American History Unit:6

8/13/2019 American History Unit:6

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“Small states are of the past and have no

future. The modern movement is all toward theconcentration of people and territory into

great nations and large dominions. The great

nations are rapidly absorbing for their

future expansion and present defense all thewaste places of the earth...As one of the

great nations of the world, the United States

must not fall out of the line of march.”

-American Senator Henry Cabot Lodge









































































It must be understood that under no

circumstances will the United States use theMonroe Doctrine as a cloak for territorial

aggression. We desire peace with all the

world, but perhaps most of all with the other

peoples of the American continent...It isalways possible that wrong actions towards

these nations...may result in our having to

take action to protect our own rights; but

such an action will not be taken with a viewto territorial aggression.

-President Roosevelt













































































































THE PATH TO WWI



AlliancesOne of the more criticalevents of the 19th century

was the birth of Germany

Otto von Bismarck had

realized his dream of a unifiedGermanic nation

This new state had a critical

e!ect by upsetting the

balance of power

Bismarck quickly sought to

fix this problem by forming

the 1st of many alliances



AlliancesBismarck realized that

Germany was prone to attack

being in the center of Europe

He first made amends with

Austria and formed the Dual

Alliance in 1879

Three yeas later it became

the Triple Alliance as Italy

joined in a defensive treaty

At the same time, Bismarck

sought peace with Russia



AlliancesThe Reinsurance Treaty in1887 agreed to neutrality if

either nation was attacked

Germany’s real threat was

France and Bismarck wantedto avoid a dual front conflict

at all costs

All of this was tossed aside

however in 1888 when Kaiser

Wilhelm II came to the throne

He dismissed Bismarck and

set Germany on the path to

war

Alli



AlliancesThe most critical mistake was

Kaiser Willhelm let the

Reinsurance Treat with

Russia lapse

France then made and

alliance with Russia in the

Franco-Russian Alliance 1894

This once again put Germany

between two major powers

Secondly Willhelm adopted a

new “world policy”

Alli



AlliancesWillhelm sought to create apowerful navy

This put Germany at odds

with Britain and forced them

to side with France andRussia e!ectively creating the

Triple Entente

By the beginning of the 20th

century there were two major

alliances, the Triple Entente

and the Central Powers

Germany appeared

surrounded

Alli



AlliancesSeeing that Germany wassurrounded, the alliance with

Austria was crucial

The powder keg that would

cause a war between thesealliances occurred in Bosnia

More than 27 million people

in the Austrian Empire did not

identify themselves as

Austrian or German

For Czechs, Serbs and

Slovenians this meant foreign

control

Alli



AlliancesThe 19th century saw the

emergence of Serbia as a new

nation, which broke from the

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was in

decline and European nations

greatly sought to control its

former territories

Many of the lands in the Balkans

did not want to be part of eithervying faction but independent

I908 however, the Young Turks

seized power in Turkey

Alli



AlliancesThis movement sought to

revitalize the Ottoman Empire

which caused a great deal of

fear by Europeans and the

newly created nations

In fear of this, Russia and

Austria acted

They struck a deal that gave

the Russians control of theDardanelles and Austria

annexation of Bosnia-

Herzegovina



Alli



Alliances Austria annexed Bosniaquickly but the French and

British were able to prevent

Russian control of the

Dardanelles

Russia was humiliated

The annexation of Bosnia

enraged Serbia, Russia’s

“little brother”

It also brought great fear to

Germany as it strained their

relationship with Russia

Alli



AlliancesTwo conflicts in the Balkansonce again strained the

alliances

The greater of the two

occurred when Italyattempted to annex Libya

This war caused a major

uprising in the Balkans

against the Ottoman Empire

Austria was alarmed at

Serbia’s aggressiveness and

Russia’s support

Alli



AlliancesMany in Austria wanted theEmperor to attack Serbia and

eliminate the threat

Emperor Joseph and his son

Ferdinand resisted the urge

On June 28th, 1914 the

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

and his wife were killed in

Sarajevo

The assassin was a member

of the Black Hand a society

of political terrorists

Alli



AlliancesIt was later discovered thatseveral top Serbian O"cials

were involved in the planning

of the attack

The Serbian Press exhibited agreat deal of glee

This attack gave Austria the

opportunity to attack Serbia

Austria was torn over what to

do, Hungary disapproved

action and both sides knew

Germany would be needed

Alli



AlliancesWillhelm II of Germanyapproved an Austrian attack

while Europe was angry with

Serbia

They also made it aware thatfailure to attack would make

both Germany and Austria

appear weak

On July 28th, Austria

declared war on Serbia

Russia was enraged and

mobilized a portion of its

army to Austria's border

Alli



AlliancesRussian mobilization put pressureon Germany to mobilize

This ruined Germany’s plans, they

hoped to destroy France before

Russia could act

On July 30th, Austria mobilized

against Russia

Russia then fully mobilized and

Germany could not ignore the threat

Germany mobilized and declared

war on Russia on August 1st

This immediately put the Schlie!en

Plan into e!ect and Germany

stormed into Belgium on the 4th

The Path to War



Unification of German Germany’s

birth upsets the balance of power

The Triple Alliance Germany, Italyand Austria create the blueprint

Kaiser Wilhelm II Imperialistic

ambition sets Germany on the path ofWar

Navalism/Social Darwinism Thebuild up of navies and racism sets thetone of the war

Triple Entente Germany lossesRussia as an ally to France/Britain

Serbian Independence Serbia’simperialistic desires for Bosniacomplicate Europe’s a!airs

The Dardanelles Ordeal GivesBosnia to Austria and leaves Russia

feeling jaded

Annexation of Bosnia Creates illsentiment amongst Serbians whowanted Bosnia for themselves

Italian Invasion of Libya Creates aplatform for Serbians to protestagainst Austria

