Russians planned to split
their armies and go around the Masurian Lakes. They would attack the Germans from two
sides and move on to Berlin. The Germans found out about the plan.
After losing another 100,000 men, the Russians were forced to retreat. Although they
had more men, the Russians were poorly organized and short of weapons and ammunition.

On February 7, 1915, the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also

known as the Winter Battle, took place when Germany launched a
surprise attack on Russia in the middle of a blinding snowstorm.
FAST The Russians were able to hold off the Germans for more than two
FACTS weeks before surrendering and accepting defeat.
The Russians lost 56,000 men during the Winter Battle. More than
100,000 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner.

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 Name ___________________________________

BATTLES OF 1914
Directions: Read each question carefully. Darken the circle for the correct answer.

1 After reading the first paragraph of
the lesson, you get the idea that –
A World War I was supposed to end
quickly
B Europeans did not support the war
C it was nearly impossible to find
soldiers to fight in World War I
D everyone was prepared for a long
battle
2 What can you learn by reading about
the Schlieffen Plan?
F Its success was based on capturing
Switzerland.
G If it worked, France would be
out of the war in six weeks.
H Capturing Paris was not important
to the plan.
J Germany planned to move into
Great Britain next.
3 During the Battle of the Marne –
A Germany was able to knock France
out of the war
B Paris was captured
C the Germans were defeated
D General von Kluck followed the
Schlieffen Plan and was victorious
4 Which phrase best describes the
“Race to the Sea?”
5 By looking at the Battle of the Marne
map, you can tell that the largest
section of trenches was located in –
A Germany
B France
C Belgium
D The Netherlands
6 After reading about the Battle of
Tannenburg, you can conclude that –
F having a bigger army does not
always equal victory
G Germany’s army was bigger than
Russia’s army
H Germany was defeated
J it was impossible to defeat Russia’s
huge army
7 What went wrong for the Russians
during the Battle of the Masurian
Lakes?
A The Russians didn’t have very many
soldiers.
B The Russians had too many weapons
to carry.
C Germany found out about Russia’s
plan.
D The Russians were more organized
than they needed to be.

F ...moving quickly across the

countryside, shooting and killing
the enemy...
G ...no place to hide out in the open...
H ...both sides hurried to dig a line
of trenches from the English
Channel to Switzerland...
J ...guns were too powerful...

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 Name ____________________________
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World War I © 2012

Battle of Tannenburg
Battle of the Marne
32

Battle of Masurian Lakes

 Name ____________________________

COMPARE & CONTRAST

PARAGRAPH

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