Jonathan McCabe

Lesson Plan 3

Theme: World War I

Grade: 10th Grade Global Studies
Goal: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of
major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the
broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.
Objectives:
1. Students will understand how Germany had to fight a two front war and how it depleted its
energy, troops, and supplies
2. Students will know of two major battles in World War I, as well as why the Eastern Front is
almost never talked about
3. Students will be able to explain why World War I directly led to the Bolshevik Revolution
Materials Needed: computer, PowerPoint, projector, whiteboard and markers, classroom
activity sheet

Lesson:
Warm Up

Have students get into four separate groups around the classroom

Students will them be given one of the main reasons for the distrust of European
countries before World War I (Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Alliances)

They will then discuss that topic and why it was so important for the start of the war (3-5
minutes) then bring the discussion to the whole class

Western Front continued-Battle of the Somme

World War I consisted of many battles that resulted in hundreds of thousands of

casualties

One such battle was the Battle of the Somme in 1916

The battle was to attack the German forces and exhaust the supply of troops and
resources coming to the German line

French Commander Joffre thought the battle should be a battle of attrition

Was a joint attack of British and French troops, of which 80% were British

The attack started on July 1, 1916

Turned out to be a huge disaster: 58,000 British Casualties in the first day, 400,000 total
through the whole offensive, which lasted until November

French lost about 200,000 and the Germans around 500,000

Much of the bombardment that the British put together failed, Germans had heavily
fortified positions and British artillery was flawed (many rounds didn't detonate)

Also Tanks were used for the first time in this battle by the British

Battle of Verdun

This was a German attack on the French forts at Verdun

It was meant to deal a blow to French morale by taking the forts that they felt they had to
defend

The attack put a million German troops in the first wave against 200,000 French
defenders

Bombardment was meant to kill the French defenders before the attack even started, but
that was not the case

Many French survived and met the attacking German Army

Multiple offensives were sent on Verdun Fortresses

The battle was the longest battle of World War I, lasting from February to December of
1916

There was no strategic gain by either side of the battle, but both lost a considerable
amount of troops: French lost 550,000 and the Germans 434,000

Gas was first used in warfare by the Germans in the battle

Turned into a pointless battle when all was said and done

Eastern Front

Most battles on the Eastern front are not talked about

They take a backseat to the more popular battles in the west between Germany, France
and Great Britain

Eastern Front battles are important though

They took German troops away from the western front and forced Germany to fight a
two front war, which they did not want to do

Russia was a large part of allied cause because they took up the action on the eastern
front

They also faced off against Austrian troops before they left the war

What is most important about the battles along the Eastern front is that it stretched
Germany out across its whole country, forcing the country to split troops and supplies. It
was a nightmare for logistics in the war

Also, the eastern front eventually led to the Bolshevik revolution.

The Eastern front was just as deadly, if not more deadly, as the western front when it

came to casualties

Watch online video that highlights the Eastern Front

How the War led to Bolshevik Revolution

The Bolshevik Revolution was many years in the making in Russia

It was led by Vladimir Lenin who liked Karl Marx's theory about socialism

He did not like how the government was running Russia during the war, more
specifically Czar Nicholas II

Lenin had been trying since the Russo-Japanese War to overtake the government so he
could implement his ideas into a government

The war led Russia into a deep debt, and many of the people didn't know why they were
fighting the war. It was a cause that not everyone agreed with

Put a lot of debt into their country. Most people wanted out of the war to address
problems at home

Lenin believed that it was the right time to remove the Czar and establish his communist
government, equaling out the proletariat and the bourgeoisie

Promised Peace, Land, and Bread

Lenin promised the working class a peace from the war, land redistribution: putting more
land in the working class's hands, and Bread: food in general but bread lines in major
cities had gotten out of hand

Wrap Up

For a wrap up, students will get 3 to 5 minutes to write a summary of the class and the
main ideas that were presented for the day

Students may use their notes but don't have to if they feel they know the material

Before leaving, students must give the teacher the summary to leave the class, like an
exit pass.

