Notes on World War I

War Fronts

• Multiple fronts: World War I takes place on multiple fronts.
• Arms race: The first war with a deadly arms race.

Military Innovations

• Tank: Introduced by the British in September 1916 at the Somme, known as the "tank".
• Poison gas: Used by the Germans from April 1915 at Ypres, Belgium.
• Air warfare: Begins in 1914.
• Submarine warfare: Launched by the Germans in 1915 in the North Sea.
• Artillery: More than 1.3 billion shells fired, 70% of military casualties caused by shelling, with the "Big Bertha".

Wartime Medicine

• Advances in medicine: Surgical innovations for amputees and wounded, first skin grafts and implants.
• Metal helmets: Widespread use to protect the head, but with limited protection.
• Wounded warfare: Modern sanitary organization to treat millions of wounded.
• Psychiatry: Emergence following soldiers' traumas, hundreds of thousands treated.

Media War

• Censorship and propaganda: Creation of censorship offices by belligerents.
• Media used: Posters, newspapers, photos, comics, and cinema to strengthen national sentiment and demonize the enemy.

Mobilization of Women

• Role of women: Replacement of men who went to the front in various sectors (trams, coal, shells).
• Emancipation: Discovery of a taste for emancipation in traditionally male sectors.

International Organization

• Treaty of Versailles: Creation of the League of Nations in 1919, precursor to the United Nations, which fails to prevent World War II.

Tragic Events

• Armenian Genocide: A significant event of the 20th century, with atrocities against civilian populations, causing millions of deaths.