• At beginning, short war was universally expected
• German Schlieffen Plan relied on fast-paced victory over France
• In the West, war of movement became war of position
  • Armies on the western front became immobile
• In 1915, Germans and Austro-Hungarians attempted to defeat Russia
  • 2 million Russians were killed, wounded, captured
• In 1916, Germans had losses of 330k to 350k in battle of Verdun
• Battle of the Somme cost Germans 500k, British 400k, French 200k troops
  • No value was gained by the sacrifices in the conflict
• Both sides looked to naval combat with helpless land armies
• British navy blocked goods destined to Germany and allies
  • United States was against overly strict trade blockades
  • When US eventually joined Allies, ended up enforcing same blockades
• Germans attempted to blockade England in retaliation
  • Relied mainly on submarines, which Britain was unable to combat
• In secret treaty of London of 1915, Italy joined Allies
  • Was decided that Italy would gain land if Allies won the war
• Each side stirred up discontented groups of the other side
• Conflict in Europe led to Russian Revolution of 1917
• In 1918, Russians signed treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  • Lost control of Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Baltic provinces
  • Caused race to see if American aid could offset Russian loss
• Initial neutrality in US as people had different European origins
  • Eventually joined war “to make the world safe for democracy”