Formation of the Black Hand Terrorist institution is formed to fight

Austria and gain Bosnia

Archdukes Peace Trip Invitesprotesters and terrorists toassassinate the Archduke

Alliances Draw All In Small nationsdraw in all the major nations of Europe

The Road to War



June 28 Assassination of Archduke

Franz Ferdinand

July 28 Austria-Hungary declaration

of War against Serbia

July 30 Russian mobilization

July 31 French, Austrian andGerman mobilization

August 1 Germany declared war on

Russia

August 3 German declaration ofwar on France

August 4 German invasion of

Belgium, British declaration of War





The Will to War

Will to War



Will to WarWWI was a war unlike theworld had seen

A number of developments

led to increased interest in

the war

The telegraph, telephone,

camera, press, cheap

newspapers made the war

more accessible

Everyone had an opinion and

all events were covered and

transmitted in record time

Will to War



Will to WarPrior to the outbreak of thewar, pro-war crowds

gathered

30,000 in Berlin alone

Middle class citizens

especially advocated war

Farmers and villagers were

more fearful

There were anti-war

movements but they were a

minority

Will to War



Will to War As the war broke, 2.5 millionmen in Britain volunteered to

fight

300,000 enlisted in the first

month

Why were so many eager to

fight?

1) To prove the superiority of

race

2) Liberation from a boring,

monotonous life

Will to War



Will to War3) Promise of a short war

Many believed the war could

not be sustained for a long

period of time

Most thought it would be

bloody, horrible, but over by

Christmas

Instead they would spend 3Christmas’s amongst the

greatest horrors the world

had ever seen

Will to War



Will to WarIn America, people followedthe War day by day

Many Americans felt

personally involved

1/3 of the nation were

immigrants or children of

immigrants

1/4 of the immigrants were

German, the rest Irish

Both of these groups sided

with Germany

Will to War



Will to WarThe majority of Americans

however sided with the

British

They identified their history

and culture with that ofBritain

Many American’s disliked

Kaiser Wilhelm as he was

opposed to democracy

They saw Germany as

aggressors and cold blooded

Will to War



Will to WarThe Germans did not help

their cause when they

invaded Belgium and France

Civilians were heartlessly

slaughtered

Libraries, cathedrals and

towns were destroyed

British newspapers accusedGermans of War crimes

which swayed American

opinion

Will to War



Will to WarPresident Wilson promised to

stay out of the War

The US declared neutrality

The US however kept an eyeon the conflict

In 1915, US soldiers began

training for possible conflict

Americans protested against

war, but War would come to

America in time

Total War



Total WarWhen Russia failed to removeitself from Germany’s border,

Germany declared War

The Germans relied on a plan

devised years prior called the

Schlie!en Plan

It targeted Germany’s greatest

threat, France

The idea was to crush France by

slipping through neutral Belgium

The Russians were to be held at

bay until France was dealt with

Total War



Total WarUnsuspecting Belgium was invaded

August 4, 1914

Britain told Germany to leave, whenthey did not comply, Britain declaredWar

The Germans in Belgium encounteredlittle resistance as they moved onFrance

In the small town of Louvain, theBelgians did mount a surprise attack

The Germans believed that it was amassive Allied o!ensive

Then they learned it was just the citiesinhabitants they retaliated with cruelty

Total War



Total War

They decided to make Louvain an

example against other uprisings

For five days they looted, killed

and raped the city

They spared not women nor

children

The cities library was burned to

the ground containing many

ancient artifacts

The event served as a rally cry to

the Allied Alliance and helped

shape opinions in the US

Total War



Total WarExpecting a German attack in Alsace and Lorraine, French

military commanders poured into

those territories

The French troops, the best of the

best, dressed in bright red pants,blue tunics and white gloves and

plumed hats charged

They made easy targets for the

German machine gunners

“”Never have machine-gunners

had such a heyday. The French

stubble fields became

transformed into gay carpets of

red and blue”

Total War



Total War

The Battle of the Frontiers,

[Mulhouse, Lorraine and

Ardennes] was a French o!ensive

that attempted to seize the lost

territories of Alsace and Lorraine

by the French

Germans anticipated this

French relied on “elan” spirit to

take the territories

It was a massacre

Germans killed over 27,000

French soldiers in one day

Total War



Total WarThe early battles of the war

proved that it was not going to be

as most anticipated

Implementing the Schie!en Plan

[invading France through Belgium

and holding Russia at bay] the

Germans quickly stormed into

France on the right flank

Their greed for Paris stretched

their supply lines too thin

The Germans got bogged down at

the Marne River by French and

British forces



Total War



Total WarOne reason for the stalemate wasa French commander saw a

weakness in the German line

He moved an entire French army

from Paris to attack the gap by

utilizing taxi cabs

Another point that proved this war

would be unlike any other

Taxi cabs saved Paris but the

French were unable to push theGermans out of France

Both sides stalemated and the

first trenches were dug On

September 15, 1914

Total War



Total War August 4: German invasion ofBelgium

August 7: Battle of Frontiers

begins. French seized Mulhouse

August 14: French assault on Alsace

August 22: Battle of Ardennes

27,000 French soldiers die

August 25: Rape of Belgium/ Louvain Atrocity by Germans

September 6: First Battle of the

Marne stopped German advance



Total War and the Trench

The Trench



The TrenchTrenches stretched from the coastof Belgium to Switzerland by wars

end [300 miles]

Men on both sides soon found

themselves working underground

It is not surprising, the only way to

get away from machine gun fire

was to get under it

Trenches were complex with

zigzag patterns to avoid sniper fire

Artillery bunkers, wood planks,

barbed wire, machine gun nests

and sand bags





The Trench



No military general foresaw the

possibility of trenches

At first they hoped to soften opposing

trenches and soldiers with artillery fire

After an artillery barrage, an army

would arise, “Go over the top,” andcharge their enemy

The area between the trenches became

known as “No mans land”

