by 1916, the war was a stalemate what is a stalemate? the germans began to believe that they could...
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World War One 1916
By 1916, the war was a stalemateWhat is a stalemate?
The Germans began to believe that they could win if they inflicted heavy casualties on the French
The Germans decided to select Verdun, which held a direct route to Paris
Battle of Verdun
The battle began on Feb. 21st 1916 A 9-hour bombardment of 1 million shells
preceded the assaultThe Germans wanted to wage a war of
attritionThe German commander wanted to “bleed
France white.”What does attrition mean?
By the time the fighting bogged down, the French lost 120,000 troops, Germans lost 100,000 (December 18th, 1916; longest)
Battle of Verdun
German skulls
This battle comprised the main allied attack on the Western Front during 1916July 1st 1916 – November 18th
58,000 British troops were killed on the first day alone
The Somme is a river in FranceThis battle was intended to take some
German troops away from VerdunAnother battle of attrition
The battle was preceded by a 5 day long artillery barrage
Battle of the Somme
Mine exploding near German trench
Following the barrage, the British expected there to be no resistance when they charged the German trenchesClearly they were wrong due to the casualties
(58,000)The Somme saw the first tank used in battleWhen the battle ends November 18th, the
French and British suffer 620,000 casualties; Germany suffers 434,000
Largest naval battle of World War IGermany wanted to stop the British blockade
in the North SeaEngland wanted to deal a decisive blow to the
German fleet
Battle of Jutland (Denmark)
England ends up losing more ships and menGermany does not challenge the British navy
ever again during the warThe Germans start their policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare
Shells splashing
View from a British ship