World World I, part 1:The Beginning, 1914

Norman Rockwell
Scout at Ship's Wheel, 1913

 

timeline from
Homeschool in the Woods'
Time Travelers'
Industrial Revolution to the Great Depression

We used the Eyewitness WWI book as our main resource. This is more of a textbook style book but they do love the DK Eyewitness books because of all the pictures in them. We also used Heritage History's Story of the Great War by Roland Usher  and When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn as our main narrative style books. They both give a very complete overview of the war and briefly explains the causes and sentiments of the war, along with a comprehensive overview of the battle strategies. 

We began our timeline of the war.

We looked at the causes of the war, and the alliances made and colored maps. 

"In 1914 most military experts believed that the army that attacked first would win."

-When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn

We learned about how in October 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary became allies and formed the Dual Alliance. On 20 May 1882, they were joined by the Kingdom of Italy in what was known as the Triple Alliance. This alliance was intended to be limited to defensive purposes. We also learned that only 40 years prior to World War I, France had been invaded by Germany and had lost Alsace and Lorraine. France planned to some day regain them. Russia was also afraid of Germany's desire for dominance in Europe.

The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers to form the Triple Alliance in August 1914. 

map of the alliances in Europe

Germany's strategy was to hit France fully, going on to Paris, believing that Russia could not mobilize its troops quickly enough to aide support. Once France was taken, Germany then planned to confront the Russians with a victorious army. But France had been preparing for war already and had constructed fort along the border with Germany.

Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom also has a good summary of the beginning of WWI.

Then we looked at a timeline of events of the beginning of the war:

• A Serb student shoots Austrian Archduke Ferdinand. 
• Austro-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
• Due to her Alliance, Russia helps Serbia.
• Due to alliances, Germany declares war on Russia.
• Germany declares war on France.
• Germany invades Belgium. 
• Britain declares war on Germany.
• Austro-Hungary declares war on Russia.
• France and Britain declare war on Austro-Hungary.

German forces (five armies) crossed into Belgium, heading for France. They left two armies home to protect Alsace and Lorraine, and one army to protect the Russian border. Once Belgium's neutrality was violated, British sent their army to France.

Battle of Marne 

Germans pushed aside Belgians, defeated French and caused the British to retreat. By Sept. 3, the Germans reached the Marne River

"Savior of Paris"

France got taxi drivers to transport troops, 5 men at a time, to take the army to the front line. By this time, the German army was tried and had suffered numerous causalities  The largest problem, however was that they were desperately short of supplies, particularly food. 

"The Miracle of the Marne"

Germans withdrew to the high ground at the Aisne River and began to dig the 475 miles of trenches, from the  Swiss border to the North Sea.

The First Battle of Ypers

Britain lost all of its professional army. Britain and France retained control of a small slice of Belgium but the rest was occupied by Germany. The Germans were very cruel to the Belgians -they killed them, looted and burned buildings, which upset the British and the Americans, but Americans were not yet ready to enter into the war.

Two Russian armies attacked, crossing the border into East Prussia. The Germans crushed the Russians. This began the battles between the Germans and the Russians, which mostly resulted in Germany winning 

Turkey formally entered World War I on October 28, 1914, with the bombing of Russian Black Sea ports. The Triple Entente, or Allied Powers, declared war on the Ottoman Empire on November 4.

Ammo Belt Notebook page from Homeschool in the Woods' Time Travelers' Industrial Revolution to the Great Depression

We made this nifty Ammo Belt for their notebooks. It will hold the things they make during our study of World War I.

related posts:

• Playing War Games...or which is larger...a platoon or a battalion?
• World War I:Hands-On Style
• A Learning Twist on an Old Game (could be made with WWI weapons instead)

inspiration and sources:

• Eyewitness WWI  
• What Caused WWI at Adventures in Mommydom
• History Heritage maps and images
• Story of the Great War by Roland Usher from Heritage History
• When Europe Went Mad; a Brief History of The First World War by Terence Finn
• Map of Europe on the Eve of WWI
• PBS site (Interactive diagrams showing battles and the front lines.)
• Army hat at Catholic Icing
• Trench Warfare in the Sandbox at Life's Adventures
• WWI lapbook/notebook at Jimmie's Collage
• WWI activities at Counter-cultural School
• Free templates for notebook pages and minibooks related to WW1 and WW2.
• Templates for WWI- German Aircraft minibooks.
• Free sample from A Journey Through Learning –shutterfold minibook template including the two sides that fought in WW1.
• Schoolhistory.co.uk: WW1 Worksheets and Grade 9 WW1 Worksheets
• Teacheroz.com (WW1 maps)
• Western Front map