It was riddled with holes, barbed wire,mines and the bodies of the

decomposing dead

This tactic was used over and over with

catastrophic results

The Trench



In no mans land, millions of ratsbegan to emerge, feasting on the

bodies of the dead

These rats were enormous and

bloated

Soldiers were not allowed to

shoot them due to orders not to

waste ammunition

The rats spread disease andtormented soldiers

It was not the only problem

however



The Trench



Lice began to infect and torment soldiers aswell

Soldiers did not have a means to bathethemselves while on the front

They became infected with blood suckinglice

When you were not fighting, you likely werefighting o! rats or removing lice from yourbody

Life for a soldier in WWI was a constant hell

Many soldiers returned only shells of theirformer selves

Many came home mentally andpsychologically unstable

Unfortunately, there was no cure for them





The Trench



Another malady besides rats, liceand disease also existed

It was know as trench foot

Life in a trench was a very dirtyand wet ordeal

A soldiers feet were constantly

wet due to a persistent rain

Some soldiers stood in waistdeep water for weeks

Having wet boots, wet feet, in

freezing water caused trench foot

The Trench



Trench foot is literally the rotting away

of the skin

Your foot would swell, become

immensely painful

Feet would become infected and the

skin would rot o! leaving nothing but

bone

Great Britain began to issue whale

grease to keep feet dry

It only made it worse, by keeping the

foot wet

The only cure was to keep feet dry and

warm

Soldiers had to loosen boots, change

socks 3 times a day









Total War



Several new terms were coined in

WWI

“Lousy” and “Cootie” from lice

“Going over the top”, “No mans

land”

“Shell Shock’ going insane fromartillery barrage

Life in a WWI trench was far from

what most men believed the war

was going to be

It appeared more were going to

die and in horrible ways

Returning home before Christmas

was not going to happen



New Technology andInnovations

Weapons



p

One of the major problems of

WWI = military tactics did not

keep pace with new technology

No tactics for barbed wire,machine guns, artillery, planes,

poison gas

Generals could not develop

tactics to break enemy lines,defeat trench warfare

Artillery/Arms



Artillery/Arms

1895 Lee Enfield rifle was

developed by American

James Lee

Bolt action rifle allowed

rapid fire, 12 round

magazine

Very dependable

Gave allies early advantageover German forces who

used the Mauser rifle, 5

rounds

NewT h l i



Technologies

Guns/Firearms saw many

innovations

Bolt action rifle: Lee Enfield,Mauser Gewehr

Machine Gun: Vickers, Lewis Gun,

Chauchat

Flame Thrower: pressurizednitrogen or carbon dioxide to push

oil. Only lasted 40 seconds

Artillery/Arms



1881, Carnival inventorHiram Maxim invented

first machine gun

Used by spinning a

hand crank

Vickers machine gun in

WWI water cooled

Took 8 men to operatebut very reliable,

e!ective

NewTechnologies



TechnologiesTear gas was first used by theFrench against the Germans

The Germans then used it against

the Russians on the Eastern Front

From there they developed morelethal varieties

First came chlorine, then

phosgene and mustard

Created horrifying casualties onboth sides

Not a perfect science as the wind

sometimes killed those who fired it

Chlorine Gas



C o e Gas

April 22, 1915 Chlorine

gas was first used by

Germans against

French at 2nd Battle ofYpres

Smelled like pepper or

pineapple

Stung back of throat

and chest

Chlorine gas



g

Gas was yellow in

appearance, stayed

near ground

Opposing troops

thought it was smoke

to conceal movement

Gave choking fits,

destroyed respiratory

system and eyes

Chlorine Gas



First uses were e!ective

However, opposing forces

soon discovered how to

counter it

Easily noticeable, color,

smell, began using gas

masks

Avoidable by covering

mouth and eyes with damp

cloth

Phosgene Gas



g

December 1915 a new

gas was developed

called phosgene

It was colorless, littleodor, “Rotting hay”

Stayed in area for

weeks or months

Took as long as 24

hours for noticeable

e!ects

Phosgene Gas



g

This gas of all gasses

was the most deadly,

accounting for 85% of all

gas related deaths

Symptoms included,

burning in eyes, blurred

vision, vomiting, frostbite

like lesions, heart attack/ respiratory failure

Mustard Gas



O! all gases used, mustard gas was

the most notorious

1st used at the 3rd Battle of Ypres

Yellow, brown or red in color

Gave odor of mustard, garlic or

horseradish

Remained near ground for weeks/

months

Mustard gas



Was not used to kill, butto disable

Skin would blister,

mucous membranes

stripped

Victims would cough up

portions of own lungs

Death would come after4-5 weeks, in an

agonizing end

NewTechnologies



TechnologiesSubmarines had long beendreamed of as possible weapons

of war

First modern design occurred in

the American Colonies “Turtle”

