World War I

World War I

Nothing was a bigger disaster than what happened in World War I. This was such a bad war because everyone in the world has allies, and the allies are in oath to help there ally when things get rough or that country is going to war. What I am here to inform you about is how one of the major countries and why one of the biggest powers in the world played a big part in World War I. This country is no other than France, a country who has a lot of say in Europe, and has many allies through out the world.

The war officially started when the assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand on June 28 in Sarajevo. After this France came in on the side of the Russians and Serbians. As an ally of Russia they were forced to defend them, and after this other big powers got involved such as the Germans, Italians, Russians, Americans, and Japan. The true reason why France got involved was because Germany declared war on them. None of the states that went to war realized how long it would last or how terrible the cost might be. Most thought it would be over in a few short months and that peace would return in 1915.

After this the war got real nasty and the countries stood for no mercy. The French discharged 180,000 kg of chlorine gas from 5,730 cylinders on the line between Steenstraat on the Yser Canal, through Bixschoote and Langemark, to Poelcappelle. This was the beginning of Chemical warfare.

When the war starts the Germans are nearly wiping the French out of the war rapidly taking out there soldiers. But the French forces were successful in achieving their objective at the Battle of Mons and the Battle of the Marne. As each side tried to outthink the other, France began to try and take over the Swiss border apart of France. With this great positioning it would be hard for the Germans to attack them from different angles.

The French thought the war would end quick, because of the great advantage the allies thought they had over Germany and their other countries on there side. As soon as the Americans got involved in the war many people thought it would end even faster. Between the two armies in a ten month span, Britain and France had over a million casualties occurred. In an attempt to relieve the pressure on the front at Verdun, the British and French undertook a push at the Somme and, on the first day of the battle 20,000 French were killed and a further 40,000 injured. Even further innovations, such as the use of tanks proved of little effect.

The year 1917 gave great changes in the course of the war. In February, the French Army executed a strategic retreat to pre-prepared positions, known as the Hindenburg Line. This line was on the coast of Sweden this gave a great advantage to the French against Germany. While all of this was happening an October Revolution took place in France. But an even more serious revolution happened in Russia, and this ended up making Russia back out of the war. This meant that German forces could concentrate more fully on the French, which meant more trouble for the French to deal with.

The German offensive was only stopped when German General Alexander von Kluckre when up against his first army in order to turn the flank of the now exhausted French Fifth Army. French General Joseph Gallieni quickly put together the newly formed sixth army and coordinating with Fifth Army's commander, destroyed Kluck's attack. In the process of defending himself, Kluck redirected his corps westward, allowing a big opening between him and Bulow, a big military camp of the French. These errors which were made by General Headquarters cost the Germans any further progress and they withdrew back to safe positions where they resisted attempts by the French to dislodge them. The fault lay