The End of the War Ms. Sharma • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada

The Western and Eastern Front •  Western front – refers to the battles taking on the west (France, Belgium, etc) •  Eastern front - refers to the fighting taking place on the Russian side • http://brokenworld.wikispaces.com/13.2+War+in+Europe

Western Front • Battles were taking place but there was no clear winner •  By 1917 two important events changed the situation of the war…

Changes… •  Just like everyone else in the war, Russia dedicated its resources to the war effort •  At home, supplies and food were limited •  This sent the prices of goods up •  Thousands of soldiers had died fighting •  People were fed up – this led to a revolution in Russia • http://www.nevsky88.com/SaintPetersburg/Revolution/

Russian Revolution of 1917 • The Russian people were getting tired •  A series of revolutions took place causing the Czar to abdicate (leave) his throne by March 1917 •  A Provisional gov’t was formed after the Czar left but the people were still not happy • http://westciv2.umwblogs.org/2010/03/22/the-bolshevik-revolution/

• The Bolsheviks began to • Big names from the •  By October 1917, the Bolsheviks, socialist revolutionaries, overthrew the provisional gov’t and promised the people “peace and bread.” •  The Bolsheviks began to negotiate a peace treaty with the Central Powers (Germany, A-H, Ottoman Empire, and Kingdom of •  Big names from the revolution: –  Vladmir Lenin –  Leon Trotsky –  Joseph Stalin Bulgaria) • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/russia/leninandbolshevikrevolutionrev1.shtml

How did this Affect the War? •  When the Bolsheviks took over and began to negotiate with the Central Powers (ie. Triple Alliance) this weakened the Allies •  Why? •  B/C Germany now did not need to keep large numbers of troops in the East – they could move their forces to the Western Front

Another Change Takes Place… • The United States had been angered by Germany when the Lusitania (a passenger ship) had been sunk killing American civilians •  The United States also learned that Germany promised Mexico that they would support them if the Mexicans decided to attack the U.S.

The U.S. Enters the War • Due to Germany’s actions, the U.S. entered the war on April 2, 1917. •  Within 8 months American troops reached the western front ready to fight the war

• The Americans joined the war in April 1917 •  The Bolsheviks came into power in October 1917 •  March 3, 1918 – Russia signed the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk with the Central Powers •  This effectively freed German troops from the Eastern Front •  The Treaty was written in German, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Ottoman Turkish, and Russian.

the western front back to about 75km outside of Paris •  The Germans went full force towards the Western front (they wanted to get a quick victory before the Americans were fully ready) •  The Allies lost Passchendaele, the Somme, and Ypres within a few weeks •  By Summer 1918, the Germans had pushed the western front back to about 75km outside of Paris • http://sites.google.com/a/adamscott.ca/world-war-i-museum-feb-2010/the-strategies-room-for-the-first-world-war

The Hundred Days Campaign •  The Americans arrived and the Allies were able to rally and stop German advancement •  In August 1918, the Allies launched a series of attacks (now called the Hundred Days Campaign) •  Cdns, under General Currie, broke through German lines and won battles at Arras, Cambrai, and Valenciennes

The Central Powers Collapse •  The Battles of the Hundred Days Campaign exhausted enemy troops •  They had no reserves left, food, troops, and supplies were low •  November 1918 – the German Kaiser abdicated and fled to Holland •  A-H agreed to a ceasefire

The War Ends • An armistice (agreement to end hostilities) was signed in a railway car in France at 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918. •  The war was to stop at 11:00 a.m. •  Corresponds with Remembrance Day. • http://ate-d.blogspot.com/2010/01/research-essay-twenty-one-year-truce.html

• http://sites. google. com/a/adamscott • http://sites.google.com/a/adamscott.ca/wold-war-i-museum-feb-2010/the-strategies-room-for-the-first-world-war