 By 1915, the war on both European fronts promised to be a long, grim affair. All of the Great Powers looked for new allies to tip the balance of power and win.

 Italy joined the Allies  Bulgaria joined the Central Powers  In various parts of Africa and Asia, Germany’s colonial possessions came under assault  Troops as well as laborers came from India, South Africa, Egypt, and Indochina to fights  Japan overran Germany’s colonies in China and the Pacific islands

 By 1917 the war had shifted to the seas  In 1917, Germany tried to counter Britain’s blockade with one of their own  The Germans announced they would sink any ship in the waters around Britain without warning  Unrestricted submarine warfare

 On May 7 th, 1915, a German submarine (U- boat) sank a British passenger ship, the Lusitania  1198 people killed  The American people were outraged and President Woodrow Wilson demanded Germany stop the unrestricted submarine warfare  Germany sank 3 American ships

 America also intercepted a telegram saying that Germany promised to help Mexico reconquer America if Mexico helped Germany win the war  Zimmerman Telegram

 On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war

WHAT TWO THINGS BROUGHT THE U.S. INTO THE WAR???

 WWI was a total war: all resources were dedicated to winning  Millions dead  Factories turned into war plants  Rationing of goods (shoes, butter…)  Unemployment rate fell  Anti-war activity was stopped  Propaganda was used to encourage war support  Women went to work to make up for the loss of men

 America entering the war tips the scale towards the allies

 Russia withdraws from the war  By march 1917, there was civil unrest  No food or fuel  5.5 million soldiers dead or wounded  Government was collapsing  November 1917, Communist leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin seized power  Signed a treaty with Germany—Treaty of Brest-Litovsk  Russia had to give up Finland, Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania

 Germany made one last push for victory and came within 40 miles of capturing Paris  The Allies with 140,000 (later 2 million more) fresh American troops counterattacked  Allies push towards Germany and the Central Powers collapsed

 November 9, 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to step down  An Armistice (an agreement to stop fighting) was signed in Paris  WWI ended on November 11, 1918

 The year is The Lusitania has been sunk, and the Americans have discovered the Zimmerman Telegram. It is your responsibility to design a propaganda ad to encourage Americans to go to war.  Must be neat, colorful, detailed, and creative!