America and the Great War: World War I

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America and the Great War World War I
Otto Dix, Trench Warfare
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I. Objectives

• A. Analyze cause of U.S. involvement in World War
  I
• What were effects of war on United States and
  other nations?
• B. Assess significance of war experience on
  American foreign and domestic policies of 1920s
  and 1930s.

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II. Origins of Great War

• A. Background
• Europe at peace for fifty years
• No major war since time of Napoleon in early
  1800s
• time of great economic growth, progress
• Rapid industrialization, population growth
• beneath surface lay seeds of a great conflict.

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Seeds of War

• Even though no European country was at war,
  evidence of future conflict obvious.
• Numerous long-term causes
• 1. Imperialism - (colonialism) Britain, France,
  and new emerging power, Germany, constantly
  seeking new colonies.
• 2. Economic rivalries

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Seeds of War

• Other long-term causes
• 3.Militarism - International Arms Race/Naval
  rivalries (Britain and Germany)
• European countries, to protect their borders and
  colonies, built up modern war machines.

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Seeds of War

• Other long-term causes
• 4. Russian bitterness over recent defeats (e.g.
  Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05)
• Russia Slavic "Big Brother" to Balkans, who are
  under Austrian control

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Seeds of War

• 5. Nationalism in Europe
• National Pride, Social Darwinism, etc.
• 6. French hostility toward Germany bitter over
  defeat in Franco-Prussian War 1870-71

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Seeds of War

• 7. Danger of large, standing armies
• Major powers (except Britain) all had large,
  standing armies from conscription.
• Temptation to use them was great

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II. Basic Causes

• B. 2 basic causes
• 1. Conflicting Alliance Systems
• most problematic background issue
• Leading powers pledged to help each other in
  event of war, despite whether issues affected
  their interests

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A. Conflicting Alliance Systems between major
European powers

• -Franco-Russian Alliance, 1894
• -Triple Entente, 1907
• 1. includes Britain, France, Russia
• become major combatants in war against Central
  Alliance
• Known as the Allies
• USA will join them in 1917

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Triple Alliance

• 2. Central Powers includes Germany and
  Austro-Hungarian Empire
• -1879 Dual Alliance formed
• -1882 Triple Alliance brought in Italy
• later includes Italy, the Turkish Empire and
  others.
• Post-Bismarckian Alliances put Germany in
  minority of 2 in a group of five great European
  powers

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II. Basic Causes

• B. 2 basic causes
• 2. Nationalism, ethnic minorities dominated by
  Austrians and Turks
• Russia opposed to Austria domination of Slavic
  peoples

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European alliances in 1914
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Europe, 1914
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1914 Europe
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the Balkans
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The breaking point

• C. Final Crisis- Sarajevo, June 1914
• 1. "Black Hand" Serbian terrorist organization
• 2. Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austrian throne
• unpopular, unsympathetic to Balkan nationalism
• 3. Assassinated June 28, 1914 during visit to
  Bosnian capital of Sarajevo

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Summer of 1914

• Europe was powder keg.
• spark was FFs assassination
• Not itself a cause of war, but an excuse to set
  alliance systems in motion

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Archduke Francis Ferdinand
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Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophie shortly before
their murder
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Gavrilo Princip
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IV. The Abyss summer of 1914

• Alliance system set in motion "Domino effect"
• Dominoes begin falling summer of 1914
• A. July 1914, Austrian ultimatum to Serbia
• 10 points, intentionally harsh so Serbia would
  refuse
• Serbia accepts 9 out of 10

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IV. The Abyss summer of 1914

• B. July 28 Austria declares war on Serbia
• Blank check from Wilhelm II
• C. Russia mobilizes armies
• D. Aug. 1 Germany declares war on Russia

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Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) reigns 1888-1918
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Franz Joseph of Austria
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The Abyss summer of 1914

• E. Aug. 3 Germany declares war on France
• F. Aug. 4 Germany invades neutral Belgium
• G. August 4 Britain declares war on Germany

