CLIL History

M1 The Great War MATERIALS The Total War When the war broke out in the autumn of 1914 nobody could imagine it would have lasted for so many years. Soon it became clear that this situation could only be faced with exceptional organization and enormous human and material resources. This led to a militarization of the countries taking part in the war. From a political point of view it meant that the normal political activities and the parliamentary debates were limited or even interrupted. The need to organize society for the military effort implied closer ties between civil and military powers. The Chiefs of Staff could exert their influences on the decisions of the governments, and the responsibilities for heavy losses and defeats often fell on them. From an economic point of view the countries began to intervene systematically in their industrial organization. The production and distribution of goods were completely placed at the disposal of the armed forces. Strict military discipline was imposed inside factories, where women replaced men who were fighting at the front. The economic costs of war were very high. To finance their military effort the countries began to print money, and consequently this caused the devaluation of currencies and high inflation rates. The increase in prices was the cause of many social troubles. From a social point of view the main problem, for the countries, was to organize and drill mass armies. In most countries conscription was implemented. However, in the United Kingdom and the USA intense propaganda actions were used to recruit volunteers since military service was not compulsory. Women replace men in industry. ACTIVITY 4.A Match the following words to their synonyms. 1. broke out 7. currencies a. 2. lasted 8. rate 3. faced 9. drill 4. implied 10. losses 11. disposal 12. 5. 6. casualties g. train b. degree h. money c. availability i. obligatory conscription d. meant j. began suddenly recruit e. continued k. draft compulsory f. enlist l. dealt with ACTIVITY 4.B Answer the following questions about the text The Total War. 1. What was needed in order to face the war? 2. How did politics change with the war? 3. How did the States intervene in the economic organizations of their countries? 4. What were the effects of the financial interventions of the countries? 5. How did military service differ among the countries? 11