World War I (1914-1918)

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World War I (1914-1918)

• McFarland

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I. The Road to War

• Hidden Causes of WWI existed well before 1914
• Imperialism European powers competed for
  territory around the world led to conflicts in
  those areas
• Militarism policy of building up a nations
  armed forces in preparation of war all the
  great European powers participated England,
  France, Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary

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I. The Road to War

1. Nationalism countries acted in their own
   interest, regardless of how it affected other
   countries also, many European countries
   contained many ethnic groups (races) within their
   borders who wanted their independence
2. Alliances developed in the late 1800s
   designed to increase a nations security and to
   defend each other during an attack

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I. The Road to War

• -two great alliances formed in Europe
• a. Triple Alliance Germany, Austria-Hungary,
• Italy
• b. Triple Entente England, France, Russia

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I. The Road to War

• Immediate Cause of WWI (sparkplug)
• -the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
  and his wife Sofie on June 28, 1914
• -he was the heir to the throne in Austria-Hungary
• -shot while visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, which was
  a province of A-H
• -killed by a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo
  Princip (19 yrs old)

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I. The Road to War

• After the assassination
• -July 28 A-H blamed the Serbian govt and
  declared war on them
• -July 29 Russia, Serbias protector, began
  mobilization (the readying of troops for war)-
  Germany, A-Hs chief ally, demanded that Russia
  stop mobilizing Russia refused Russias ally,
  France, began mobilization as did Germany

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I. The Road to War

• -Aug. 1 Germany declared war on Russia
• -Aug. 3 Germany declared war on France
• -The U.S. remained neutral

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I. The Road to War

• Germany knew it would be forced to fight a
  two-front war (East and West) eventually
• -so, they had a plan called the Schlieffen Plan
  which called for a quick strike on France to
  knock them out of the war and then they would
  turn and attack Russia

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II. War Begins

• To get to France as quickly as possible, the
  German Army passed through Belgium, a neutral
  country
• -the invasion brought England, Belgiums
  protector, into the war on Aug. 4
• -Germany had hoped England, with the worlds
  strongest Navy, would stay out of the war

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II. War Begins

• After the start of the war, countries in Europe
  began to take sides
• a. Central Powers Germany, A-H, Bulgaria,
• and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
• b. Allied Powers (Allies) France, Russia,
  Italy (1915), Serbia, Romania, Greece,
  Montenegro, Portugal, Belgium, Albania

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II. War Begins

• Sept. 1914 Germans advanced within 30 miles of
  Paris but were stopped at the Marne River by
  French and British troops in the First Battle of
  the Marne

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II. War Begins

• The war reached a stalemate, a situation in which
  neither side could gain an advantage, on the
  Western Front (in France)
• -the Allies began to dig trenches to help reduce
  casualties and the Germans did the same (trench
  warfare)
• -the move to the trenches prolonged the war
• -heavy casualties resulted from soldiers going
  over the top into no mans land (area between
  the trenches)

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II. War Begins

• While both sides fought evenly in France, the
  Central Powers took over Serbia, Montenegro,
  Albania, and Romania
• -they also attacked Italy and began to push the
  Russian lines back

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II. War Begins

• New Weapons used during WWI
• Machine gun forced the soldiers to the trenches
  fired up to 450 rounds a minute
• Tanks first used by the British used mainly
  to smash barbed wire fences to clear the way for
  the infantry (foot soldiers)
• Poison gas chemical warfare used by the
  Germans first

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II. War Begins

1. U-boats German submarines attacked without
   warning used to fight the British blockade
   interfered with American trade and threatened the
   safety of Americans
2. Airplanes used only for observation at first
   later armed with machine guns ex Manfred von
   Richthofen Red Baron (German ace pilot shot
   down over 80 planes)

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II. War Begins

• The American Response
• -some Americans felt personally involved Why?
  1/3 were 1st or 2nd generation immigrants
• -most Americans wanted to Allies to win Why?
• Cultural ties with England
• Most of the news from the war came from England
• Kaiser Wilhelm II, German leader, was an autocrat
  (ruler with unlimited power)

