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World History 2

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The trenches of the western front, born of the stalemate in which the <OpenstaxTerm>Allies</OpenstaxTerm> and <OpenstaxTerm>Central powers</OpenstaxTerm> found themselves in the fall of 1914, became synonymous with the war. The horror of unrelenting <OpenstaxTerm>artillery</OpenstaxTerm> fire coupled with unending mud made this arena of fighting unique. Troops literally dug in for protection from enemy artillery barrages and then found themselves stranded in these locations. From the beginning, the German troops dug deeper and more elaborate trenches, as if planning to stay for a long time. The early Allied trenches were more rudimentary but became more highly developed over the years.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	At its height, the <OpenstaxTerm>trench system</OpenstaxTerm> traversed nearly five hundred miles. At the front were soldiers who generally stayed in position for several days before being moved back to the second-line support trenches and the third-line reserve trenches. Farther back was the long-range artillery. Behind the trench system lay field hospitals and villages across the French and Belgian countryside.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Soldiers found life in the trenches tedious. There was little to do but always the prospect of death just above the parapet. It rained regularly, and the trenches became filled with mud. Soldiers put down wooden planks to help, but it was hard to avoid some measure of hypothermia. Constant moisture on feet and legs caused trench foot when the skin could not dry and began to split and come off. It was intensely painful but hard to avoid. Trenches also became strewn with debris and trash, and disease easily spread in these close quarters.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The proximity of the two armies could lead to rare exchanges, however. In one example, at Christmas the first year of the war in 1914, German and British soldiers faced one another from their respective trenches, and some began calling out across the no-man’s land between them. First one side and then the other sang Christmas carols. Finally, soldiers from both sides cautiously began climbing out of their trenches and ended up meeting in the no-man’s land between them, where they exchanged cigarettes, candy, and souvenirs. Many soldiers reported similar experiences. The <OpenstaxTerm>Christmas truce</OpenstaxTerm> displays the humanity that could still be seen in the war, but it also angered those at headquarters. Such camaraderie was not allowed to occur again.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxNote>
	<OpenstaxNoteTitle> Link to Learning </OpenstaxNoteTitle> 
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		Read and listen to <a href="https://openstax.org/l/77XmasTruce">accounts of the unofficial Christmas truce</a> between British and German soldiers in the trenches on the western front in 1914, presented by the Imperial War Museums.
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
</OpenstaxNote>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	In other combat regions, the armies were more mobile, but the fighting came with its own set of problems. For example, battles between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces ranged over the Italian <OpenstaxTerm>Alps</OpenstaxTerm>, forcing soldiers to fight at high altitude with few opportunities to resupply. Besides the need to live in caves or scale mountain heights, troops also faced regular snowfall and subfreezing temperatures. The threat from frostbite and avalanches was real, and the poor conditions accounted for more than half the casualties suffered during this mountainous fighting. The narrow passes of the Alps also offered little chance to retreat.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Fighting in the <OpenstaxTerm>Caucasus</OpenstaxTerm> between the Russians and the Ottomans began in 1914. The front was isolated, and the Ottomans did not have the rail lines to supply operations far from the front. The snow was many feet deep, and temperatures plunged below zero as the troops fought. The Ottoman troops were unable to continue given their lack of supplies, and they suffered tens of thousands of casualties. In arid climates around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, armies had to ensure adequate water supplies in the desert. It was difficult to find enough feed for horses, so particularly in the Middle East, troops became more reliant on camels as a means of carrying supplies and even people.
</OpenstaxParagraph>

11.3.3 Life in the Trenches, the Mountains, and the Desert

1 Understanding the Past

1.1 Developing a Global Perspective

1.1.1 World History as Preparation for Life After College

1.1.2 World History and Global Citizenship

1.1.3 Features of This Textbook

1.2 Primary Sources

1.2.1 Learning to Evaluate Documents and Images

1.2.2 Documentary Sources: Competing Narratives

1.2.3 Textual Sources: The Importance of Language

1.2.4 Hidden in History

1.3 Causation and Interpretation in History

1.3.1 Levels of Causation

1.3.2 Interpretation in History

2 Exchange in East Asia and the Indian Ocean

2.1 India and International Connections

2.1.1 The Mughal Empire

2.1.2 The Sultanate of Gujarat

2.1.3 The Rise of the Maratha Empire

2.1.4 European Colonialism

2.2 The Malacca Sultanate

2.2.1 The Rise of the Malacca Sultanate

2.2.2 European Malacca

2.3 Exchange in East Asia

2.3.1 Japan

2.3.2 China’s Dynastic Exchanges

2.3.3 Korea and Its Neighbors

3 Early Modern Africa and the Wider World

3.1 The Roots of African Trade

3.1.1 Saharan Trade Routes

3.1.2 The Spread of Islam

3.1.3 The Mali Empire

3.2 The Songhai Empire

3.2.1 The Rise of Imperial Songhai

3.2.2 The Reign of Askia the Great

3.2.3 The Decline of Songhai

3.3 The Swahili Coast

3.3.1 The Rise of the Swahili City-States

3.3.2 Slavery on the Swahili Coast

3.3.3 The Contest for the Swahili Coast

3.4 The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

3.4.1 The Role of Kanem-Bornu

3.4.2 The Arrival of Europeans

3.4.3 The Later Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

4 The Islamic World

4.1 A Connected Islamic World

4.1.1 Politics and Religion in the Ummah

4.1.2 Islamic Trade Networks

4.1.3 Technology in the Islamic World

4.2 The Ottoman Empire

4.2.1 Culture and Society

4.2.2 Expansion, Revolutions, and Reform

4.2.3 Science and Technology

4.3 The Safavid Empire

4.3.1 The Rise of the Safavid Empire

4.3.2 Establishing Shi‘ism as the State Religion

4.3.3 Safavid Government and Culture

5 Foundations of the Atlantic World

5.1 The Protestant Reformation

5.1.1 The Origins of the Protestant Reformation

5.1.2 Calvinists, Anabaptists, and Anglicans

5.1.3 The Catholic Reformation and the Wars of Religion

5.2 Crossing the Atlantic

5.2.1 The Rise of Maritime Nations

5.2.2 The Columbian Exchange

5.3 The Mercantilist Economy

5.3.1 The Rise of Mercantilism

5.3.2 Mercantilism and the Expansion of Empire

5.3.3 Mercantilism and Its Critics

5.4 The Atlantic Slave Trade

5.4.1 Slavery and the Triangular Trade

5.4.2 African and North American Slavery

5.4.3 The Economics of Slavery

6 Colonization and Economic Expansion

6.1 European Colonization in the Americas

6.1.1 Spain’s Encomienda System

6.1.2 English Settlements in North America

6.1.3 French and Dutch Settlements

6.2 The Rise of a Global Economy

6.2.1 The Seven Years’ War

6.2.2 British Influence in India

6.2.3 China’s Dominance in Trade

6.2.4 Colonial Resistance and Revolution

6.3 Capitalism and the First Industrial Revolution

6.3.1 From Mercantilism to Capitalism

6.3.2 Mechanization

6.3.3 Marxism

7 Revolutions in Europe and North America

7.1 The Enlightenment

7.1.1 The Authority of Reason

7.1.2 Natural Rights

7.1.3 Social Contract Theory

7.2 The Exchange of Ideas in the Public Sphere

7.2.1 Public Debate and Dissent

7.2.2 The Republic of Letters

7.2.3 Academies, Universities, and Intellectuals

7.3 Revolutions: America, France, and Haiti

7.3.1 The American Revolution

7.3.2 The French Revolution

7.3.3 The Haitian Revolution