Chapter 2

Sahana
Why did the WW1 started?

• It lasted from 1914-1918.

• Known as great war
• It is called great war because country has not seen a war with such as
big scale.
• Alliances: when men spilt up into two sides and fought in desperate
conditions using the deadliest weapon in the world.
• Death toll: the number of people killed in war or natural disaster.
 Why did the WW1 started?
LONG TERM CAUSES:
• Imperialism: a policy of extending a country’s power and the desire to build more.
• Militarism: when people take pride in their country and spend more money on
huge armies to prepare for war.
• Nationalism: when people take pride in their country and feel their country is
better.
• Alliances: each country looked for friends to back up in the war.
Triple Entente: France, Britain, and Russia (FBR)
Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (GAI)
SHORT TERM CAUSES
• On 28 July 1914
• Only heir to Austria-Hungary: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie
• Visited the Bosnian City of Sarajevo
• ‘Black Hand’ planned to assassinate the Archduke
SEQUENCES
• Arrived at Sarajevo train station at 9.28 am.
• The car drove slowly
• The Black Hand assassins waited for the car and threw a bomb. It
missed them but the guard car behind them exploded.
• Archduke cancelled the visit and wanted to check on those with
injuries. As it passed a Café, the driver was informed that he had
taken a wrong turn.
• By the time, the driver asked directions from the waiter, Gavrilo
Princip shot the Archduke in the throat and Sophie in the stomach.
 JOINING UP
• Male volunteers from 19 – 30 joined the army.
• Ways that encouraged men to join the army:
Propaganda:
The government closely controlled information to influence public
opinion.
Win was posted in newspapers and German soldiers were portrayed as
Cruel savages.
Posters: aimed at making men either love their country and king or feel
guilty about not joining.
 JOINING UP
• Pal battalions:
Fighting alongside neighbors and friends for footballers, bankers, and
railway workers.
• Female pressure:
women were encouraged to persuade men to join by giving out white
feathers.
This was a symbol of cowardice to any men who were fit but not in
uniform.
 JOINING UP
By the summer of 1916:
• Conscription:
Any man aged from 18-41 could join the army.
Those men who did not join the war under any circumstances were known as
conscientious objectors
• Conscientious objectors:
People who refused to fight, because it was against moral or religious beliefs.
They worked in factories or mines or carried stretchers on the battlefield.
WW 1 OVERVIEW
• Mostly fought in Europe.
• Soldiers dug holes to protect themselves.
• Holes > trenches
• Eastern front: Russians faced Germans and Austro-Hungarians in Turkey – German
side.
• Austro-Hungarians were attacked by Italy – Britain’s side
• The war spread to Africa and the Pacific Ocean.
• War fought by infantry- soldiers on foot
• They were protected by sandbags and barbed wires. Defended by men with rifles,
guns, and hand grenades.

• No man’s land: an area between trenches where a land full of wastage and bodies
of rotting soldiers were thrown.
WW 1 OVERVIEW

• Soldiers need to move across no man’s land toward enemy trenches.

• Western Front: did not move more than a few kilometers (stalemate)
 WW1 OVERVIEW
1. Duckboards: placed on the ground to stop soldiers from sinking in the
mud.
2. Fire step: Soldiers stepped on this and looked for fires.
3. Dugouts: Rooms dug from the back of the trenches.
4. Periscope: enable troops to see the top without being shot.
5. Barbed wires: slowed down attacking troops
6. Gas bell: rung to tell troops to put on gas masks
WEAPONS OF WAR:
1. Rifle: lightweight, accurate up to 600 m, 40cm knife called bayonet.
Killing power:6/10
Range: 6/10
Defensive: 4/10
2. Poison gas: released from cylinders, chlorine: suffocates lungs, mustard:
rotted body, skin blistered and eyes bulged.
Killing power: 3/10
Range: 1.5/10
Defensive: 0.5/10
WEAPONS IN WAR
3. Machine gun: fire 10 bullets per sec
Killing: 8.5/10
Range: 4/10
Defensive: 9/10

4. Grenade: hand bombs

Killing: 5/10
Range: 1/10
Defensive: 2.5/10
WEAPONS IN WAR
5. Flamethrower: attached to a soldier’s back
Killing: 6/10
Range: 1/10
Defensive: 0.5/10

6. Tank: bullet-proof vehicles that could travel through rough grounds

Killing: 6/10
Range: 4.5/10
Defensive: 6.5/10

7. Airplanes:
Range: 10/10
Killing: 2.5/10
Defensive ability: 1/10
PRIVATE HARRY FARR
• Shell shock: soldiers were diagnosed with a paralyzed condition due to the constant
danger of death, the relentless noise of shelling, and seeing friends killed.
• Doctors tried: rest, hypnosis, counselling, and even electric shocks
• Need time to recover
• When got better – battle
• Symptoms returned and many ran away
• Caught – charged with desertion (illegally leaving a military position without
permission) or cowardice. = crime
• Some were executed
• Britain – 306 soldiers
• French – shot 600
• Australians and American – none
CASE !!!
• Name: Private Harry Farr
• Soldier since 1908
• Had sickness with his ‘nerves’
• He was put on trial (court-martial: a court for trying soldiers for breaking
rules.) at Ville-Sur-Ancre, 2/10/1916
• Charged with cowardice and found guilty
• Shot dead by firing squad ( at 6. am 18/10/1916)
CASE !!!
• The entire court martial took about 20 mins
• By the opinion of Sergeant Major Hacking
• 14/10/1916, his sentence was confirmed by Sir Douglas Haig.
• He was shot at dawn on 18/10/1916
• He refused to be blindfolded.
• After the war the relatives of the killed men campaigned to clear their
names.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENTS
1. x-rays: looked for broken bones (Marie Curie)

