HoA Reading #2

Based on page 120 to 144 in Causes and Effects of

The Selective Service Act 1917

First introduction to conscription in the United States, allowed for the creation of a massive army, 4.3 million soldiers by the time they entered WWI

“iron dice”

Germany's declaration of war against Russia on August 1st 1914.

Big Bertha

A massive siege howitzer, a 420 millimeter gun that fired a 770 kilogram shell 12 kilometers.

The Battle of the Frontiers

a series of offensives mounted by the French as part of plan XVII and counteroffensives by the German sixth and seventh armies.

The Battle of the Marne (5-12 September 1914)

French counter offensive against the Germans as they entered Paris, with the edition of the British forces fighting against Germany. Stopped the German advance and ended the Schlieffen Plan.

The Race to the Sea

The retreat and subsequent entrenchment of the German first and second armies that would set in motion a series of events that would determine the topography of the Western front for the rest of the war.

Mines

Explosive charges concealed underground. They can be massive with tonnes of explosives dug into deep subterranean shafts or small antipersonell devices designed to main a single individual.

The Second Battle of Ypres

The first introduction to chlorine gas in warfare. Newly arrived Canadian troops used makeshift gas masks to protect themselves.

The Battle of Verdun (February-October 1916)

The German attempt to break the stalemate on the Western front centered on the French army entrenched around the city of Verdun. Brainchild of General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn. Wanted to “bleed the French white” The Germans were never able to cut the single road supplying Verdun.

The Battle of the Somme (July-November 1916)

British plan to bombard the Germans with artillery, then cross into “No Mans Land” with soldiers and a creeping defense. Plan failed miserably with 60,000/100,000 casualties and 20,000 dead.

Passchendaele (July-November 1917)

First introduction of the tank into modern warfare, but the conditions caused its failure. Allied powers lost 270,000 taking the city and the Germans 200,000 defending it.

“The black day of the German army”

The Allies massive attack on the Germans on August 8th in front of Amiens. The loss set the tone for the rest of the war on the Western front known as the Hundred Days. Germans asked for an armistice, hostilities would end Nov. 11, 1918.

Gallipoli

Allied plan of taking over the narrow Dardanelle Straights to open a new front of the war and access Russia. ANZAC was called in to help. Withdrew by 1915.

The Home Front

The industrial, financial, educational, agricultural, cultural, and human resources that contribute to the state of a country being in Total War. These resources can become military targets.