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II. War Begins

• The U.S. remained neutral at first and continued
  to trade with both sides
• -we were an isolated country at that time

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III. U.S. Declares War

• 3 Major Events led the U.S. to join the Allies
• Germanys use of unrestricted submarine warfare
  Ex
• a. Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915)
  British passenger liner sunk by a German u-boat
  because it was secretly carrying weapons for the
  Allies 1,200 died (128 Americans)

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III. U.S. Declares War

• b. Sinking of the Sussex (March 24, 1916)
  French passenger liner sunk by a u-boat the
  Germans later agreed to the Sussex Pledge
  (promised to warn ships before attacking) kept
  the U.S. out of the war

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III. U.S. Declares War

• Election of 1916 Pres. Wilson ran under the
  slogan He kept us out of the war and was
  re-elected
• Feb. 1, 1917 Germany resumed unrestricted
  submarine warfare thought they could defeat the
  British and win the war before the U.S. could
  make a difference

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III. U.S. Declares War

• Feb. 3, 1917 Wilson ended Am. neutrality by
  arming merchant ships armed neutrality

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III. U.S. Declares War

• Zimmerman Note / Telegram German foreign
  secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, made a secret offer
  to Mexico
• -if they would attack the U.S., then they
  would be given back the lost territory in TX, AZ,
  and NM
• -the note was intercepted by the British
• -neither Wilson nor Mexico took the note
  seriously
• -however, the American public called for war

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III. U.S. Declares War

• Revolution in Russia March 1917, Czar Nicholas
  II was overthrown and replaced by a republican
  (democratic) govt
• -since a czar was no longer in power, the
  U.S. viewed Russia as an acceptable ally
• -this was the last stumbling block to a full
  Am. commitment to the Allies

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III. U.S. Declares War

• Pres. Wilson asked Congress to declare war on
  Germany saying
• The world must be made safe for democracy.
• War was declared on April 6, 1917

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IV. On the Homefront

• Selective Service Act (May 1917) required all
  men, 21-30 years old, to register for the draft
• -ages later changed to 18-45
• -24 million registered and 3 million drafted
  by lottery
• -2 million volunteered (5 million total troops)

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IV. On the Homefront

• 11,000 women volunteered to serve as nurses,
  clerks, and drivers also began working in
  factories, auto mechanics, traffic cops, etc.
  (jobs only men used to do)
• 300,000 African Am.s volunteered or were drafted
  mostly used for manual labor fought in
  segregated units

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IV. On the Homefront

• War Industries Board led by Bernard Baruch
  -regulated how natural resources were used and
  told factory owners what to make
• -ex iron and steel industries used to make
  guns and later tanks factories worked around
  the clock which created more jobs

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IV. On the Homefront

• War Labor Board settled labor disputes to
  prevent strikes during the war
• Food Adm. led by Herbert Hoover conserved
  food and set crop prices also encouraged
  meatless Tuesdays and wheatless Wednesdays
  victory gardens were also planted

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IV. On the Homefront

• Fuel Adm. encouraged greater coal production
  and urged citizens to conserve coal and fuel
  heatless Mondays est. day-light saving time
  to save an hours use of lighting and heat each day

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IV. On the Homefront

• Financing the war two ways to pay for war
• Taxes were raised
• Liberty Bonds were sold loans by the Am. people
  to the govt paid back with interest

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IV. On the Homefront

• Laws Passed to Enforce Loyalty
• Sedition Act prohibited any speech that was
  disloyal, profane, or abusive about the govt,
  flag, Constitution, or armed forces very
  controversial
• Espionage Act punished anyone found guilty of
  helping the enemy, hindering recruitment, or
  inciting revolts

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IV. On the Homefront

• Both acts were upheld in the Supreme Court case
  Schenck v. U.S. (1919) ruled freedom of speech
  could be limited in certain situations or
  whenever there was a clear and present danger
  to public safety or national security