In Class Activity

Students will compare and contrast the Western Front and Eastern Front

Students will highlight important facts from each front and then explain why those facts
are critical in understanding the two fronts and the two front system

Once students have a good understanding of the Eastern and Western Fronts, they will
then compare and contrast the two battles in the notes

They should be able to identify why each was important and how they contributed to the
end of the war

Students will work in pairs to complete the activity, then two groups will form a group
and compare their notes

Students will be able to consolidate their notes and highlight what is important

Lecture for Lesson Plan 3

Western Front-Battle of the Somme
During World War I, there were hundreds of thousands of casualties per day
New technology and old battle practices caused most of the deaths, because armies were trying
conventional methods of fighting for modern war
One battle on the Western Front was the Battle of the Somme
This was an allied attack against the Germans. They mainly wanted to exhaust the Germans of
supplies and troops to keep them from fighting anymore
The French commander Joffre wanted the battle to be a battle of attrition- to wear down the
enemies supplies and troops, not for any strategic reasons but to kill and destroy as many as they
could, but gaining territory was secondary objective
There were two different forces working to coordinate the battle, the French and the British, but
started out as a French operation before it was handed over to British because of bad planning
and troop constraints
The French didn't have enough troops to put forward for the operation since they were fighting
a different battle, the Battle of Verdun
The British supplied around 80% of the attacking force and thus were able to plan out the battle
Before the attack, there was an eight day bombardment of German lines, which was supposed to
kill or stun the first line defenders so the allies could just walk through the German lines

On July 1, 1916 the battle commenced with 750,000 allied troops attacking the Germans, and
the battle was supposed to be in the allies favor
That was not the case: British artillery rounds didn't destroy the bunkers and many rounds didn't
explode, allowing German troops to wait out bombardment
The British met stiff resistance because of this, losing 58,000 men on the first day alone. The
Germans were ready for the attack, since the bombardment warned them of a coming attack
The French had more success, since they had a shorter bombardment and attacked sparingly
because of already heavy losses
The battle lasted from July to November of 1916, with only 12 kilometers gained by the allied
attack
In total, the French lost around 200,000 men, the British lost 420,000, and the Germans lost
500,000
This was the first battle in which tanks were used in warfare
The Battle of Verdun
This was a German attack going against the French forts at Verdun
Germany wanted to strike a blow to French morale because they wanted to take the forts
because the French felt they had to hold the forts at Verdun since it was a symbolic fortress
The Germans would throw one million men into the attack against France's 200,000 men
The attack started on February 21 with a heavy bombardment, much like the Somme
bombardment
The initial bombardment of the French didn't have much of an effect, the French were able to
hold out in the forts and withstand the attack and were ready to meet the German attackers
After the initial gains by the Germans, they pulled back due to so many French defenders and
wanted to resume an artillery attack

For much of 1916, the Germans threw multiple offensives towards the French at Verdun
without much success of any of them
By the time the battle ended in December of 1916, the Germans and French had not gained any
strategic ground
The French lost 550,000 men defending the forts, while the Germans lost 434,000
In the end, neither side had a strategic gain, but only had a considerable amount of casualties,
which would be felt by both sides for the remainder of the war
The Battle of Verdun was the first time that gas was used in warfare
The Eastern Front
There were Eastern Front battles during World War I between the Russians and the Germans
and Austria-Hungarian Empire
These battles aren't talked about as much as Western Front battles since Russia eventually left
the war
The Battles on the Eastern Front are important though; they hold significant strategic
importance for Germans and Russians
The Eastern Front forced Germany to split up its defending force and the Russians forced great
casualties to the Germans and the Austria-Hungarians
Germany did not want to split its Army into two, so forcing the Germans to defend the eastern
front took some pressure of of the Western Front and vice versa
Germans did have the help of Austria-Hungary though but the Russian army was so large it was
hard to defend against
The Eastern front is more important for its effects on Russia than on Germany. Russians did not
want to be fighting in the war, and many called for the Czar to back out of the war and take care
of the home front

This would lead to the Bolshevik Revolution, show video on the Eastern Front
Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolshevik Revolution was an important even that took place because of World War I
It was many years in the making and being led by Vladimir Lenin
Lenin was a revolutionary and thought that Russia should be under new control because the
Czar was not leading the country well
In Russia, many people were starving and didn't have jobs, but Czar Nicholas didn't do anything
about it. He went on with the war as if he could win and the whole country was behind him
100%
Many people though felt they were in a war that had nothing to do with Russia. Wanted the
Czar to solve the problems that were going on in Russia
The distrust of Nicholas goes all the way back to 1905 in the Russo-Japanese war, a war in
which Russia lost and created huge debt
Lenin tried in 1905 to take over the government, but failed
He was successful in 1917, forcing Nicholas to abdicate his throne
Lenin assumed power after promising Russian people Peace, Land and Bread
Lenin shared land, which he took from upper-class citizens and distributed it to the lower
classes, he signed a peace treaty to end Russian involvement in World War I and promised food
Breadto the Russian citizens
His ideas were well liked and many people felt he would be the best to run the country under
his new communist ideals

In class activity sheet

Western
Eastern Front
Front

Battle
Battle
ofof
theVerdun
Somme