1. The End of WWI

2. The Last Year of the War
In 1917 the Allies were not fairing well in the war
Allie offensives on the Western Front had been badly defeated
The Russian Revolution caused Russia to withdraw from the war
Things looked very good for the Central Powers
The entry of the United States in 1917 gave a psychological boost to the Allied Powers
- Fresh troops
- New material
The US troops prove to be crucial to the war in 1918

3. New German Offensive
When the Russians withdrew from the war it provided Germany with an opportunity to focus on the Western Front.
The man who guided German military operations, Erich von Ludendorff, decided to try to break the stalemate on the Western Front
They launched an attack in March 1918
They were successful in their advancements, and by April they were 50 miles outside Paris
They were stopped, however, at the Second Battle of Marne

4. The second Battle of Marne
On July 18, 1918 French, Moroccan, and American troops stopped German advancements at Marne
140,000 fresh American troops had just arrived
They also had the support of hundreds of tanks
They were able to throw the Germans back over the Marne, causing the German advancement to fail
With a million American troops arriving in France the Allies began to advance toward Germany
By September 29, 1918 General Ludendorff informed the leaders of Germany that the war was lost, and to ask for peace immediately

5. Collapse of Germany and the Armistice
The Allies were unwilling to make peace with the autocratic imperial government of Germany
Germany began to create a more liberal type of government
These reforms came too late for Germany
- The people were exhausted and angry
On November 3, 1918 sailors in the town of Kiel, located in northern Germany, resulted to mutiny
Days after, councils of workers and soldiers began to form throughout northern Germany
- They began to take over civilian and military offices

6. Collapse of Germany and Armistice
Emperor William II gave in to public pressures and fled the country on November 9
After he fled the Social Democrats, led by Friedrich Ebert, announced that Germany would create a democratic republic
On November 11, 1918 the new government signs an armistice
- a truce, an agreement to end the fighting

7. Revolutionary Forces in Germany
The Great War may have been over, but revolutionary forces in Germany were still active
The German Communist Party grew from a group of radical socialists who did not agree with the policies of the German democrats
They form in December of 1918, a month later they try to seize Berlin
The Social Democrats were able to crush the rebels
- They murdered the Communist Party leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
Radical revolution had been stopped, but those attempts left the German middle class with a deep fear of communism

8. Austria- Hungary
Austria- Hungary also experienced disintegration and revolution
As with Germany, the people were weary from war
Ethnic groups within Austria- Hungary began to seek their independence
When the war finally ended the Austro – Hungarian Empire no longer existed
It was replaced by the independent republics of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia along with Yugoslavia
These nations became rivals which weakens eastern Europe over the next 80 years

9. The Peace Settlements
In January 1919 representatives of the 27 of the Allied nations met in Paris to establish the final settlements of the war
At the beginning of the war European nations were seeking territorial gains
By the end of the war those nations began to think more idealistically

10. Wilson’s Fourteen Point Plan
The most idealistic was the US President Woodrow Wilson
Before the end of the war Wilson developed a fourteen point plan that he believed justified the military struggle that was being waged between nations
He hoped his plan would bring about a just and lasting peace
He believed it was best for the nations to create peace agreements openly rather than through secret diplomacy

11. Wilson’s Fourteen Point Plan
Within his plan he hoped to accomplish the following:
- reduce military forces and weapons that was consistent with domestic safety
- adhere to the right of people to have their own nation (Self- determination)
- create democratic governments (argued it was the only way to eliminate absolutism and militarism)
- create a general association of nations which would guarantee political independence to large and small nations
Wilson became the spokesperson for a new world order based on democracy and international cooperation

12. The Paris Peace Conference
Delegates met in Paris in early 1919 to determine the peace settlement
They were met with obvious complications due to secret treaties and agreements that were made before the war (hopes of territorial gains)
This hope for territorial gains conflicted with Wilson’s hopes for self- determination
National interests also complicated the conference
David Lloyd, prime minister to Great Britain had just been elected on the platform that he would make the Germans pay for the war
France sought national security
Georges Clemenceau, the premier of France, believed France had suffered the most from the Germans
- he sought after revenge and security against future German attacks

13. The Paris Peace Conference
France demands for Germany to
- be stripped of all weapons
- make large payments or reparation, to cover the costs of the war
France also demands a separate Rhineland as a buffer state between France and Germany
These important decisions were made by Wilson, Clemenceau, and Lloyd George
United States, Britain, and France became known as the Big Three at the conference for they were the ones calling the shots

14. The Paris Peace Conference
Italy was somewhat considered a large power, but they played a small role at this conference
Germany was not invited to attend, and Russia was not present due to their civil war
Due to so many conflicting view points compromises had to be made to reach peace
Wilson asked that his idea for a League of Nations be the first thing on the agenda
- On January 25, 1919 they agreed to the idea of a League of Nations
In return Wilson compromised on territorial arrangements
Clemenceau compromised by giving up the idea of a separate Rhineland and accepted a defensive alliance with GB and the US

15. The Treaty of Versailles
The final peace settlement consisted of five separate treaties with Bulgaria, Turkey, Germany, Austria, and Hungary
The most important of these was the Treaty of Versailles
- signed by Germany on June 28, 1919
The Germans believed it was unfair and harsh especially article 231
- the War Guilt Clause- required them and Austria to take blame for starting the war
- Germany was forced to pay reparations for all the damages the Allies had suffered

16. The Treaty of Versailles
The Germans also found the military and territorial agreements unfair
- under this treaty Germany was required to reduce its army to a hundred thousand men
- cut back its navy
- eliminate its air force
- the French territories of Alsace and Lorraine, which Germany took, were returned
- Sections of eastern German were given to a new Polish state
Under this treaty German land along both sides of the Rhine became a demilitarized zone
- It was stripped of all weapons and fortifications

17. The Map of the World After WWI the map of the world was redrawn
Germany and the Russian empire lost a great amount of territory
Austria- Hungary was no longer in existence
From these three empires emerged new nation- states
- Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary
In the Balkans, new territorial agreements were also made
- Romania received additional lands from Russia, Hungary, and Bulgaria
- Serbia formed the nucleus of a new state called Yugoslavia
- this combined Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes

18. The Map of the World
The Paris Peace Conference was suppose to be guided by self- determination
The mixtures of different types of people throughout eastern Europe made it impossible to draw boundaries along neat ethnic lines
Compromises had to be made
- France for example wanted to strengthen and expand Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania
- They wanted these nations to act as barriers against Germany and Communist Russia
- Due to the compromises every eastern European state was left with ethnic minorities
- Germans in Poland, Hungarians, Poles, and Germans in Czechoslovakia; Hungarians in Romania; and Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Albanians in Yugoslavia

19. The Map of the World
The Ottoman Empire was broken up by the peace settlement
The Allies promised to recognize the independence of the Arab states in the Ottoman Empire due to their support in the war
The Western nations changed their minds
- France took control of Lebanon and Syria
- Britain took over Iraq and Palestine
These acquisitions of these territories were called mandates
Woodrow Wilson opposed the annexation
Due to this opposition, the peace settlement created the mandate system
- a nation officially governed another nation as a mandate on behalf of the League of Nations, but did not own the territory

22. Legacy of the Great War
The liberal, rational society of the nineteenth century was brought to an end with WWI
With almost 10 million dead, and destruction in Europe progress had been undermined
Power of governments over the lives of citizens increased
Freedom of the press and speech were limited due to national security
Revolutions broke up old empires and created new states which led to new problems