Key Facts

The war was expected to be similar to the Napoleonic War - lots of movement, red uniforms and cavalry charges

It was expected to be over by Christmas

Russia was expected to quickly crush Germany - the Russian steamroller

The American Civil War and the Russo-Japanese War had already shown what modern warfare could be like

The machine gun, heavy artillery and barbed wire gave defending soldiers great advantages over the attackers

The Schlieffen Plan was put into operation and at first all went well. The French and the British retreated and German victory seemed near but instead of going behind Paris the Germans passed in front of the city

This gave the French the chance to attack the Germans on the river Marne. The Germans were forced to retreat

On the river Aisne the Germans dug trenches and by November a system of trenches stretched from the English Channel to the Swiss frontier. The Schlieffen Plan had failed. France was not defeated within six weeks

The French Plan 17 failed

The Russian steamroller failed to defeat Germany

The last chance for the Germans to break through in 1914 was at Ypres in November and by December they had failed to do so

The war was not over by Christmas. There was now stalemate on the Western Front

Read pages 36 to 39 and answer these questions

How was the war expected to be fought in 1914?

What were the French tactics when war broke out?

What was the result?

What was the machine gun?

What was its impact on attacking soldiers?

Where was the only "safe" place on the battlefield?

How did the heavy artillery make the situation worse?

What was the military situation by the end of 1914?

Document Exercise

How accurate is source E in describing the importance of the machine gun?

What point of view is being expressed in Source L?