1917 the turning point of WWI

• The Russian Revolution

• The U.S. entered the war

• Czar Nicholas II - “Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationalism”

• Unlike his predecessors, he was weak, incompetent and suspected of being under the influence of his German-born wife Alexandra, and a half-crazed monk named Grigori Rasputin.

• There were two revolutions in 1917:

• The February (March-western calendar)

• The October (November…)

The November 6th Revolution…

• The second revolution was instigated and inspired by a radical socialist party then known as the Bolsheviks. Its leader was Vladimir Lenin.

World War One: The Battle of Tannenberg, 1914

• In 1915, Czar Nicholas decided to go and direct the war from the front lines

• Czarina allowed a crazed monk named Rasputin to run the homefront

Demonstrators gathering in front of the Winter Palace in Petrograd, just prior to the Russian Revolution, January 1917.

• Czar Nicholas abdicated on March 15.A Provisional Government (the provisional government is often referred to as the “Kerensky Government” ) because its primary figure was Alexander Kerensky..

• - continued the war- - big mistake that led to its undoing

Vladimir Ulyanov aka “Lenin” was a folk legend…

• A founder of the Bolshevik Party which was outlawed in Russia.

• Lenin had spent 20 years living in exile but writing about a “peoples revolution.”

Location of Bolshevik Leaders in February, 1917

Bolshevik Leaders Location

Lenin Switzerland

Radek Switzerland

Zinoviev Switzerland

Bukharin New York

Litvinov London

Antonov-Ovseenko Paris

Dzerzhinsky Moscow

Latsis Petrograd

Molotov Petrograd

Kirov Vladikavkaz

Stalin Kureika (Siberia)

Ordzhonikidze Pokrovsk (Siberia)

Sverdlov Turukhansk (Siberia)

Kamenev Achinsk (Siberia)

Rykov Narym (Siberia)

• Lenin was secretly aided by the German govt to return to Russia

Upon returning to Russia, Lenin promised “Peace, Bread and Land” …and “All Power to the Soviets.”

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 1918

• Lenin accepted Germany’s harsh conditions in order to focus on securing power…the real revolution was yet to come.

• Russia lost 1/3 of its population, 3/4 of its iron resources and 9/10 of its coal supply plus a huge indemnity to Germany.

• News of the treaty contributed to a civil war which lasted until 1921.

American Entrance into the war Woodrow Wilson’s

Proclamation of Neutrality

Significance of American entrance into the war:

• Turned the tide of battle in favor of the Allies

• Broke sharply with America’s traditional avoidance of foreign entanglements – the policy of isolation – George Washington

• America’s emergence as a world power and eventually a world leader

What changed for Americans?

• German unrestricted submarine warfare: • attacked ships of neutral nations without warning and

without attempting to save the crew and passengers• May 7, 1915: The Lusitania – 128 Americans died

Allied propaganda:

Americans felt a kinship with the British and friendship with France since the American Revolution

American economic interests

• American agricultural and manufactured goods were sold almost exclusively to the Allies.

• American investors extended substantial loans to the Allies

American idealism

• “a war to end all wars”

• “the world must be made safe for democracy”

• The March Revolution in Russia brought a democratic govt to Russia

April 6, 1917 America goes to war…

• The formal end to neutrality came when Congress passed a formal declaration of war

• Wilson offered a peace plan: The Fourteen Points

• It took about a year for the U.S. to recruit, train, supply and transport a modern army to Europe

Hostility towards Germany

• Autocratic Kaiser William • Invasion of neutral Belgium• The Lusitania• Cont’d submarine warfare• The Zimmerman telegram

Any questions?