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MHS Library | Year 9 History

Trench Warfare

Trenches—long, deep ditches dug as protective defences—are most often associated with World War I, and the results of trench warfare in that conflict were hellish indeed. 

At least initially in World War I, forces mounted attacks from the trenches, with bayonets fixed to their rifles, by climbing over the top edge into what was known as “no man’s land,” the area between opposing forces, usually in a single, straight line and under a barrage of gunfire. Not surprisingly, this approach was rarely effective, and often led to mass casualties.

Gallipoli

The Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16, also known as the Battle of Gallipoli or the Dardanelles Campaign, was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I. The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February-March 1915 and continued with a major land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, involving British and French troops as well as divisions of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).

Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, along with a fierce Turkish resistance, hampered the success of the invasion. By mid-October, Allied forces had suffered heavy casualties and had made little headway from their initial landing sites. Evacuation began in December 1915, and was completed early the following January.

World War 1 Propaganda

Posters tried to persuade men to join friends and family who had already volunteered by making them feel like they were missing out. The fear and the anger that people felt against air raids was used to recruit men for the armed services. Posters urged women to help the war effort.

Propaganda is used to try to make people think a certain way. Stories about bad things the Germans had done were told to make people angry and frightened so everyone would want Britain to beat them in the war. But many tales were untrue and Germany told the same stories about Britain. Posters were very carefully designed with words and images which had a special effect on the viewer.

Why did Australia enter the War?

When Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, Australia found itself automatically at war too. Thousands of young Western Australian men volunteered for service in the Australian Imperial Force.

It is important to remember that Australian troops were sent to be part of an Imperial army. Most Australians believed that they were a part of the British Empire and wanted to do all they could to protect it. It was popularly believed that participation in the war would also 'prove' Australia as a new nation.

The treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919 at the Palace of Versailles in Paris at the end of World War I, codified peace terms between the victorious Allies and Germany. The Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for starting the war and imposed harsh penalties in terms of loss of territory, massive reparations payments and demilitarization. Far from the “peace without victory” that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had outlined in his famous Fourteen Points in early 1918, the Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany while failing to resolve the underlying issues that had led to war in the first place. Economic distress and resentment of the treaty within Germany helped fuel the ultra-nationalist sentiment that led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party, as well as the coming of a World War II just two decades later

Allies and Central Powers

The Allies of World War I were a coalition of countries led by France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and their colonies during the First World War (1914–1918).

The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, was one of the two main coalitions that fought World War I (1914–18). It consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria; hence it is also known as the Quadruple Alliance. Colonies of these countries also fought on the Central Powers' side such as German New Guinea and German East Africa, until almost all their colonies were occupied by the Allies.