WORLD WAR I (1914-1918)

Chapter 18

“This dreadful conflict of the nations came to most of us as lightning out of a clear sky. The horror of it kept me awake for weeks, nor has the awfulness of it all deserted me.”

- Robert Page, South Carolina, letter, Nov 12, 1914

“Peace remains at the mercy of an accident.” (German diplomat, 1914)

Causes of War

France & Germany had become bitter enemies

ImperialismImperialism fueled rivalries among powerful nations

MilitarismMilitarism, building up strong armed forces to prepare for war.

Germany vied with Britain for naval dominance

European nations set up rival alliances rival alliances

France & Germany

In 1870-71 the German army attacked France. The Germans won this short war. As a ‘prize’ they took the regions of Alsace and Lorraine from France. The Germans claimed that they were rightfully German, the majority of people living here were French however. The French were very upset by this and wanted the land back. They were also fearful of the Germans attacking again.

Russia

Russia was encouraging Serbs and other minorities in the Balkans to revolt against their Austrian rulers. Their actions fueled the feelings of nationalism already rising.

Germany & Britain

Both countries wanted naval superiority so they each built up their navies so they could control the seas.

British Dreadnought, a new battleship that revolutionized warfare in WW I.

European Alliances

Central Powers: Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Italy

Allied Powers: France, Russia, Britain

These alliancesmeant that evena small crisis could start a major war!

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand was the crown prince of the Austrian empire. In 1914 he and his wife went on a visit to Serbia, a country that Austria had a strong influence over. Several Serbian nationalists, who wanted independence from Austria, decided that they would try to kill the prince. On 28th June 1914 they succeeded. His death led to the Austrian government making very strong demands on Serbia. Russia, keen to gain influence in Serbia, supported the Serbs. Days later the First World War had begun.

After the reception at the town hall, plans to tour other parts of the city were abandoned and a direct route to the city was decided on. It was along this route, however, that another assassin, 19-yr-old Gavrilo Princip, waited.

When the car carrying the royal couple was forced to stop, after taking a wrong turn, Princip stepped forward and fired two shots at close range. Sophie was hit in the stomach. Ferdinand was hit in the neck. Both died within a few minutes. The police seized Princip immediately.

Ferdinand and his wife were in an open car on the way to an engagement at the city hall, when a young assassin, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, threw a bomb at the cavalcade. The bomb bounced off the couple's car and exploded behind them injuring those following the royal car. Cabrinovic swallowed a cyanide capsule and threw himself into the river. He was arrested, however, as the pill had not killed him and the river had been almost dry. The royal couple continued, shaken but unharmed.

Stalemate for 3 years

From 1914 to 1917, the Allied powers fought each other, inflicting heavy losses, but neither side able to overcome the other.

Meanwhile, the U.S. determined to stay neutral (Isolationism)

By 1917 Britain was purchasing nearly $75 million worth of war goods from the U.S. each week

Trench warfare (http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/trenchlife.htm)

Huge battles: in the Battle of Verdun, France, over 800,000 men lost their lives in 10 months

Use of chlorine and mustard gas

British Blockade of German Ports The aim of naval actions in World War I

was to destroy the enemy’s ability to wage war by means of disrupting its commerce.

A nation denied the ability to trade would lose its ability to feed and defend itself, and descend into economic chaos.

German’s blockade around Britain Germany declared the existence of a war

zone around the British Isles. All enemy shipping encountered within the

area was subject to attack and no guarantees were to be made for the safety of the passengers and crews.

President Wilson reacted with a warning to Germany, informing them that they would be held to "strict accountability" for the safety of American lives.

President Woodrow Wilson

Best know for his peace-making efforts during and after WW I

This German notice appeared on May 1, the same date that the Lusitania, a British passenger liner, set sail from New York to Liverpool.

