1. THIS IS THE END….THE ONLY END, MY FRIEND
UNIT VII: 1918
“Paul Baumer, where are you?”
“I have killed Gerard Duval,
Compositer. “
THIS IS THE END….THE ONLY END, MY FRIEND

2. UNIT VII: 1918 TARGET GOALS:
The United States becomes the “savior” of the Allies. They are not happy about it.
Instead of “Self Determination”, the outcome will be remapping the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The English and French lose nothing.
German defeat results in growing resentment that will bear fruit with Adolf Hitler.
The birth of the Soviet Union causes the creation of new countries.
Colonies around the world press for self determination with mixed success.

3. UNIT VII: 1918 The War in Europe:
March 21: Generals Ludendorff and Hindenburg plan the “Knock-Out Blow” in the West.
70 German Divisions with several 100,000 troops move from the Russian front to the Western front to fight the weaker Allies.
Their mission is to break the Allies up before the United States can bring enough Soldiers across the ocean to be effective. The war will end,. Germany will be victorious and keep massive territory in the east.

4. OPERATION MICHAEL

5. UNIT VII: 1918 The War in Europe: (cont’d)
D. Codename “OPERATION MICHAEL” it was also known as the “Kaiserschlacht.”
E. As the German onslaught crumples the weak allied lines, they reach a point where they bring up their Rail Gun and begin to shell Paris.
F. March 27: They push forward 40 miles before exhaustion forces them to call a temporary halt.
April 9-10: a second wave of attacks strikes the British lines and push them back 5 miles over a 30 mile front.

7. STURM TRUPPEN

8. UNIT VII: 1918 The War in Europe: (cont’d)
G. April 21: A “side-effect” of the Michael Offensives was that the German Air Force, driven to exhaustion, loses its icon Manfred von Richthofen over the trenches . One week earlier the soon to be first American Ace Eddie Rickenbacker shoots down his first German aircraft over the front.
H. May 27: The Third German onslaught begins with 44 German Divisions smashing through the French lines. An openly weeping General Foch pleads with General Pershing to deploy the American troops to plug gaps in the line. The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions go into action moving to cover the French as they reorganize They are in position by the 30th.
I. May 28: Cantigny. The American 1st Infantry Division attacks the village of Cantigny to stop and confuse the German advance. The infantry captures the village and defends it against several counterattacks by the Germans. This is the first victory for the Americans and the American media goes crazy over it. British and French leadership roll their eyes. It is one village. They captured 200 Germans.
J. At Cantigny the Americans suffer their first significant losses casualties, 166 of them killed in action.

9. THE END OF THE BARON

10. CANTIGNY

11. CANTIGNY

12. UNIT VII: 1918 II. The War in the East:
Jan : German forces aid Estonia and Finland in kicking out Bolshevik forces (reds) and becoming independent states.
Feb. 18: The peace talks at Brest-Litovsk break down and the Germans push troops deeper into Russia. Lenin has no choice but to agree.
Mar. 3: The Russians sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, formally dropping out of the war. The y must give up the Ukraine, the Baltic States, Poland and Finland.
These areas organize and the “White Russians” who are anti-Bolshevik and support bringing the Czar back.

13. UNIT VII: 1918
II. The War in the East: (cont’d) E. April 28-29: “White Guard” forces of the anti-Bolsheviks clear the last communist forces from Finland. F. Feb. 18: The peace talks at Brest-Litovsk break down and the Germans push troops deeper into Russia. Lenin has no choice but to agree. G. June 23: Joint Anglo-French forces land and occupy the city of Murmansk to regain control of war material sent there before the revolution and to aid the “whites” in their war against the Communists. H. August: Allied forces land at Archangel (including an American Task Force called A.N.R.E.F. to guard Allied stockpiles of war material (secretly to fight the reds.) The 339th Polar Bear Regiment (Michigan) is one of the units fighting there, along with parts of other Michigan units. I. August: Allies land in Vladivostok in the Pacific with two missions. a. Gain control of Allied war material and do not let it fall into the hands of the reds. b. Keep Japan from doing something stupid. J. The “Czech Legion”: 90,000 Austrian and Hungarian prisoners of war in Siberia suddenly free themselves and decide to walk home. They arm themselves along the way and fight on the side of the whites as they go. Eventually they walk all the way back to Europe.

