1. The End of the War Ms. Sharma• 

2. The Western and Eastern Front
•  Western front – refers
to the battles taking
on the west (France,
Belgium, etc)
•  Eastern front - refers
to the fighting taking
place on the Russian
side • 

3. Western Front • Battles were taking place but there was
no clear winner
•  By 1917 two important events changed
the situation of the war…

4. Changes…
•  Just like everyone else in the war, Russia dedicated its
resources to the war effort
•  At home, supplies and food were limited
•  This sent the
prices of goods up
•  Thousands of
soldiers had died
fighting
•  People were fed
up – this led to a
revolution in
Russia • 

5. Russian Revolution of 1917 • The Russian people were getting tired
•  A series of revolutions took
place causing the Czar to
abdicate (leave) his throne
by March 1917
•  A Provisional gov’t was
formed after the Czar left but
the people were still not
happy • 

6. • The Bolsheviks began to • Big names from the
•  By October 1917, the
Bolsheviks, socialist
revolutionaries, overthrew
the provisional gov’t and
promised the people
“peace and bread.”
•  The Bolsheviks began to
negotiate a peace treaty
with the Central Powers
(Germany, A-H, Ottoman
Empire, and Kingdom of
•  Big names from the
revolution:
–  Vladmir Lenin
–  Leon Trotsky
–  Joseph Stalin
Bulgaria) • 

7. How did this Affect the War?
•  When the Bolsheviks took over and
began to negotiate with the Central
Powers (ie. Triple Alliance) this
weakened the Allies
•  Why?
•  B/C Germany now did not need to keep
large numbers of troops in the East –
they could move their forces to the
Western Front

8. Another Change Takes Place… • The United States had been angered by
Germany when the Lusitania (a
passenger ship) had been sunk killing
American civilians
•  The United States also learned that
Germany promised Mexico that they
would support them if the Mexicans
decided to attack the U.S.

9. The U.S. Enters the War • Due to Germany’s actions, the U.S.
entered the war on
April 2, 1917.
•  Within 8 months
American troops
reached the western
front ready to fight
the war

10. • The Americans joined the war in April 1917
•  The Bolsheviks came into power in October 1917
•  March 3, 1918 – Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-
Litovsk with the Central Powers
•  This effectively freed German troops from the Eastern
Front
•  The Treaty was
written in German,
Hungarian,
Bulgarian, Ottoman
Turkish, and
Russian.

11. the western front back to about 75km outside of Paris
•  The Germans went full
force towards the
Western front (they
wanted to get a quick
victory before the
Americans were fully
ready)
•  The Allies lost
Passchendaele, the
Somme, and Ypres
within a few weeks
•  By Summer 1918, the
Germans had pushed
the western front back to
about 75km outside of
Paris • 

12. The Hundred Days Campaign
•  The Americans arrived and the Allies were able to rally and stop
German advancement
•  In August 1918, the Allies launched a series of attacks (now called
the Hundred Days Campaign)
•  Cdns, under General Currie, broke through German lines and won
battles at Arras, Cambrai, and Valenciennes

13. The Central Powers Collapse
•  The Battles of the Hundred Days
Campaign exhausted enemy troops
•  They had no reserves left, food, troops,
and supplies were low
•  November 1918 – the German Kaiser
abdicated and fled to Holland
•  A-H agreed to a ceasefire

14. The War Ends • An armistice (agreement to end hostilities) was
signed in a railway car in
France at 5:00 a.m. on
November 11, 1918.
•  The war was to stop at
11:00 a.m.
•  Corresponds with
Remembrance Day. • 

15. • http://sites. google. com/a/adamscott•