1. The most important battles of World War I were fought on the Western Front. German troops had struck through Belgium.

2. German troops then invaded France and attempted to capture Paris but were stopped at the Marne River.

3. And that’s when the trenches were dug. And that’s when the troops shot at each other across “no man’s land.” And that’s were many died!

4. In trenches, the men lived, fought, and sometimes died. In trenches, there were rats, lice, disease, filth, dampness, and despair.

5. There were machines guns, artillery, and poison gas.

6. On the Western Front, the war seemed to linger on with a few feet gained by one side or the other as troops periodically charged onto “no man’s land.”

7. But on the Eastern Front, the Central Powers won many victories. The Russians suffered greatly.

8. The Russian people tired of the war. They tired of their Tsar and the decisions he had made. A revolution occurred and the new Communist government withdrew from the war.

9. When the communists came to power, they withdrew by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

10. Yet the war on the Western Front lingered on until the eventual involvement of the U.S.A.

11. The United States had refused to become involved in the conflict but unrestricted submarine warfare by the Germans forced American officials to change their minds.

12. In addition, American officials discovered that German officials had promised Mexico land in the U.S.A. if Mexico helped Germany in the event that the United States was brought into the war.

13. With unrestricted submarine warfare and the discovery of the Zimmerman telegram, the Congress of the United States declared war on Germany in 1917.

14. The entry of American soldiers changed the situation. The arrival of new soldiers helped tip the balance of power on the Western Front in favor of the Allies. Don’t forget that Russia had withdrawn!

15. While U.S. President Wilson hoped that World War I would be “a war to end all wars”, sadly, it would sow the seeds of future conflict in Europe and the world.

16. But with help from the Americans, the Allies won the war and severely punished and blamed Germany for a conflict that was caused by many participants and for many reasons.

17. The “war to end all wars” helped sow the seeds of the Second World War and the devastation it would produce.