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V. Americans on the European Front

• American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) led by Gen.
  John J. Pershing arrived in Paris on June 14,
  1917 provided reinforcements to British and
  French troops
• -U.S. soldiers nicknamed doughboys

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V. Americans on the European Front

• The first job of the doughboys was to help
  England attack the German u-boats Americans
  thought they would only provide naval assistance
  at first
• Convoy system began in May 1917 group of
  unarmed merchant ships surrounded by armed naval
  ships reduced number of ships sunk

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V. Americans on the European Front

• The Bolshevik Revolution (communist revolution in
  Russia Oct. 1917) changed the involvement of
  Am. soldiers
• -led by Vladimir Lenin
• -Russia signed a treaty with Germany in March
  1918 to drop out of the war
• -allowed Germany to send all troops to the
  Western Front
• -forced U.S. to send in more foot soldiers to
  help Allies

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V. Americans on the European Front

• Battle of Chateau-Thierry (June 1918) major
  turning point in the war U.S. helped French
  save Paris and began to push German lines back
  towards Germany
• Battle of Argonne Forest (Sept.-Nov. 1918) last
  critical battle of the war 47 day battle 1.2
  million Allied troops began to push German lines
  back and eventually broke through

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V. Americans on the European Front

• The hero of Argonne was Alvin C. York
• -grew up in the mountains of TN
• -applied to be classified as a conscientious
  objector (refuses to serve in military because of
  religious beliefs) application denied and was
  drafted
• -killed 25 Germans and captured 132 others
• -said he killed those Germans to save lives
• -most decorated soldier of WWI

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VI. Postwar

• An armistice (cease fire) was signed on Nov. 11,
  1918 (11th hour, 11th day, 11th month)
• WWI Casualties
• -Russia 9 million -Germany 7 million
• -France 6 million -A-H 7 million
• -England 4 million
• -U.S. 364,000

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VI. Postwar

• WWIs Impact on U.S.
• -lost 116,000 young men
• -created a distrust of foreigners
• -created new opportunities for women and Afr.
  Ams.
• -higher wages
• -booming economy richest nation in world

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VI. Postwar

• Pres. Wilsons Plan for Peace
• -to prevent future world wars he outlined his
  goals in his Fourteen Points speech before
  Congress included
• Ban on secret treaties / alliances
• Freedom of the seas
• Reduction of arms

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VI. Postwar

1. self-determination, or power to make decisions
   about ones own future, for all A-Hs ethnic
   groups
2. League of Nations international org. that would
   help keep world peace and maintain order

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VI. Postwar

• Paris Peace Conference (Jan. 1919) attended by
  the Big 4 (leaders of the 4 major Allied
  powers)
• Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)
• David Lloyd George (G.B.)
• George Clemenceau (France)
• Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

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VI. Postwar

• -remember Russia had dropped out of the war in
  1917 and Italy joined Allies in 1915
• -Goals Wilson concerned about world peace
  brought 14 Points with him the other 3 leaders
  wanted to punish Germany (esp. France)

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VI. Postwar

• -Treaty of Versailles officially ended WWI
  compromise included
• War Guilt Clause forced Germany to take the
  blame for starting the war (big mistake!)
• Germany stripped of all colonies
• Germany forced to pay reparations (payment for
  damages) to Allies - 33 billion total

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VI. Postwar

• League of Nations created
• Created new countries based on self-determination
  
• -Poland -Austria
• -Finland -Estonia
• -Czechoslovakia -Latvia
• -Yugoslavia -Lithuania
• -Hungary

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VI. Postwar

• Germany refused to sign treaty at first (too hard
  on them) they eventually did sign it on June
  28, 1919
• Republicans in Congress were upset that they were
  not represented in Versailles (Wilson was a
  Dem.), so they refused to approve the treaty
  never joined League of Nations (very weak without
  U.S.)