against the British

Several other designs were toyed

with, air pressure and steam

Jules Vern 20,000 Leagues Under

the Sea created great interest

At turn of the 20th century diesel-

electric became the design of

choice

NewTechnologies



Technologies

WWI saw the first e!ective use of

submarines

Germans, during the Battle of the Atlantic sent first flotilla of U-

Boats against British ships

Proved highly e!ective and went

into mass production

In all, Germans sunk over 5,000

allied ships using submarines

NewTechnologies



Technologies

Navalism was a major component

to the militarism of the 19th

century

When Germany began massing anavy Britain followed and then

other nations

Navies were needed to protect

colonies and were a true measure

of a nations power

More massive and deadly ships

became an icon of the era

NewTechnologies



Technologies

In 1906, Great Britain launched

the Dreadnaught, the most

powerful ship ever created

It had 10 12” guns, 24 3” guns, 5torpedo tubes, 2 feet thick steel

and over 500 men

It was so feared that all nations

quickly tried to catch up creating

their own Dreadnoughts

The British and US began creating

the 1st aircraft carriers

NewTechnologies



Technologies

The use of artillery canons had

been used for centuries prior to

WWI

Major innovations came in the

1840’s rifled bore canon, modernartillery piece

Were first used e!ectively in

American Civil War

Used widespread in Europe

In 1897 became hydraulic and

incorporated breech loading

NewTechnologies



Technologies

Artillery was used for indirect fire

Became larger and larger by WWI

German Big Bertha Howitzerreigned supreme 15 inch bore

Used to soften enemy before a

charge, lob bombs into opposing

trench

Worst part of artillery was the

shrapnel

NewTechnologies



TechnologiesMortars had been used forcenturies, even envisioned in part

by da Vinci

Primarily used for siegecraft

First modern usage was in America Civil War

Became popular in WWI due to

ability to fire out of trench and

directly into the opposing trench

Germans were the first to use

them e!ectively to assault French

fortifications, caught both French

and British by surprise

NewTechnologies



TechnologiesGrenades as well had been known

since the 15th century but were re-

invented during WWI

Germany innovations again

surprised French and British

Many at the beginning of the war

were percussion but developed into

timed

Grenadiers were responsible for

raiding enemy trenches withgrenades

Many types emerged including

pineapple style and German stick or

potato smasher

NewTechnologies



Technologies

Mines saw renewed usage during

WWI

Many were developed and planted

to prevent assaults and safeguardredoubts

Tunnel mines were used to tunnel

under trenches, plant mines and

then detonate them

British also experimented with

mines that detonated and gave o!

poison gas

NewTechnologies



TechnologiesThe tank traces its origins with thedevelopment of the tractor

First use of these during war was

during the Crimean War

Further developments were madebut not a lot of interest was given

Then the British Royal Navy began

to developed the Mark I, an

extension of the armored car

which all sides employed

First use of the tank surprised

Germans but the machines were

very unreliable

NewTechnologies



Technologies

Most e!ective use was in 1917 at

the battle of Cambrai when they

breached the German trenches

and captured 10,000 soldiers

Later used e!ectively to supporttroop movements at wars end

1st and only tank to tank action

occurred at the Battle of Villers

Bretonneux where 3 British tanks

fought 3 German tanks

The British successfully drove o!

the German threat

NewTechnologies



Technologies Aviation was very new during WWI

Neither side had a great deal of

planes, only 140 by all of France

1st used as reconnaissance butdeveloped into war machines

Rapid advances were made on

speed, maneuverability, weapons

[machine gun mounting and

bombers]

By the end of the war, planes and

aviation had grown in leaps and

bounds

Aviation



Very primitive, planeshad been in

development only 10

years

1st used as

reconnaissance to spy

on enemy position

Greeted warmly at first,then gradually began

being attacked

Aviation



Enemies began throwing

ropes, grenades and

shooting at planes

Gradually pilots carried

pistols

Then they began

mounting machine guns

1st air battles began

Aviation



Problems with machine

guns “mounting”

Behind prop on a angle

On the wings

Bullet proof props

Push planes

Aviation



Germans begin development

of synchronized fire

Greatly improved air battle

April 1917 greatest air battle

was fought

RFC deployed 365 aircraft for

ground support

Aviation



In all during bloody April

254 allied planes were lost

66 German

Germans acquired air

superiority

Manfred von Richtofendowned 80 planes “Red

Baron”

NewTechnologies



Technologies

Many other innovations

were made during WWI

Barbed Wire

Telegraph/Telephone

Anti-aircraft/Flak

Zeppelins



The Eastern Front

The EasternFront



Front At the beginning of the War, Russia

surprised the Germans and

Austrians in a two pronged attack

They pushed into both nations

Two German commanders,Ludendor! and Hindenburg

destroyed and captured an entire

Russian army at the Battle of

Tannenberg

They then defeated another at theBattle of the Masurian Lakes

By the end of the year, Russia had

su!ered 2.5 million deaths

The EasternFront



FrontThe Germans and Austrians thenadvanced 300 miles into Imperial

Russia

As battles began to bog down,

both sides sought new allies

Turkey and Bulgaria joined the

Central Powers

Both sides vied for Italy

Because the Allies could o!ermore [S. Tyrol, Trieste, the

Dalmatians, parts of Africa and

Ottoman spoils] Italy joined the

Allied Powers

The EasternFront



FrontBy the Spring of 1915 the Italians wereat war with the Austrians

Italy diverted some troops fromGermany but did nothing to tip thescale of the conflict

Romania entered the conflict as wellto stop Bulgaria but soon found itselfcrushed between Austria, Germanyand Bulgaria

Serbia had some early success but it

too came to be invaded in the fall of1915

Austria occupied Serbia and ruledharshly killing over 25% of thepopulation

The EasternFront



FrontOver the next two years, Russia

made some gains only to quickly

lose them

Russia could not adequately

support its beleaguered troops

Its lines became overextended

and soldiers found themselves

without food and ammunition

Demoralized and starving,

Russian soldiers began to desert

Discontent and riots at home

fueled revolution

The EasternFront



Front

In the Far East, Japan honored its

alliance with Britain and overran

German colonies in China

In East Africa German colonies

also clashed trying to divert Alliedresources.