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The Abyss summer of 1914

• 1. "scrap of paper" Anglo-Belgian neutrality
  treaty from 1830's had been signed by Prussia and
  others
• Germany will ignore it
• H. Von Schlieffen Plan Quick thrust West.
• Avoid war on two fronts
• Knock out France first, then turn on Russia
• Plan will fail, lead to stalemate
• Belgium invaded, Germany appears aggressor
• Much propaganda follows

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Edith Cavell
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V. The war

• A. 1914-15
• German offensive stopped at 1st Battle of the
  Marne, Aug.-Sept. 1914 by French commander
  Ferdinand Foch.
• Paris saved barely
• Russian defeats in East
• Tannenberg (1914)
• Disaster for Russians, under-equipped, poorly led

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official German general Staff map of Schlieffen
Plan
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Schlieffen Plan, 1914
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street in Belgian village, 1914
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French casualties at the Marne, 1914
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Ferdinand Foch
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French taxis in 1914
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Stalemate on the Western front

• war bogged down to form of warfare called trench
  warfare.
• dirty, deadly, and wasted lives of many young
  men of Europe over a four year period.
• Between trenches was deadly area known as No
  Mans Land.

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German advances on Western Front, 1914 and 1918
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Home Sweet Home Canadian trench, 1917
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Course of the war 1914-1915

• 2. Italy joins the Allies, April 29, 1915 with
  Treaty of London
• 3. May 7 Sinking of passenger ship Lusitania
  1200 killed, 123 Americans
• 4. Late 1914, Turkey joins Central Powers
• 5. Dardanelles Campaign, March 1915-January 1916
• 1. Gallipoli, Spring to Dec. 1915

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Lusitania
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Dardanelles region
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Australian troops at Gallipoli
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Australian Victim of Gallipoli, Jim Martin, age
14
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V. Course of the war

• B. 1916, year of battles
• 1. Battle of Verdun February 21-Dec. 18, 1916
• Purpose to bleed France of men and end war
• symbolic bloodbath for both sides
• RESULTS
• longest battle of war
• fought to a draw with estimated one million
  casualties
• considered greatest and lengthiest in world
  history.

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Verdun, Feb. 21- Dec. 18, 1916
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Mass inside Fort Douamont, Verdun
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Verdun defenders who gave their all
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victim of Verdun, 1916
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The Somme

• Epitome of slaughter in WWI
• British suffered 57,000 casualties on first day
• 21,000 killed
• Many wounded bleed to death, die from shock
• Repeated assaults
• end of campaign in October
• 400,000 British, 200,000 French and 450,000
  Germans casualties
• Allies captured a few miles of ground

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shell casings at Somme
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No Mans Land
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Tanks at the Somme
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Barbed Wire on the Somme front, summer 1916
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The Somme, 1916
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Somme, first phase
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Somme, third phase
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Deadly Endeavors

• Verdun - 1,000,000 Casualties (250,000 Dead)
• The Somme - 1,100,000 dead
• 400,000 - British200,000 - French500,000 -
  Germans

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C. Technology of Death

• Why was World War I so horrible?
• Old tactics, new technology
• 1. Defensive Weapons/ Tactics
• 2. Poison gas
• First used by Germans, spring 1915
• Different types
• 3. Better artillery and machine guns
• some periods of war more shells fired in a day
  than entire American Civil War

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New Weapons

• machine gun most deadly
• some could fire 700 rounds per minute
• Machine guns, artillery probably caused most
  casualties

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German machine gun crew, 1915
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Gas shells over No Mans Land
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Battle amidst gas
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Prepared for gas
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British victims of a gas attack
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French gun in action near Arras
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Trench accommodations
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Trench victim with artillery piece
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Effects of barbed wire
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Effects of artillery
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Technology of Death

• 4. Submarines (U-boats)
• Preyed on Allied supply ships
• 5. Airplanes, blimps
• Used for recon., eventually bombers with
  primitive techniques
• Also used as weapon
• duels against other planes
• 6. Tanks
• British made, early versions unreliable
• 7. Other weapons
• French- invented flame thrower

