1. End of the War

2. The Central Powers Collapse
The first Russian revolution in March 1917 forced the Tsar to abdicate
the second Russian revolution in November 1917 formed a communist government under Vladimir Lenin
the new government signed a brutal peace treaty with Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
this freed German troops to be moved from the Eastern Front

3. the use of unrestricted submarine warfare resulted in the sinking of merchant ships from non-combatant nations. When the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat, an angry US declared war on Germany
this upset the balance of power on the western front at fresh US troops and supplies poured in

4. Germany launched a last desperate offensive to win the war before US soldiers made it to the front
Operation Michael was successful at first but the British Naval blockade, starving Germany meant that the army no longer had the resources to consolidate their positions and they advanced too fast

5. During the “Hundred Days”, Canadians under General Arthur Currie, saw many successes
the Central Powers collapsed and the German Kaiser abdicated
an armistice was signed on November 11, 1918

6. Canada Becomes a Nation?
the allied powers met with Germany in Paris to discuss the terms of a peace agreement, this was the Paris Peace Conference
Prime Minister Borden argued that because of Canada’s contribution to the war, particularly at places such as Vimy, Canada should have its own seat at the conference
Canada was also a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty between the Allied Powers and Germany

7. The Big Three

8. The Peace Process
President Woodrow Wilson set for his “14 Points”, a plan to promote peace in the post-war world
the plan’s 14th point was the setting up of a League of Nations to promote collective security nations cooperating to opposed aggression and promote peace
The League could impose economic sanctions against aggressor states
unfortunately, neither Germany, Russia or the US were members

9. The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany
despite brutal conditions, Germany was forced to sign because the Allies were maintaining their naval blockade and threatening invasion
France and Belgium wanted revenge and compensation
the details are:
Germany had to agree to Article 231, the War Guilt Clause”, accepting full responsibility for the war
because of this, Germany then had to accept Article 232, the imposition of reparations payments of about $33 billion

10. The Treaty of Versailles cont..
the map of Europe was redrawn. Some new countries were created to reflect self-determination of ethnic peoples
Germans lost millions of their people to Poland and Czechoslovakia, part of Germany was separated so that Poland would have access to the sea
The German army was to be restricted to men, with a small navy, no air force, no U-boats and no tanks 
these harsh conditions resulted in serious economic suffering, bitterness and was one of the causes of WWII

11. The Aftermath of the War
in there was much hunger throughout Europe
transportation systems were ruined
influenza (Spanish Lady Flu) was sweeping across the world, killing about 22 million people, further disrupting the economy and causing disorder
the Ottoman Empire (Turks) collapsed
the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed into successor states
The Russian Empire collapsed and the new communist government was engaged in a civil war
Germany was stripped of its overseas empire