They were militarily successful but

it did not drain the allies of

resources or men

Both sides made appeals and

promises to other peoples and

territories

The EasternFront



FrontThe Germans supported uprisings

against the British in Ireland, in

Flemings in Belgium and the Poles

and Ukrainians under Russian

control

They also tried to cause

revolutions in Egypt and India

The British sponsored autonomy

for Czechs, Slovaks and Arabians

The most successful was that in

Arabia where T.E. lawrence

caused the Arabians to gain

independence from the Ottomans

The EasternFront



FrontIn 1915, the Allies tried to break thedeadlock

The young Winston Churchill

proposed an attack on the

Dardanelles to capture

Constantinople, “Gallipoli

Campaign”

It was hoped that it would knock the

Ottomans out of the War, stop the

Balkans conflict and ease

communications with Russia

In the attempt the Allies lost

205,000 men and a great deal of

resources that could have been

used on the Western Front

The EasternFront



FrontOne of the greatest atrocities ofthe War occurred in the remote

Ottoman territory called Armenia

Since the Middle Ages, this

territory had been Christian

They had often fought against the

Ottomans for autonomy but never

with success

As sides were vying for allies, the

Ottomans feared an Armenianuprising

The result of the Armenian

question was eradication

The EasternFront



o t

First, the Turks rounded up and

arrested all Armenian leaders

They then purged the territory of

men

They rounded them up, marched

them outside of town and

executed them

In other occasions they were

pushed into caves and either

burned to death or asphyxiated by

fires

The EasternFront



The Ottomans ordered all womenand children out of the country [to

Serbia]

They were marched through

mountains and desert terrain

without food or water

Rape and execution was

commonplace

When all was said and done, over

1 million Armenians were killed

The Turkish Government still

today refuses to acknowledge that

it occurred



Britain’s Worst Day: Verdun and the Somme

Verdun



At the conclusion of 1915 a new

idea was hatched to break

through the Allied defenses

With Russia on the brink of

collapse, Germany thought theycould dedicate more troops to the

Western Front

Chief of Sta! Erich von

Falkenhayn advocated a massive

o!ensive on the French at Verdun

It was going to be a major artillery

battery followed by ground forces

Verdun



For the French, Verdun held

special significance

This was where the then Prussians

had invaded France in 1870

during the Franco-Prussian War

Verdun had been reinforced since

then and the French were not

about to let it fall again

This in truth played into

Germany’s hands

They knew the French would

attempt to prevent its fall and that

they would divert resources

Verdun



The German artillerybombardment began February

21st 1916 and lasted 21 hours

The French had 200,000 men vs

the German 1 million

After ground fighting started,

bombardment continued dropping

100,000 shells every hour

The Germans gained French

primary and secondary trenchlines and advanced 8 kilometers

They then failed to take two

massive forts

Verdun



Despite initial gains, the battle

began to stagnate

The French rallied under

commanding o"cer Henri Petain’s

remarks, “they shall not pass”

As the o!ensive continued, both

sides received staggering losses

of life

By the end of the conflict, nearly 8months later, 1 million lives had

been lost, almost balanced on

both sides

The Somme



Before the German’s struck at

Verdun the French and British

were preparing a similar o!ensive

They too thought they could

launch a major o!ensive, this time

at the Somme

They believed the Germans would

divert resources and men and

thereby weaken other portions of

the Western Front

Before they could initiate the

attack, the Germans struck at

Verdun

The Somme



With the attack at Verdun, plans at

the Somme changed

It went from an o!ensive to a

defensive maneuver with the

intent to draw German supplies

away from Verdun

In August of 1916 the British

began and 8 day bombardment

on German troops near the

Somme River

It was believed that the

bombardment would destroy

machine gun emplacements

The Somme



Following the barrage, 750,000British charged intent on dividing

the German front

Machine guns nests were not

damaged and the barbed wire

was intact

The British lost 58,000 that single

day, over 20,000 KIA

The Germans then moved

reinforcements to the defense ofthe Somme

The battle stalemated and

resulted in another million dead



The War at Sea and theEntry of the US

The War atSea



As the War progressed, it becamemore and more important to seize

control of the seas

Britain first ignored the distinction

between war supplies and food

They blockaded all supplies from

sea into Germany

German U-Boats responded by

attempting to strangle Britain by

blockading the island nation

They also failed to distinguish

between war supplies and regular

goods

The War atSea



The Allied blockade proved to be

highly e!ective

Poor potato harvests in Germany

in 1916 created a huge food

shortage

Over 760,000 Germans starved

due to food shortages

This desperation ultimately led to

the decision to attack any vessel

approaching Britain

This would eventually lead the US

to act

The War atSea



Gallipoli was one of the greatest

sea battles of the war

Winston Churchill believed the

Allies could circumvent the

Central Powers by taking the

Dardanelles

It was believed they could take

Constantinople and knock the

Ottoman Empire out of the War

This would also free up Greece

and provide access to Russia and

possibly allow for a pincer

movement on the Western Front

Gallipoli Campaign



The War at Sea



It was a bold undertaking

The straights were lined with a

series of fortresses and cli!s that

would not be easy to assault from

the sea

France and Britain sent in many

pre-dreadnaught era ships to

assault the straights on February

19-25 of 1915

In all, the allied force consisted of:

3 Battle cruisers, 16 Pre-

dreadnaught, 4 cruisers, 18

destroyers, 6 submarines, 21

trawlers the Queen Elizabeth and

the Ark Royal and aircraft carrier

The War atSea



The bombardment on the many

fortresses was ine!ective

Though many were taken, the

Turks continued to wreck havocby using artillery from the cli! tops

In March a second attempt to

force the narrows was thwarted by

an unsuspected minefield

It was clear it would take a land

force to assist the assault at sea



The War atSea



The decision to leave Gallipolli allbut assured Russia’s destruction

The largest naval engagement of

WWI was the Battle of Jutland

The Germans planned a hit andrun style attack against the British

coastline

The Germans were sure their

communication lines were clear

but there messages wereintercepted

The British Royal Navy set out to

stop the German threat

The War atSea



This fight, like the Western Front,ultimately would end in a stalemate

German lost: 1 battle cruiser, 1 pre-

dreadnaught, 4 light cruisers, 5

destroyers

The British lost: 3 battle cruisers, 4

armored cruisers, and 8 destroyers

Both sides left disappointed with

their navies crippled

The great German navy that had

caused such a stink did not gain the

upper hand



Entry of the US

Gears of War -

Alan Seeger -



Gears of War -

Alan Seeger -



Entry of the US



As the war raged in Europe,

Americans held their defiant stance

Woodrow Wilson, in 1916, was

elected president for a second term

Wilson won promising to keep

America out of the War

Despite his strong e!orts to keep

America out, he would fail

America, like many nations before it,

would be drawn into the quagmire

Entry of the US



Many incidents had swayed

American sentiment towards the

Allies

German success with submarines

led them to lay siege to the Island of

England

At the onset of the War, German U-

boats would surface and warn the

crews of enemy ships

As the war drug on, the siege grewtighter and German U-boats sunk

the opposition without warning

Entry of the US

O M 7 1915 th G



On May 7, 1915 the Germans

sighted a British passenger liner

Without warning, the U-boat fired

and sunk the Luisitania killing

almost all 1,200 passengers

128 of the crew were Americans

The British said the ship was

peaceful, only carrying travelers

The Germans countered that it

secretly carried munitions

Even though German suspicions

were correct, American’s cried foul

Entry of the US

A i i h d



American cries were heard

Germany stopped sinking

passenger ships and promised to

provide ships with warning “Sussex

Pledge”

Even though the Germans madepromises, they attacked two more

Allied ships carrying Americans

President Wilson in response

authorized huge loans to assist the

Allies

American neutrality was beginning

to weaken

Entry of the US

In 1917 the Germans began their



In 1917, the Germans began their

plans to end the War

Russia was falling apart

France was reeling from Verdun

The Germans felt if they

strengthened their stance against

England, they could prevail

In January, Germans told the US

they would resume unrestricted

submarine warfare

On February 3rd, Wilson broke o!

diplomatic ties with German

Entry of the US

Despite the disagreements the US



p g

and German governments had,hope for peace remained

A month passed, the German Navy

avoided American ships

While America held its breath forpeace, the British revealed the

contents of an intercepted German

telegram

Wilson did not take the Zimmerman

Telegram serious

The telegrams release however

pushed the US one step close to

war

Entry of the US

By 1917 the situation was growing



By 1917, the situation was growing

more dire for Russia

In March, the Russian Czar was

forced o! the throne

Russia erupted into Civl War and

pulled out of WWI

With Russia out, a huge stumbling

block was removed

Wilson had been very hesitant to

assist a nation that was autocratic

That same month, America’s worst

fears were realized

Entry of the USGermany sank the US ships, City of

Memphis and Vigilancia



p g

On March 20th, Congress voted

unanimously to join the War

The United States faced several

obstacles as they joined the conflict

The size of the US Army stood at

100,000 men, smaller than 16 other

nations

The US Marines were serving in

South America and had to berecalled

The Nation Guard had been

neglected and needed training

Entry of the US

The first act of congress was to



The first act of congress was to

send the Allies Naval support

14,500 men under General Pershing

arrived in France

It did not take General Pershing

long to realize more would beneeded

He asked Congress for an additional

1 million men by the end of 1917

and 3 million by 1918

Congress passed the Selective

Service Act approving a US draft for

men to serve in the Army

Entry of the US

Just like Europe at the outbreak of



Just like Europe at the outbreak of

the War, moral was high

24 million men registered to serve in

the Army

The lottery picked 3 million

11,000 women volunteered to serve

as nurses, drivers and clerks

Army camps popped up around the

country to train soldiers

It was overseen by the British who

taught Americans how to fight from

a trench

Entry of the US

In many cases need led many



In many cases, need led many

soldiers to receive little training

Now, with a trained fighting force,

the US faced its next challenge

Getting soldiers to France against

German U-Boats

A convoy system was devised

Transport ships were surrounded by

destroyers and submarines

Through the next two years, the US

did not lose a single transport ship

to German U-Boats



Entry of the US



More than 300,000 African American’s served in the War

Most did manual labor and did not

participate in the fighting

The 369th division, Harlem HellFighters persuaded the US to loan

them to the French

They were integrated into several

French regiments

Because of their distinguished

service, France awarded them their

highest honor the Croix de Guerre



Final Offensives

Final Offensive



In the Fall of 1917, following the American Declaration of War,

Germany made a strong e!ort to

win the War

They thought that with the

Russians no longer in the conflict,unrestricted submarine warfare

and a massive o!ensive on the

Western Front the War could still

be won by December

Another situation occurred thatmade it appear the Central

Powers were about to win

Italian defeat at Caporetto and

mass French insubordination

Final Offensive

!



German o!

ensives were thwartedby a British O!ensive at the Third

Battle of Ypres [Passchendaele]

It resulted once again in a

stalemate, 700,000 died on both

sides

The German o!ensive was

scheduled to being in the Spring,

meanwhile, the first Americans

began to land in October of 1917

The Germans had little concern

for American forces, they figured

the war would be won before they

posed a threat

Final Offensive



The Spring O!ensive [MarchO!ensive, Ludendor! O!ensive or

Kaiserschlacht] was launched by

Germany in March of 1918

With 50 new divisions from the

Eastern Front, the Germans madeone final push to win the War

These divisions were led by new

stormtrooper forces

The Germans began anaggressive training program for an

elite division of trench breaking

soldiers as early as 1915

Final Offensive



Stormtroopers were Germany’sbest and most aggressive soldiers

They di!ered in many ways from

the normal German soldier

They were trained to engageenemies at close quarters

The divisions were much smaller

and mobile

They used the shorter/lighter k98carbine, expert at grenades, hand

to hand and carried iron wrapped

clubs

Final Offensive



Using the new elite stormtroopers

the Germans hoped to break

through Allied defenses at the

Marne

It was thought that the Germano!ensive would lead the French to

surrender

Initial attacks were successful

The Germans advanced all theway back to the Marne, the

greatest achievement since 1914

Final Offensive



The main problem was theStormtroopers were actually too fast

They outpaced the main army and

fell subject to being surrounded

With supply trains lagging behind

and no artillery support the March

O!ensive stalemated

A large reason for the stalemate was

the ferocity of the Americans and

Australians who stopped the

German advance

Eventually 1000’s of German

soldiers began to starve and ran out

of supplies

Final Offensives After turning back the Germans



outside of Paris, the Allies tookheart

The Allies also had a new weapon,

the tank

It allowed them to break throughGerman defenses for the first time

In August, at the Battle of Amiens

and Chateau-Thierry, the Allies

turned back a second German

o!ensive

Seeing both o!ensives thwarted,

German General Ludendo! began

seeking a peace settlement

Final Offensive Another problem with the

o!ensive in 1918 was the



outbreak of the Spanish Influenza

It severely damaged both sides

[over 70,000 Americans in WWI

died to the flu alone]