German U-boats

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/sub.htm

The Sinking of the Lusitania

On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland fired a torpedo without warning on the Lusitania, which touched off an internal explosion and sent the ship beneath the waves in less than 20 minutes. Nearly 1,200 people lost their lives, including 128 Americans.

Sussex Pledge

President Woodrow Wilson threatened to break off all diplomatic ties to Germany if they continued sinking passenger ships.

Germany agreed to restrict its campaign so the U.S. wouldn’t enter the war.

FROM NEUTRALITY TO WAR

Wilson’s Peace Efforts – “Peace Without Victory”

Woodrow Wilson didn’t want to restrict Americans travel abroad

He thought he could help bring about peace as a neutral nation

Won the Presidential election by a VERY NARROW margin.

U.S joins the war

Germany decided to renew submarine warfare, any neutral ship nearing Britain would be sunk.

Zimmerman telegram – Germany asked Mexico to join them against U.S.

Revolution in Russia: without the czar, it would be easier to support the war in the name of “democracy”

APRIL 6, 1917

“Make the world safe for democracy”

Wilson declares war after Congress approval. (455 to 56)

Over there, over there,Send the word, send the word over there -That the Yanks are coming,The Yanks are coming,The drums rum-tummingEv'rywhere.So prepare, say a pray'r,Send the word, send the word to beware.We'll be over, we're coming over,And we won't come back till it's overOver there.

Selective Service Act

Required all men 21-30 to register for the draft.

People from every ethnic group signed up.

So many recruits couldn’t read or write (25%) that education became more of a public issue.

Bureaucracy emerged

Food Administration: victory gardens, wheatless Mondays, meatless Tuesdays

Propaganda Posters

”Gibst du ein Scherflein noch so klein in Gott soll dir’s gesegnet sein”Even if you put a little bit to the cause, God will bless it

Managing Industry

War Industries Board controlled what and how much factories produced

War Labor Board helped union workers and labor unrest declined

Women stepped into industrial factory jobs

Government sold war bonds to help pay for the war.

Other developments

Strong anti-German prejudice “Liberty cabbage” and “liberty measles” Great Migration to the north (blacks and

Mexican immigrants) Opposition to war by pacifists and

socialists

Setbacks for the Allies

Russia withdrew from the war because of the Bolshevik Revolution

Russia & Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Germans move close to Paris in their “peace offensive”

German Peace Offensive

6,000 artillery pieces “Big Berthas” – massive guns capable of

firing a 2,100 lb shell almost 75 miles By May 1918, Germans had pushed the

Allies back just 70 miles north of Paris

Americans arrive in France

Over 1 million men

General Pershing insisted that the American troops fight separately as their own units.

Harlem Hell Fighters awarded the French medal of honor

Harlem Hell Fighters

German soldiers in winter

A concrete walled trench

German soldiers pose in an earthen trench.

Alvin York

After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machinegun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.

--Medal of Honor Citation--Medal of Honor Citation

Allies win the War

Battle of Argonne Forest – Germans pushed back with the Allies suffering heavy losses

Armistice signed Nov. 11, 1918 – the German emperor forced to resign, Germany became a republic

American tanks in the Battle of Argonne Forest

Failed Peace

Wilson’s Peace Plan – “14 Points” was meant to prevent international problems from causing another war

Called for League of Nations, self determination

Points were vague, conflicted with reality

Big Four Meet in France

Woodrow Wilson (U.S.) David Lloyd George (Britain) Clemenceau (France) Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

Treaty of Versailles

No one liked it Set extremely harsh terms for Germany:

had to take full blame for the war, had to pay huge reparations to the Allies, returned Alsace-Lorraine to France, limited the size of the German military

Several eastern European peoples became countries again.

Resistance at home

Most Americans favored the Treaty A vocal minority wanted to stay out of

world affairs, did not join the League of Nations

Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles

Impact of World War I

Combat, disease, and starvation had killed more than 14 million people

7 million soldiers disabled Cost more than $280 billion Overthrow of colonialism 19th Amendment (1919) gave women the

right to vote