Chapter 17 Section 4 The War to End All Wars

Words to Know  Communism: A economic system in which the govt. owns all property and business  Armistice: An agreement to stop fighting

Revolt in Russia  :  Russian troops important part of allied forces  Fought Germans along Eastern Front  Tsar ruled Russia:  Tsar and family were wealthy  Most of Russian people were poor  People unhappy with way war was going: Russia suffered huge casualties

Revolt in Russia cont.  Russian revolution broke out during WWI:  Nov  Communists took power: Communists believe in communism  Communists took control of all farms, banks, and industry  Many people died during revolution:  Tsar and family murdered  Russian Revolution Russian Revolution

Revolt in Russia cont.  Communist govt. signed peace treaty with Germany and Central Powers:  Meant the Allies would not have Russia on their side  Central powers could turn most of their forces against French and the British

US Troops Arrive  US troops had to cross the Atlantic to get to Europe:  Treacherous journey  100+ German subs  Safety-US traveled in convoys: System in which warships traveled with ships carrying troops

US Troops Arrive cont.  First Americans arrived in France, 6/1917:  More than a million would fight in France  1918:  Germans planned to attack Paris  Broke through Allied lines; came within 50 miles  Stopped by US and French troops

Belleau Wood  Thick Forrest  24hrs per day for 2- weeks:  US troops fought way through forest  German machine guns hidden in trees firing down on Americans  Americans took control of Belleau Wood: 8000 Americans killed or wounded

The Argonne Forest  Large area along Western Front:  German controlled  Germans had: Machine guns Barbed wire Big cannons  Sept. 26, 1918:  1million+ Americans attacked at dawn  Forest covered by heavy fog  Many Americans walked into German positions  More than 100,000 American killed or wounded  Battle lasted 47 days until Americans pushed through enemy lines:  Same time Brits, French, and Belgian forces won battles along Western Front

November 1918  German army began to retreat  Other Central Powers could not fight without the power of Germany behind them  November 11:  Railroad car in northern France  Allies and Central Powers signed an agreement to end the war  Germany accepted the terms of the armistice

The Cost of War  US in war for less than a year:  US losses were great but far fewer than other countries in the war  War took terrible toll in Europe:  13million civilians and soldiers died  Much of northern France was destroyed  Millions in Germany were starving  Between more people died from a flu epidemic: 20 million die

The Allies’ Plan for Peace  Pres. Wilson wanted WWI to be the “war to end all wars”:  The Fourteen Points: Wilson’s plan for peace Included a League of Nations where countries could meet to solve their problems without fighting

January 1919  Wilson meet with the leaders of:  Italy  GB  France  Met at Palace of Versailles:  Paris, France  Leaders called the Big Four  Wilson and European leaders disagreed over punishment for Germany  European leaders wanted to punish Germany for the suffering they caused

Treaty of Versailles  Signed June 1919  Wilson did not like all the parts of the treaty:  Forced Germany to take all the blame for the war  Germany had to pay billions of dollars in damages to Allied countries Germany did not have enough money

Treaty of Versailles cont.  Treaty did include some of Wilson’s 14-points:  Treaty provided a League of Nations  US Senate refused to approve the treaty  Some senators were afraid the League would drag them into another war  US never became a member of the League of Nations  Wilson kept fighting for the League:  Dies 1924

CLASS WORK Chapter 17 Worksheets #