2. Americans on the European Front

3. *America enters WWI in 1917….But, not ready….
-100,000 men in uniform
-Marines were in the Pacific & Central America
-132,000 National Guardsmen—NEEDED training!
*we sent naval support, supplies, arms, $3 billion in loans
*Jack Pershing takes a small force to Europe (14, 500)
-says we need 1 million in 1918 and 3 million in 1919!!!!
*Selective Service Act– May 1917
-authorized a draft of young MEN for military service
*1918—24 million registered for draft
--3 million selected for war

4. *American Expeditionary Force (AEF)– 3 million draftees, volunteers, and National Guardsmen
*WOMEN: 11,000 volunteers as nurses, drivers, and clerks
14,000 were overseas working for the govt or private agencies
**massive training began, in camps, all over the U.S.
*1917-Germany sunk more than 400 Allied & neutral ships
--ships began to travel in a convoy—a group of unarmed ships surrounded by a bunch of destroyers, torpedo boats, and other armed vessels
--VERY successful!!!! NOT ONE U.S. ship carrying troops to Europe was sunk…

7. *More than 300,000 black troops volunteered or were drafted
-served in segregated units
-only about 4,000 were killed or wounded
-Marines refused to accept black soldiers
-U.S. Navy only used black troops for small tasks
-Army only used black troops for manual labor
*369th Infantry—”Harlem Hell Fighters”
-convinced white officers to integrate them into French army
-received France’s highest combat medal

8. *Russia HURTS the war effort— November 1917
-Bolsheviks overthrow Russia’s republican govt.
-Led by Vladimir Lenin— wanted to “free” the Russian people of the Czar and have a better govt……a communist govt.
-made secret deal w/ Germany-- to pull Russia out of Great War, if he took control of his homeland—Germany helped Lenin take control of Russia
*Freed up Germany to concentrate on Western Front
*Once America joins the fight…it’s all over for the Central Powers…American forces led the Allies and gave up trench warfare and focused on pushing forward…with the help of the TANK…

10. *Central Powers begin to crumble—
-CP allies were making peace with Allies (Bulgaria, OE)
-Austria-Hungary split up (10/18)
-Poles, Czechs, Slavs, Hungarians declared independence from the Austrian emperor
-Germans wanted peace w/ terms---Allies refused
-German soldiers/sailors began to mutiny over orders to fight
*November 1918—Kaiser Wilhelm escapes to Holland
*On 11 a.m. the armistice was in effect and war was over…suck it, Germany.

12. World War I losses—
-U.S. = 50,000 died in battle….more than that to disease (influenza)
-Germany, A-H, Russia, France = more than 1 million
-England = 900,000
**millions of civilians died during & immediately after war—starvation, disease, war-related injuries
*Ottoman forces deported & committed genocide against Armenians, whom were suspected of disloyalty to government.