Prior to the onset of the first world war, there was tension building in Europe. The leaders of these European states had their eyes on technological gains, imperialistic aspirations, social and economic issues. The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the spark to ignite the growing flame of what seemed to be required conflict. There was hope that this conflict would solve a large portion of the issues that plagued the European leaders, but what the conflict manifested into was unforeseen. Once Europe had started to unravel into the world’s first total war, the evolution of war was in motion to maintain each leader’s stake in the war and survive. To do this, these countries would have to invent new war plans on the …show more content…
This war would bring different strategies to the table. The war was assumed to be a short war over by Christmas of 1914. This short war illusion would quickly vanish after the conflict grew larger, thus resulting in a total war and development of new military strategies to survive the duration of this war. Trench warfare was one of the most important strategies born out of the first world war. Each opposing side would dig trenches attempt to eliminate the enemy on the other side in their own trenches. This was a brutal warfare. Machine gun fire, explosives, and artillery fire would be exchanged between both sides with the majority of this fighting occurring during the night while rebuilding the trenches and rest would be taken during the daytime hours. Barbed wire would be placed as defense. Most of these barbed wire defenses would have to be placed while taking fire from the other side. Not only were the conditions of trench warfare brutal on the soldiers, but actual fighting that would take place was brutal and personal. The artillery fire would be used to breakdown the trenches and defenses in place, then the soldiers would charge the opposing trenches. While running across no man’s land, machine gun fire would continue to ring out across the field, killing many of the soldiers attempting the raid. Once a soldier …show more content…
The battlefield was not the only aspect of the war that had to evolve. The home fronts of all the involved states in this war would have to follow suit. As mentioned earlier, the military strength of a country in Europe during World War I was no longer the only determining factor in victory. Materials, food, and morale in these states were equally as important. The British and the French had the upper had on the central powers of Europe because they had built empires, with countries across the globe, prior to the beginning of the war to pull almost limitless resources from. The French had lost their industrial hubs in the north due to advances of the Germans. New factories were established in the south and the French began using these resources for the war effort. The industries on the home front in America had converted a majority of the factories into war machines. America was producing artillery shells instead of textiles and women were stepping in to take the empty slots at many male oriented positions to keep factories running. American industries had kept up with demand and began rationing necessities for the war effort. Propaganda had begun to appear to maintain morale at home and support for the war. The war was supported monetarily in the US through selling war bonds. While the Triple Entente thrived due to