2. Shell shock: caused by the horror and exhaustion of war.

3. Plastic surgery: known as skin graft when a new skin is placed on an injured piece of
skin. (Harold Gillies)

4. Blood transfusions: blood can be stored by using glucose and sodium citrate to stop
blood clotting.

5. Infection: prevent infection (the battlefield is dirty) by cutting away any infected flesh.

6. Broken bones: Army leg Splint – this raised the broken leg helping the bones to join
back.
KHUDADAD KHAN
• Britain’s top bravery medal, the Victoria Cross.
• The war started to happen in Britain’s colonies.
• The people in this country decided to fight for Britain.
• Around 2.5 million men joined from the colonies
• Canada: 600,000 people joined from here and fought in major battles.
• India: 1.4 million soldiers joined (fought in the Western Front and in the Middle
East)
• Australia: 400,000 soldiers joined.
• New Zealand: 100,00 soldiers joined to capture the German lands.
• South Africa: racially divided (130,000)
• Africa: 120,000 people fought
• West Indies: 15,100 people joined
ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
• Number of dead: 700,000
• Total colonial death: 200,000
• India: 64,000
• Australia and New Zealand: 75,000
• Canada: 56,000
• Colonial troops won more than 150 Victoria Cross
HOME FRONT
• A huge number of people had jobs that were directly involved in producing
items for the armed forces.
• Home front: the civilian population’s armed forces are engaged in war.
• Germany flew huge inflatable ships: Zeppelins
• Dropping bombs
• The government made poster = identifying a German plane
• Britain was short of food because Germany sunk the boats that brought
food by using submarines.
• The government introduced rationing (officially reducing the amount of
food per person)
• Taxes went up to loans as government need to ask USA for help
LAND GIRLS
• Women did all men’s jobs
• Female bus drivers, chimney sweeps, and steelmakers
• worked in shipyards
• 1915: Women’s Land Army (Land Girls) could replace army men
• Government introduced a new law: Defence of the Realm Act (DORA)
• It gave the government the power to take whatever it felt necessary to win
the war.
• 70 million people fought
• 8 million fought for Britain
• 1 million were killed.
• 2 million were injured.
POPPY DAY
• Ordinary Russian people rebelled against their leader and stopped fighting
against Germany.
• Germany focused on France and Britain
• Before fresh American soldier arrives
• Germans were forced to retreat.
• People were starving in Germany as the British stopped and blocked the food
supply.
• There were riots in Germany as the navy refused to follow instructions.
• In September and October 1918 all the countries that supported Germany
surrendered.
• The King had realized that he had lost control and abdicated (gave up their
throne)
• The government replaced him and called for a ceasefire on 11.00 , 11/11/1918
POPPY DAY
• All the land was destroyed
• The roads, buildings, and trees were also destroyed.
• When the roads are destroyed the poppy flowers begin to flourish
• Poppy – the symbol of life and hope among all fighters
• Moina Micheal (teacher): Poppy is a symbol of remembrance of the war
dead.
• Idea was implemented on 1921 artificial poppies sold in Britain to raise
money for war widows and injured soldiers.
BIG THREE
• January 1919 the winning countries met at the Palace of Versailles.
• Three most important: France, Britain and USA
• They were nicknamed the Big 3 because they were from the 3 most
powerful countries.
• Russia was not invited because it had dropped out of the war in 1917 and
formed a new type of government.
• Germany was not allowed to send any politicians for the peace talks.
• June 1919, Germany punishments were written in a huge document called
Treaty of Versailles
BIG THREE
Georges Clemenceau: PM of France
• France lost around 1.4 million men
• Wanted Germany to pay for all the damage
• Wanted to weaken the Germans armed forces so that they never attack
France again
Woodrow Wilson: President of the USA
• USA was not damaged like France and Britian
• Wanted Germany to prevent aggressive but did not think they should be
punished.
• Wanted different national groups to have the right to rule themselves.
(self-determination)
BIG THREE
David Lloyd George – PM of Britain
• Wanted to keep Germany weak
• Wanted to avoid humiliating the Germans
• Wanted to end Germany threat
• Reduce Germany navy
TREATY OF VERSAILLES
1. Germany must pay for the war. (6.6 billion pounds)
2. Germany must had over colonies to France and Britian
3. Parts of losing countries make new countries that must be ran by
themselves
4. Germany must not have any air force, submarines or tanks. Only 100,000
soldiers are allowed and 6 battleships. No German soldier is allowed in
the French border.
5. National League set up 1920. This is an international club that talks about
problems rather start fighting.
REACTIONS
• None of the politicians were happy with the decisions
• PM of France – wanted the punishment to be tougher
• Wilson said that it was too harsh for the Germans
• Lloyd said that Germany was unfairly treated.
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Defeated countries were punished.
It was international club that settled problems peacefully.
Its headquarters in Switzerland.
40 countries joined up for the League of Nations.
Would aim to help to stop slavery, drug smuggling and fight diseases.
Germany was not allowed to join.
SUCCESS AND FAILURES OF THE LEAGUE

SUCCESSES OF THE LEAGUE FAILURES OF THE LEAGUE

FREED AROUND 200,000 SLAVES. NEVER HAD ITS OWN ARMED FORCES
HELPED AROUND 400,000 PRISONERS TO RETUREN USA NEVER JOINED MAKING IT WEAK
HOME ITALY,JAPAN AND GERMNAY LEFT
WORKED TO DEFEAT DISEASES COULD NOT STOP INVASIONS
SORTED OUT DISPUTES COULD NOT STOPS GERMNAY TO BUILD THEIR OWN
WEAPONS AGAIN