16.3- World War I Ends

The Eastern Front Germany’s central position in Europe forced them to fight a two-front war against Britain and France in the West and Russia in the East Like the Western Front, fighting on the Eastern Front was brutal and often a stalemate, but the Germans eventually pushed Russian forces back deep into their territory The Russians had huge numbers, but lost millions of men due to inferior leadership, training, supplies, and weapons

Nations Enter the War 1914- Japan joins the Allies 1914- Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers (gave them the excuse for the Armenian Genocide) European colonies joined the effort: Canada, Australia, New Zealand

What effect will Russia’s withdrawal have on the war? Russia Withdraws The war hit Russia particularly hard. Stories of huge military defeats and corruption ruined public confidence. Civilians in St. Petersburg participated in bread riots. Men deserted the army in waves. In March 1917 the Russian Czar was overthrown and Lenin came to power. He signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, ending Russian involvement in WWI. What effect will Russia’s withdrawal have on the war?

The US Joins the War

The Lusitania German U-boats had a habit of targeting civilian passenger ships. In 1915 they sank the Lusitania, a British passenger ship with 128 American civilians aboard. The US threatened war until Germany agreed to surface and allow civilians to get into life boats. In 1917, Germans announced that they would resume unrestricted submarine warfare.

The Zimmermann Note In early 1917, the British intercepted a telegram from German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann to his ambassador in Mexico If the US entered the war, Germany asked Mexico to attack the US. In return, Germany would give back their “lost territory” in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Resulted in public outrage and anti-German feelings

War is Declared US President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany in April 1917 After months of recruiting and training, the first US troops reached Europe in 1918 Although relatively few Americans engaged in combat, their arrival gave Allied troops a necessary morale boost

President Wilson Wilson regretted having to go to war, but he saw it as an opportunity to promote peace He issued the Fourteen Points, a list of terms for resolving this war (and future wars): End to secret treaties Large-scale reduction of arms Freedom of the seas Self-determination “Association of nations” to keep the peace diplomatically

Winning the War March 1918- Germany launches an offensive to push Allies back. They push them into France 40 miles. July 1918- the Allies begin a slow counteroffensive with American help By September, German generals are telling Kaiser Wilhelm that the war is lost and encourage him to step down On November 11, 1918 the German government asks for an armistice (agreement to end fighting)

The Cost of War 8.5 million dead, soldiers and civilians 17 million wounded or handicapped Famines throughout Europe (a result of all resources going to the war) Millions of homes, farms, factories and roads are destroyed. In 1918, the world is hit with a flu epidemic that kills nearly 20 million people The sheer number of lives lost left the world in chaos. All the war weary parties are ready to move on and recover.

Paris Peace Conference Allied leaders met in France to create peace and discuss the fate of Europe (The Central Powers and now-Communist Russia were not allowed to participate) Three major players- “The Big Three” President Wilson- believed in peace without victory; pushed his Fourteen Points and League of Nations David Lloyd George- promised to create a Britain “fit for heroes”; planned for Germany to pay for the war and repairs Georges Clemenceau- wanted to weaken Germany so it could never again threaten France

Treaty of Versailles June 1919- Allies ordered Germany to sign the treaty they had created at the Palace of Versailles Germany had to accept full responsibility for starting the war Germany had to pay reparations to cover destruction and pensions for millions of Allied soldiers and their families (over $400B in today’s money) Limited the German military Returned Alsace and Lorraine to France, removed hundreds of miles of territory, and stripped Germany of its overseas colonies

What’s the message?

A New Europe The Allies created separate peace treaties with the other Central Powers These treaties redrew the map of Europe and effected colonial peoples around the globe New nations: Poland Latvia Lithuania Estonia Austria Hungary Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia 1914 1920

The League of Nations The Paris Peace Conference established the League of Nations More than 40 nations joined, agreeing to negotiate disputes rather than resort to war and to take “common action” against any aggressor Though this association of nations was Wilson’s dream, the US Senate refused to join, fearing it would drag the US into another war

What’s the message?