Events of WW1

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  • Created by: Sophia
  • Created on: 14-05-13 13:27

Conscription

  • During the first year of war thousands of men had been killed
  • Army needed more soldiers
  • June 1915 Government made age for recruitement 15-65
  • They could call on any single man aged 18-41 to join the army
  • Changed to married aswell
  • By April 1918 an extra 2 million soldiers had been found
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Training

  • All soldiers put through basic training
  • Taught what to expect in the trenches
  • new troops billeted-made to live with other people
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Joining up

  • 'war over by christmas'
  • Government recruitement posters encourage enlisting
  • Propoganda against Germans
  • Over 65 million men from over 30 coutries enlisted
  • Joining up was celebrated in public
  • Excitement for war
  • War spirit
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Trench warfare

(http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/images/trench1.gif)

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Inside a trench

(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m178/richlanders/Great%20War/TrenchDiagram-1.jpg)

German trenches were a lot better as they realised sooner than the British that they were going to be staying in the trenches. They were deeper and better designed overall.

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Battle of the Somme Plan

Field Marshall Haig's Plan:

  • Week-long heavy bombardment on German front
  • ^^kills almost all Germans
  • Unapposed British advance across no man's land
  • Go through damaged barbed wire from the bombardment
  • Either destroy or take the enemy trenches
  • Take any useful machinery
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Why the Somme failed

  • Germans predicted what was happening- traditional British warfare and mistiming of the huge mine explosion
  • The German trenches had deep dug-outs which protected them from shelling
  • When the British crossed no mans lans, the Germans shot them down with machine guns
  • If they managed to cross no man's land the British got caught in the barbed wire and were shot
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The Treaty of Versailles (1919)

LARGE

Land- Germany lost alot of land including Alsace-Lorraine, West Prussia etc

Army- The army was cut back and conscription was banned, also the navy was heavily restricted

Reparations-Germany had to pay large unrealistic sums of money to countries which had been damaged by the war (£6,600,000,000)

Guilt- Germany had to take full responsibility for starting the war and therefore were entitled to follow the treaty

Empire- Germany's territories around the world (eg Africa) where shared between powers such as Britain, Australia and Japan. They were also not allowed to unite with Austria

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