World War I (Part II)

I. The war
A. Germany had the strongest Army
B. Britain had the strongest Navy
C. war was fought by volunteers, not professional soldiers
D. Propaganda- used by all sides to dehumanize the enemy

II. The war affects the world

A. Global Impact
1. Over 30 nations involved
2. Fighting outside Europe
a. Gallipoli campaign
b. allies wanted to take Constantinople and get a supply line to Russia
c. Feb 1915- British , Australian, New Zealand, and French attack
d. became another trench stalemate
e. Allies withdraw in December after 250,000 casualties
3. Southwest Asia
a. Attempt by Allies to help arabs nationalists defeat Turks
b. Lawrence of Arabia
c. Allies took control of some major cities
4. German colonies overrun by Allies in Africa Asia, and South Pacific
5. British and French recruit colonial subjects to fight
a. India, South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Indochina, etc.
b. Some didn’t want to fight, some thought it would lead to independent

B. War goes on
1. Major battles
a. Battles of the Marne, Somme, Verdun in France
b. Tannenberg Forest - Russia
c. Gallipoli – Turkey (Dardanelles)
2. Early German efforts fail and so does the Schleiffen Plan
3. United States determines to remain neutral
a. President Wilson supports the Allies but does not want to enter war
4. Allies dominate the Seas
a. British- effectively blockade German trade without sinking neutral ships
b. Germans fight back with Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
III. United States enters the war
A. German subs sink anything they can
1. U.S. finally affected
a. May 7, 1915 – German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare
1. Lusitania Sunk by a German U-boat
2. 1,198 die(128 Americans)
3. Upsets the U.S.
b. Germans suspend policy until 1917 when 3 American ships were sunk
2. Zimmerman Note
a. Feb 1917
b. a note from German Foreign Secretary Zimmerman to German
ambassador in Mexico; intercepted by Britain
c. promised Mexico territory if they sided with Germany
B. Declaration of War
1. Already supported the Allies
2. culturally and economically tied to Allies
3. April 2, 1917 Congress declares war and U.S. joins the Allies

IV. War affects the Home front

A. In 3 years, Europe lost more men to war than it had lost in previous 3 centuries
B. Total War
1. All of a country's resources were devoted to winning the war
2. Governments took control of their economies
3. Production was focused on war efforts
4. Rationing of goods needed to support troops
5. Censorship and propaganda widespread on both sides
6. Women fill the voids left by men participating in the war

IV. The Allies win

A. Russia withdraws
1. March 15 faced with revolution – czar Nicholas II abdicates
2. October – Bolshevik Revolution
3. November-Vladimir Lenin seizes power and withdrew Russia from the War
4. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk- March 1918 - Russians made heavy concessions to Germany

B. March 1918- Germans launch massive attack on France

1. Germans again threaten France and victory seems within their grasp
2. Second Battle of the Marne – costly effort to defend Paris
 3. U.S. reinforcements arrive – turns the tide back in favor of Allies
4. Over 2 million killed
C. Bulgarians and Turks give up and surrender
D. Austria forced to surrender after internal rebellion
E. German struggles on; but in November Wilhelm II is forced to step down in Germany

V. A Flawed Peace
A. War ends on November 11, 1918
1. Armistice signed – agreement to stop the war
2. Allies meet at Versailles in January to work out a peace treaty
3. Meeting controlled by the “Big Four”
a. Woodrow Wilson- U.S.
b. George Clemenceau - France
c. David Lloyd George - England
d. Vittorio Orlando- Italy
B. Fourteen Points
1. Wilson’s plan to maintain peace
a. end to secret treaties
b. a guarantee of free trade to all
c. freedom of the seas
d. reduction of militarism – reduced size of peacetime armies
e. self determination for colonies – grant independence to national groups
2. A League of Nations to be created
a. international organization to work out disputes
b. purpose was to keep the peace
c. prevented small problems but failed to stop large ones
C. Allies dictate a harsh peace instead - Treaty of Versailles- June 28, 1919
1. France and Britain want to ensure their national security
2. Forced Germany to accept full responsibility
3. Greatly limited the size of the military of Germany
4. Germany lost all territories and colonies
5. Germany had to pay Allies over $33 billion in “War Reparations”
6. U.S. never joins League or Signs the Treaty – Wilson was unable to win support

D. New Nations created

1. From Austria Hungary:
Austria, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
 2. From Ottoman Empire:
Turkey (independent)
Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq- (Mandates of Great Britain)
Syria, Lebanon – (Mandates of France)
3. From Russia:
Finland
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia (the Baltic states)
E. Uncertain Peace – Why?
1. Not supported by U.S.
2. Germany and others were left extremely bitter
3. It created a new Colonialism
4. Japan and Italy got much less than what they wanted
F. The Legacy of the War
1. Costs:
a. 8.5 million military deaths, 21 million wounded
b. Civilians also suffered casualties and displacement
c. $338 billion = cost of the war
d. Destruction of farms, land, towns
2. Loss of virtually an entire generation of men in Europe