America, by September had sent500,000 new soldiers to the front

The German government was

divided upon what to do

France declined Germany’s first

attempt for peace

A major Allied countero!ensive

was planned

Final Offensive



An allied countero!ensive at the

Somme put the Germans in retreat

for the 1st time

New German soldiers arriving

from the Eastern Front begin todefect in mass numbers

In September of 1918 the Allies

successfully broke through the

Hindenburg Line

The German army was

backpedaling and riots began to

break out in Germany

Final OffensiveIn the East the War was going



poorly for the Ottoman Empire aswell

The Arabs were routing the

Ottomans and successfully took

Medina, city of the prophet

The British pushed deep into

Ottoman lands taking

Constantinople

They even advanced into modern

Iraq and seized the lucrative oilfields

By late 1918, the Ottoman Empire

had fallen

Final Offensive



In October of 1918, American andFrench forces were engaged in

pushing the Germans from the

Argonne Forest

It was proposed that the

Americans in the middle of the Allied advance assault the

German defenses

This was supposed to be followed

by a French advance on the left

flank and two other Americandivisions on the right

The only force that made it was

the American middle

Final OffensiveThe left and right flanks failed to



g

support the American middle

They were soon surrounded on allsides by the Germans

For six days, without medical aid,

support, food and supplies the Americans held out

They allowed the French and other American forces to surround theGermans resulting in an Allied victory

It became one of the most talkedabout events of WWI

Only 194 out of the original 575survived

The LostBattalion

The actions of the 77th in the Argonne



provided the Allies a way to break theGerman lines

Whittlesey, McMurtry and Holdermanall received the Congressional Medalof Honor

Cher Ami also was famed andsurvived the war although with one leg

Received the Croix de Guerre

Tragically, many questioned the

actions of Whittlesey when hereturned home

Could not escape what happened andcommitted suicide



The Home Front

I HATE WAR, BECAUSE WAR IS



MURDER, DESOLATION AND

DESTRUCTION. IF ONE-TENTH OF WHAT

HAS BEEN SPENT ON PREPAREDNESS

FOR WAR HAD BEEN SPENT ON THE PREVENTION OF WAR THE WORLD

WOULD ALWAYS HAVE BEEN AT PEACE

-HENRY FORD

The Home Front

Henry Ford vowed to burn down all



his factories rather than make goodsfor war

When Henry Ford said theaforementioned quotes, the US wasstill neutral

Two years later, Ford was building anew factory in Michigan

It had orders to build 16,000 tanks,20,000 tractors and anti-submarineships

Raging war required many sacrifices

Many of which the US was notprepared for

The Home Front

To raise money for the War, the US



Government began selling War Bonds

Like all bonds, they could later beredeemed for the original value of thebond plus interest

Campaigns and poster spread acrossthe nation

4 minute speeches were given aboutthe progress on the war beforemovies, school events, and publicmeetings

The campaign produced 20 billiondollars and funded the US e!orts inthe War as well as giving loans to

Allied nations

The Home FrontIn 1917, the Lever Food and Fuel



Control Act gave the President powerto limit foods and fuels

Under future president HerbertHoover, the Food Administrationworked to produce more and wasteless

Special pricing on goods was used tolimit consumption

Rationing was also employed wherepeople were given fixed amounts offood

Hoover thought it all went too far

He urged American’s to simplyexercise restraint

The Home Front



The Fuel Control Act sought to limitthe consumption of gasoline acrossthe nation

They sponsored gasless days andurged people not to drive

It also instituted Daylight Savings Time

This moved clocks ahead one hour inthe Summer

It gave Americans an extra hour of

daylight to use for labor

It also reduced the nations need forartificial life and saved energy

The Home Front



Government Censorship was alsoexecuted

Certain movies, newspapers andmagazines were banned

A movie being made on the American

Revolution was stopped because itsshowed British Soldiers killing

Americans

There was also a great fear ofespionage

The government feared that peopleloyal to Germany might disrupt the

American economy andcommunication lines

The Home Front

The National Security League began to



test and restrict immigrants to the US

If you could not read English you wouldnot be allowed in

There began to be mass hysteriatowards Germans across the nation

Publications went out calling theGermans, Hun

High Schools stopped teaching German

German books and music were banned

Hamburger was called Salisbury Steak

German Shepherds became Police Dogs

The Home Front

In 1917, Congress passed the



Espionage Act, which was Amendedby the Sedition Act

It made it illegal to discuss anythingdisloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusiveabout the US government,constitution, army or navy

The Sedition Act violated the First Amendment but many American’s feltit was necessary during times of war

The government had 1,500

prosecutions and 1000 convictions

Former presidential candidate EugeneDebs served a 10 year jail sentencefor criticizing the government

The Home Front



Many radical labor groups and socialorganizations attacked capitalism

The Industrial Workers of the Worldstopped mining copper during the War

Police arrested and convicted 200members

Other groups, vigilantes, tried to takethe law into their own hands

The majority of American’s workedhard for the War e!ort



A War to End all Wars

A War to End All Wars



At the beginning of 1918, AmericaPresident Woodrow Wilson set forthhis 14 points for world peace

It proposed a world withoutimperialism, secret treaties, where the

voices of weak nations would beheard as loud as the strong

It also proposed a League of Nationsto prevent world conflict and promotepeace

Seeing that the end was at hand theGermans sought out peace andsecurity under Wilson’s 14 points