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Sopwith Camel
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Spad 16
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Tank attack, Cambrai
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Tank, 3rd Ypres, 1917
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German U-Boat
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VI. 1917, the Turning Point

• In 1917, two events changed not only the war, but
  the world.
• A. 1917, Russia, whom Germany had been fighting
  on Eastern Front, withdrew from war.
• Communist Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, overthrew
  regime of Czar Nicolas II in Nov. 1917

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Czar Nicholas II
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Lenin
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Lenin addressing a crowd in 1918
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Russia exits

• Russia withdrew from war
• Bolshevik Revolution supported by people opposed
  to war
• world introduced to communism.

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Russia exits

• In 1918 Russia signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  with Germany, quit the war.
• Gave up lands
• Freed up German forces for use in West

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USA enters the war

• 1916 presidential election
• Wilson defeated Republican Charles Evans Hughes,
  former Chief Justice
• Wilsons campaign slogan was He kept us out of
  war.
• Within months USA would be at war

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The 2nd Turning Point

• On April 2, 1917, one month after taking the oath
  of office, President Woodrow Wilson asked
  Congress to declare war on the Central Powers.
• Congress made an official declaration of war on
  April 6, 1917.

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U.S. at War

• U.S. enters war against Central Powers mainly
  becauseA. Unrestricted submarine warfareB.
  Sinking of the LusitaniaC. Germany violation of
  Sussex Pledge.D. Zimmerman telegram

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Woodrow Wilson
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Submarine warfare

• Germans using submarine since war began
• only way Germany could offset superior navy of
  Great Britain.
• Americans outraged by 1915 sinking of British
  passenger liner Lusitania.

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U-Boats

• Germany attacked ships of enemy countries
• also neutral ships carrying war supplies to
  France or England
• German unrestricted submarine warfare caused
  great loss of lives and property
• U.S. suffered losses from these attacks.

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Submarine warfare

• Americans outraged by sinking of the British
  passenger liner Lusitania.
• Germans claimed it was carrying war supplies.
• later proved true.

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Submarine warfare

• Germans agree not to sink ships without warning
  (Sussex Pledge)
• early 1917 they resumed unrestricted submarine
  warfare.
• this will become one of main reasons USA enters
  war

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Second cause

• Zimmerman Note
• Early 1917 British intercepted a letter from
  German officials to the Mexican government
• asked Mexico to attack United States, divert
  forces away from Europe, if U.S. entered the war
  on the allied side.
• Germany promised help, would let Mexico retake SW
  part of USA

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Zimmerman Telegram translated
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Passchendale, 1917
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Passchendale, 1917
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Passchendale, 1917
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The AEF

• U.S. Army known as American Expeditionary Force
  (AEF)
• under command of General John J. Pershing
• Training, mobilization

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Members of U.S. 4th Division arriving at the
front
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The Lost Battalion
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"Lafayette, We Are Here."
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American military on the Western Front, 1918
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The Red Baron

• war produced two American heroes and one enemy
  phenomenon!
• Manfred Von Richtofen
• Red Baron
• shot down over 80 allied fliers
• In April 1918 he was shot down
• Allies gave Richtofen a funeral with full
  military honors.

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The Red Baron
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American Heroes

• Americas first fighter ace
• Eddie Rickenbacker
• shot down 26 enemy aircraft in less than a year.

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Captain Eddie Rickenbacker
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Corporal York

• second American hero was country boy from
  Tennessee
• conscientious objector named Alvin York
• York silenced 16 German machine-gun nests, killed
  22 German soldiers
• captured 132 of them single-handed.

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Alvin York
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THE HOME FRONT

• American War Effort
• To stop submarine attacks Admiral William Sims
  devised a plan called the convoy system.

