How The Great War Became a Defensive War

As The Great War continued, it became clear that those in defensive positions had the advantage and as more and more leaders became aware of this, they rushed to establish strong defences.

Trenches grow

Trench warfare had been the norm on the Western Front for a few months by November 1914. The trenches now extended along the western front, reaching from the Channel Coast all the way down to the Alps. In most places the situation stood at a stalemate and the winter weather only made this worse.

In the snow, rain and high winds it was hard to launch an attack or move large groups of men, therefore the winter months were used to strengthen the defensive positions established earlier in the war.

When World War I broke out in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the United States would remain neutral. The U.S.A. only officially entered the conflict three years later. It took the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 to bring America into the Second World War. But why was America reluctant to enter both wars earlier? How did its involvement change the course of both wars? Rob Weinberg asks the big questions to Dr. Mitch Goodrum at Canterbury Christ Church University.

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Importance of Ypres

The First Battle of Ypres concluded in this period with the Anglo-French force emerging as victors after suffering the heaviest artillery bombardment of the war on 11 November. Throughout the battle, which was 34 days long, they had been outnumbered and were not as well equipped as their opponents.

Ypres’ natural height advantage as well as the defensive advantages conferred by machine guns, however, had allowed them to hold out. On 20 November the Germans began to back off from the offensive.

Nevertheless the natural defensive advantage it had exhibited as well as its good road connections ensured that Ypres would be a contested strategic site for the remainder of the war.

Russian setbacks

100,000 Austrians barricade themselves once more into Przemyśl, the fortress where they had previously sustained a long siege from the Russians. The second siege went on even longer and would be the longest of the whole war.

In their front against the Germans they were attacked unexpectedly on their right flank by General Ludendorff.

A painting of General Erich Ludendorff at the Battle of Tannenberg, 1914.

They were part way through and invasion of Germany at the time after deterring a German offensive toward Warsaw and had paused to regroup and strengthen their supply lines. Ludendorff’s attack was successful and the Russians fell back to the Polish city of Łódź.

At the same time as all of this in the Caucasus, Russia was nearly defeated by the Ottoman Empire. The Bergman offensive into Turkey narrowly avoided being surrounded by the Ottomans but still suffered something in the region of a 40% casualty rate.

Dan talks to Richard van Emden about his new book - Missing: the need for closure after the Great War. It is the story of one woman’s relentless search for her missing son’s body. Richard also looks at the bigger picture: how long should the nation search for its dead and the mistakes made identifying the dead, when exhumation parties were under such intolerable pressure.

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War escalates in the Middle East

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V attempted to incite the rest of the Islamic world to war against the Entente powers by declaring a jihad against them on 11 November. He did not, however, receive any support from other Islamic leaders.

Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire.

War did come to the Middle East though when the British, fearing for their oil supplies, took the Fao fortress in Ottoman controlled Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). The Fao Fortress was an essential defensive position for transporting oil out of the Persian Gulf.

The British began their attack on 6 November and by 8 November it was under British control.

Main Image: ‘Reinforcing the Fortresses: Arming Battalion during the construction of trenches.’ Postcard; Issue of the War Welfare Office Vienna IX.