Part of the idea behind this cause wasto place the blame of the militariesfailure on the German people, not themilitary

Wilson’s points would have given

Germany a new democraticgovernment with self determination

Many, mainly the French, did not wantGermany to have an easy way out

The Americans rejected Germany’sproposal because they wanted the 14points to be accepted by the peopleof Germany not German’s leaders


With di i t th



With mass dissension amongst theGerman ranks and protests, KaiserWilhelm II abdicated November 9,1918

The Social Democratic Partyproclaimed Germany a Republic, in

part to prevent the socialists

Two days later, this new governmentsigned the armistice that ended thewar

This armistice caught most Germanpeople o! guard as no Allied soldierhad set foot on German soil

Many expected a mild punishment




The new German governmentimmediately came under scrutiny

Many in Germany felt the allies hadtricked them into surrender and that it

was the fault of the new republicangovernment

Preparations for surrender were made

On November 11/11/1918 at 11AMthe Great War came to an end

Germany surrendered


President Wilson looked eagerly

forward to a democratic Germany



forward to a democratic Germany

His 14 Points were aimed atpreventing another world widecatastrophe

His proposal was rejected as

European leaders were bent onstopping Germany and stripping it ofits power

At Versailles, Germany was stripped ofall its oversea colonies, 10% of itspopulation, 13% of European landsand its ability to wage war

Germany’s army was reduced to100,000 men and could not have anair force or tanks


It was proposed that Germany relinquishthe lucrative Rhineland



the lucrative Rhineland

While a new state was hoped for as abu!er region that would strip Germanyof money it was not adopted

Instead, the Rhineland served as a

demilitarized zone and the Saar regionwas given to France to 15 years for coalproduction

They also lost Alsace and Lorraine toFrance, the Polish Corridor to Polandand areas near Denmark

Military bu!er zones were built up

Germany was also forced to pay 132Billion Marks (31.5 Billion) in reparations




Perhaps the most devastating wasthat the Treaty of Versailles also forcedGermany to admit to starting the War

This was against the will of PresidentWilson

The Treaty of Versailles would assist incausing the Great Depression

It would also fuel the fire which wouldlead to WWII

In addition to Germany’s harshpunishment, many new nations wereborn in Europe and in the Middle East


Russia also lost territories



Russia also lost territories

They ceded, Finland, Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania, Georgia and Poland

During the Russian Revolution White

Russia and the Ukraine were formed

Austria was divided and lostCzechoslovakia, Hungary separatedand Yugoslavia was born

In the east the Ottoman Empire was

dismantled

Turkey was formed as a home for theTurks




The world was a very di!erent place



The world was a very di!erent placefollowing WWI

New borders and nations emerged

Germany was dealt a heavy hand byFrance

British economist John MaynardKeynes attacked the harsh treatmentof Germany

He saw that the reparations and

shame was a Carthaginian Peace

He predicted it would lead to furtherconflict and war


Th US f lt th



The US felt the same way

They had provided the boost to winthe War

Wilson’s 14 points would have dealt

lightly with Germany and promotedpeace

Extreme nationalism and imperialismwould live on

The 14 points were rejected andtherefore the US rejected to getinvolved in European a!airs and didnot join the League of Nations

A War to End AllWars

F ll i Wil ’ t i t E h



Following Wilson’s trip to Europe, hetoured the United States

In 23 days he gave 3 dozen speechesacross the country

The War, the Treaty of Versailles and histour took a terrible toll on his health

He su!ered a stroke that paralyzed halfof his body

He remained hidden from public view as

an invalid for the remainder of his term ino"ce

He died in 1924


It is important to note that as terrible

as the consequences were for



as the consequences were forGermany it was not as bad as whatthey did to the Russians

As Civil War began to tear Russiaapart they opted out of the War

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was worseon the Russians than the Treaty ofVersailles on the Germans

As repayment for quitting the War,Germany took from Russia, Estonia,

Latvia, Poland, Lithuania and theUkraine

It was a 1/4 its population andindustry as well as 9/10 its coal mines


The Treaty of Versailles prevented thesegains and allowed for the birth of many

new nations



new nations

The new boundaries created by thetreaty isolated raw material frommanufacturing leading to an economicdepression

The new nations did not get along withtheir previous mother lands and tensionswere high

The Germans were not crushed in allways

Many felt they still could have won thewar and national pride remained

The foundation was set for a futureconflict much more horrific than veteransof WWI had ever dreamed


Despite the American lives the War tookthe US benefited greatly



Despite the American lives the War took,the US benefited greatly

In 1922, the US determined thatEuropean Nations owed them 11.5 billiondollars

The US surpassed Britain as the WorldsBank

Much of the British Empire and its vastfortunes were spent on the War

The US filled in the void and experienced

a financial boom

The rest of Europe struggled under thefinancial burdens and destruction of theWar


Not everything was great in the US



Returning soldiers were cheered andparaded around the nation

When the celebrations concluded,soldiers found themselves out of work

Women were also forced out of their jobsas men returned

African American’s went right back tobeing discriminated and segregated

There was not a plan to assist these men

to merge back into regular society

Many su!ered horrible physical andmental wounds for which there was littletreatment

World War I Costs

American Deaths = 116 516



American Deaths = 116,516

German Deaths = 1,773,700

Russian Deaths = 1,700,000

British Deaths = 908,371

French Deaths = 1,357,800

Total = 8,528,831

Casualties = 37,466,904



UK General Yeo of the Navy burns



Before After




Before After




Before After




Before After

UK Sprekley of the Army Gunshot face



Before After




Before After




Before After




Before After

UK Private A.J. Seal of the Army gunshot to chin



Before Surgery After Surgery













UK Lieutenant R.R. Lumley of the RAF burns



Before After




Before After




Before After




Before After

UK Lieutenant Topping of the RAF burns















Documents

American History Unit:6