The August Madness and Mobilization for

WWIWorld WarsMs. Hamer

September 15, 2009

Myth of the August Madness

• While widespread fervor about the war happened…

• During and after WWI, the vision of the August Madness was hyped up more and more

What was the August Madness?

• Widespread celebrations in European cities after the declaration of war in early August 1914

• Especially in Paris, London, St. Petersburg, Vienna and definitely in Berlin

• Caused by relief felt after not having to wait to see what would happen with the tensions in Europe

• Led to feelings of national unity• Expectations of heroism and glory were

part of it• Some were just caught up in the

excitement

Who Participated in the August Madness?

• Urban, middle class and elites, and especially students–Men more so than women

• Rural areas were not so thrilled• Minorities were not as enthusiastic• Still much objection to war

Scenes from the August Madness

Berlin London – Trafalgar Square

What were the Effects of the August Madness?

• Domestic truces within countries– Though this was followed with inner

paranoia and fear of spies…• Mass enlistment– 20 million men mobilized throughout Europe

• “Spontaneous” Propaganda (the songs/poems you read last night)

• Governments harnessed this enthusiasm for their war goals

• Failure of International Socialism to prevent a capitalist war…

Mobilization

The Schlieffen Plan

• Goal: victory for Germany in a 2 front war by tackling France in a swift victory and then turning to Russia–Would violate Belgian neutrality

• Would it have ever worked?– Required troops to march 20-30 miles a

day while fighting resistance– Troops would quickly outdistance supply

lines and artillery

The Schlieffen Plan

Plan XVII

• French Plan XVII was focused on regaining Alsace and Lorraine

• Stressed the offensive, which ended up being a bad call:– Smaller force– Played into the expectations of the

Schlieffen Plan

Plan XVII

Schlieffen and Plan XVII

Battle of the Frontiers

• Germany declared war on August 1st and was already fighting the French in the series of battles called the Battle of the Frontiers from August 14-September 6, 1914

• Huge and violent battle

• Failure of prepared plans Belgians flooding canals and battlefield

Germany Invades Belgium – August 4, 1914

• Advance was hampered by Belgian resistance – destruction of railroads + German fear of snipers

• New technology (heavy guns) took out old forts

• Were 20 miles from Paris by early September

Paris• The British

Expeditionary Force (BEF) mobilized VERY quickly and met the Germans at Mons and then retreated to Paris with the French

• French government fled to Bordeaux but prepared Paris for attack by mining bridges

• French troops mobilized to defend Paris

Miracle of the Marne

September 6-10• German advancing

army got to close to each other and turned before Paris, exposing their flank to the waiting Allies

• Among other acts of heroism were the 600 taxis that brought troops to the Marne from Paris!

Battle of the Frontiers

Effects of the Battle of the Frontiers and Marne

• German forces fell back and dug in

• Even though shallow trenches – beginning of trench warfare

• Schlieffen Plan failed = Germany would face a multi-front war

German Atrocities in Belgium and Northern

France

Reasons (?)

• Germans were really worried about French snipers (a problem from the Franco Prussian War of 1870)

• Problems with civilian resistance– Germans used terror to try to stop this…

• The combination of this led to misconceptions– “man hat geschossen” – “one has shot at us”– Sometimes mistook friendly fire for resistance– Drinking of looted alcohol did not help

German Atrocities• Germans killed more

than 6,000 civilians (men, women, and children) in Belgium and Northern France

• Burned the University at Louvain along with its library and killed hundreds of civilians there

• Shelled Reims Cathedral on September 19, 1914

Problems with Rumors of Atrocities

• After the real atrocities, rumors spread of others that ended up being fakes:– Germans chopping the hands of Belgian

children to prevent them from fighting

• Later in the war when it was realized that these were fake, it lessened the reality of the actual atrocities– This sentiment would later lead to disbelief

of the “rumors” of attacks on Jews by the Third Reich…