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Humanitarian Reasons

• According to President Wilson, U.S. entered war
  to make the world safe for democracy.
• Relief efforts made to supply to European
  refugees, civilians

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THE HOME FRONT

• Committee on Public Information headed by George
  Creel
• Propaganda, patriotic posters to encourage
  soldiers and civilians

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THE HOME FRONT

• Wilson asked Bernard Baruch to head American war
  effort.
• organized all parts of society to support war
  effort.
• Liberty and Victory Bonds are sold to public in
  order to finance the war
• millions of American men marched off to war
• women joined work force in their place.

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British anti-German propaganda posters
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American song encouraging African-American
enlistment
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THE HOME FRONT

• Attacks on civil liberties
• Espionage Act (1917)
• Penalties for suspected spies
• Allowed censorship of mail
• Sedition Act (1918)
• Made anti-war speaking or writing illegal
• Heavy fines imposed

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THE HOME FRONT

• Heavy fines imposed
• Over 1,500 people imprisoned with these laws
• Technically violated 1st amendment
• Supreme Court backed government because of time
  of wart

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The End

• American help in France enables Allies stopped a
  second German offensive after Russias withdrawal
  from the war. (Second Battle of the Marne).
• With America bringing fresh troops, Allies began
  a determined advance.

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Foch and Pershing
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American armored troops going forward in the
Argonne, France, September 26, 1918
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American dead, Argonne Forest, 1918
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French 320th Infantry, 4th Army and members of US
312th Infantry, 78th Division
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American supply train, 1918
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Supply train, US 129th Infantry, 33rd Division,
on the road at Bethincourt, 29 Sept. 1918
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The end

• September, 1917 Allies cut German supply lines.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II, ruler of Germany, fled to
  Holland
• Gen. Ludendorf, German Field Marshal, asked for
  peace terms.
• war ended on November, 11, 1918 at 1100 a.m.

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Kaiser Wilhelm II
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Armistice Train
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• war cost lives of 10,000,000 military personnel
• Another 10,000,000 civilians lost their lives.
  The peace would be harsh.

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RESULTS OF THE WAR CASUALTIES

• Killed
• Germany 2 million
• Russia 20 million (includes WWI, Civil War
  and famine)
• France 2 million
• Britain 1 million
• For every death each country suffered roughly 2
  more casualties in the form of someone wounded or
  maimed

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Europe in 1914
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Post-World War I Europe
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American Army troops near Archangel, late 1918
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Versailles, 1919 Shaping the 20th Century

• The Big Four at Versailles, 1919

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Making the Peace

• The Peace Settlement
• Palace of Versailles, January 1919, 27 Allied
  nations
• The Big Four
• Woodrow Wilson, Fourteen Points
• Agenda, views
• Georges Clemenceau of France
• Agenda, views
• concerned with his nations security
• David Lloyd George
• Agenda, views
• punish Germany

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Wilson
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GEORGE CLEMENCEAU
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• The plan was rejected by the other three of the
  Big Four. Only Wilsons League of Nations would
  be included in the final treaty.

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Article 231

• Treaty of Versailles harsh toward Germany
• forced them to pay reparations (debts for causing
  the war).

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ARTICLE 231. "War Guilt Clause".

• The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and
  Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and
  her allies for causing all the loss and damage to
  which the Allied and Associated Governments and
  their nationals have been subjected as a
  consequence of the war imposed upon them by the
  aggression of Germany and her allies.

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A session of the Peace Conference
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• The Seeds Of World War II sown
• treaty would not settle a war, instead it would
  bring about another one.

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American Reaction to League of Nations
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Reaction to League of Nations
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Reaction to League of Nations
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Reaction to League of Nations
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U.S. Reaction to League of Nations
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Post-World War I Europe
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Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
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Wilsons travels to drum up support for League of
Nations
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• In a final failure United States would not ratify
  Treaty of Versailles
• nor join League of Nations
• country withdrew back to its prewar isolationist
  status.

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Palace of Nations
Geneva, Switzerland
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Reaction to League of Nations
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"Muzzled"