14. UNIT VII: 1918
II. The War in the East: (cont’d) K. July 11: Lithuania becomes independent of the Russians and anti-communist. L. July 16-17: As white Russian forces (Czech Legion) began to come near the place where the Czar and his family were being held they were executed by the Red Army. None were spared and all were taken to the woods and buried under a road. M. July 26: The Czech Legion liberates Ekaterinaberg and discovers that the Czar’s family has been wiped out. N. Sept. 14: Ottoman Turkish forces occupy Baku, in the Caucasus and gain control of the oil there. O. Nov 3: The Austro-Hungarian government falls apart and Eastern Europe is a free for all. P. Nov 11: As the armistice goes into effect, the Germans are pushed out of the area that will become Poland by Polish forces organizing to liberate themselves from everyone and anyone. Q. Nov. 14: Large chunks of the Austrian empire, specifically the area that will become Czechoslovakia break away from their former borders. R. Nov 15: German troops leave Ukraine and the new country prepares to defend itself against the Red Army. S. Nov. 16 Hungary proclaims itself independent. T. Ottoman Turkish troops leave Baku. U. Admiral Alexander Kolchak gains control of Omsk, Siberia and gathers White Russian forces around him proclaiming himself “Supreme Ruler of Russia.”

15. UNIT VII: 1918
III. The War in the Mediterranean

16. UNIT VII: 1918 IV. The Americans Turn the Tide.
June 2-4: U.S. 3rd Division attacks at Chateau-Thierry (near the Marne River) to push back a bulge in the new German lines.
By now both sides (Allies and Germans) have lost c. 124,000 men each since March.
Ludendorff plans a 4th attack.
June 6: The U.S. 2nd Division attacks Belleau Wood to spoil the German plan. The Marines are attached to this Division and attack without artillery support. They are outnumbered 4 to 1.
When warned by the French to retreat the Marine response was “Hell, we just got here!” They counterattack head on and lose approximately 80 to 90 percent of their troops in killed, wounded and captured.
This is where the Marines gain the nickname “Devil Dogs.”
They do not stop the German advance….Dang.

17. UNIT VII: 1918
IV. The Americans Turn the Tide. (cont’d) H. June 3-13: The German 4th Offensive begins and they gain five more miles on the first day. The Allies counterattack with three French and Two American Divisions and the attack stalls. They have stopped the Germans at the cost of 35,000 men (many Americans.) I. General Ludendorff begins planning the 5th Attack. J. June 15-22: The Battle of the Plave River erupts along the Italian and Austrian front lines in Italy. The Italians lose c. 40,000 men and 150,000 Austrians lost. K. July 15-17: The 5th Attack begins on the Western Front. Germans push toward Chateau-Thierry counting on weak American response. L. Instead the Americans begin counterattacks almost immediately. M. It is worth noting that the Germans have by now lost about 300,000 men they cannot replace. The Americans are arriving at a rate of 300,000 men per month.

18. UNIT VII: 1918
IV. The Americans Turn the Tide. (cont’d) H. June 3-13: The German 4th Offensive begins and they gain five more miles on the first day. The Allies counterattack with three French and Two American Divisions and the attack stalls. They have stopped the Germans at the cost of 35,000 men (many Americans.) I. General Ludendorff begins planning the 5th Attack. J. June 15-22: The Battle of the Plave River erupts along the Italian and Austrian front lines in Italy. The Italians lose c. 40,000 men and 150,000 Austrians lost. K. July 15-17: The 5th Attack begins on the Western Front. Germans push toward Chateau-Thierry counting on weak American response. L. Instead the Americans begin counterattacks almost immediately. M. It is worth noting that the Germans have by now lost about 300,000 men they cannot replace. The Americans are arriving at a rate of 300,000 men per month.

19. UNIT VII: 1918
V. The Armistice and the Peace Treaty

20. UNIT VII: 1918
VI. The Outcomes and Changes Created by the War.

21. UNIT VII: 1918
VI. The Legacy of the War in the United States and elsewhere.