The sacred union that united French political parties during World War I contributed to resilient morale on the home front. Germany's invasion of France, and the conflict in Alsace-Lorraine in particular, contributed to French concern over atrocities and national investment in the war effort. New weapons and other combat technologies, coupled with the widespread use of trenches, made fighting extremely difficult and horrific on all fronts.
00:00 – Chapter 1. The Schlieffen Plan: German hopes for a quick victory
07:16 – Chapter 2. The first war of movement: the battle of the Marne and the salvation of France
1:47 p.m. – Chapter 3. From movement to attrition: the development of trench warfare
10:00 p.m. – Chapter 4. The identity of the citizen-soldier: society during and after the war
34h30 – Chapter 5. Conditions on the front: the nature of machine warfare
Complete course materials are available on the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in fall 2007.
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