1. The European Front

2. Under Prepared U.S. now at war
April 1917 less than 100,000 active army
Smallest military of 16 nations
Under Prepared

3. Draftees & Volunteers Forces sent over at first to be morale boost
Hoped for 1 million men by 1918
3 million by 1919
Selective Service Act May 1917
November million registered for draft
Lottery picked 3 million
American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
Volunteers & National Guardsmen
Women for nurses, clerks, drivers
Draftees & Volunteers

4. “War to End All Wars” Expanded training camps New skills:
Bayonet
Gas mask
Throw grenade
Trench warfare
Training normally took months
Cut very short for help
“War to End All Wars”

5. Convoy System Merchant & unarmed ships traveled with destroyers
Helped to fight Germans
April – December 1917 merchant ship loss cut in half
U-boat did not sink a single troop ship
Convoy System

6. Review How did the training take place and what were the outcomes?
What were examples of new technology the troops needed to learn how to use?
What was the convoy system?
Review

7. Soldiers in Europe U.S. troops separate from Allies Used for offense
300,000 African American volunteers segregated units
Most never saw combat
Marines refused to accept any
Mostly manual labor
369th infantry loaned to France
Won the Croix de Guerre
Soldiers in Europe

8. Turning the tide Russia shook from another Revolution
November 1917 – Bolsheviks overthrew republic
Start of communism
Lenin signed truce with Germany
March 3, 1918 peace treaty
Left the war
Germany now fighting single front war
Germany came within 50 miles of Paris
Turning the tide

9. America to the Rescue America stopped Germany from Paris
Brigadier General James G. Harbor – “We Dig no trenches to fall back on. The Marines will hold where they stand.”
Loss over half troops
Turned tide of war
Germany attempted to retake the Marne River
French and 28,000 U.S. troops ended any hope for victory
America to the Rescue

10. After Paris about 250,000 American soldiers arriving each month
THE TANK
Cross trenches
Destroy barbed wire
August 8 – Americans recaptured German gains
September – Allies hit final German strongholds
Destroyed supply lines
Germany in full retreat
Allied Counter Attack

11. War in Air Entered war with 55 planes Built hundred quickly
Wooden frames covered in cloth
Open-air cockpit
Scout enemy positions
Zeppelins
Floating airships
Bombers
War in Air

12. Review How well did American Soldiers fair in the war?
What was the impact of American soldiers in the war?
What was the significance of the new air warfare?
Review

13. Ending the War Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire backed out
Austria-Hungary splintered
Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks
Germany begged for peace
Allies denied
November 10 – Kaiser fled to Holland
Armistice signed at 5:00 am November 11, 1918
Ending the War

14. The Flu Epidemic killed more people than any battle
June disabled 500,000 German troops
Spread easily in unsanitary conditions
At home schools, churches, theaters closed
Death rate 32%
The Flu

15. Results of the War 50,000 Americans died in battle
More from disease
Losses tiny compared to other nations
Total death of 8 million soldiers and sailors
About 5,000 each day
Sick and wounded outnumbered the dead
Trench Foot amputations
Results of the War

16. Closure What new skills had to be learned by the American troops?
How were African Americans treated during the war?
What was the name of German floating airships?
Describe the death tolls in battle and other causes.
Closure