Download Section 4 - McCook Public Schools

Chp. 14 section 4 pp. 388-391
4
• By 1917 most of Europe instead of standing behind
war heroes were criticizing the leaders that wasted so
many lives.
“You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
the hell where youth and laughter go.”
~Siegfried Sassoon
• Three years into the war, a revolution in Russia and
the entry of the United States into the war would upset
the balance of forces and finally end the long
stalemate
Total War*
Warring nations engaged in total war, the
channeling of a nation’s entire resources into
a war effort.
Economic Impact
• All nations except Britain
imposed universal military
conscription, or “the
draft.”
• Both sides set up systems
to recruit, arm, transport
and supply huge fighting
forces.
• Governments raised
taxes, borrowed money,
and rationed food and
other products.
Propaganda War
Total war meant controlling public
opinion. In all countries boards
censored what was in the press, trying
to make sure citizens didn’t know how
bad the war really was. These censors
went so far as to control popular books,
historical writings, motion pictures, and
the arts.
Both sides waged a propaganda war.
Propaganda is the spreading of ideas
to promote a cause or to damage an
opposing cause. In Allied countries
Germans were portrayed as evil war
mongers
British and French writers spread tales
of Atrocities, horrible acts against
innocent people. Most times these
stories were exaggerated or simply
made up.
Impact on Women
Women played a critical role in total war:
• As men left to fight, women took over their jobs and kept
national companies going.
• Many women worked in war industries, manufacturing
weapons and supplies.
• Women grew food when shortages threatened.
• Some women joined branches of the armed forces.
• Women worked as nurses close to the front lines.
– Vera Britain describes sweating through 90-degree days in
France “Stopping hemorrhages, replacing intestines, and
draining and reinserting innumerable rubber tubes with
gruesome human remains heaped on the floor”
Collapsing Morale*
• By 1917, the morale of both troops and civilians
had plunged. Germany was sending 15-yearold recruits to the front. Britain was on the brink
of bankruptcy. Long casualty lists, food
shortages, and the failure of generals to win
promised victories led to calls for peace.
• As morale collapsed, troops mutinied in some
French units. In Italy, many soldiers deserted
during the retreat at Caporetto. In Russia,
soldiers left the front to join in a full-scale
revolution back home
Revolution in Russia
• War had hit Russia hard and
after 3 years riots over bread in
St. Petersburg became a full
scale rebellion. The Tsar was
overthrown and his family
executed.
• The allies believed this
was a good thing, but
when Vladimir Lenin
became the leader he
signed the treaty of
Brest-Litovsk with
Germany and Russia
withdrew from WWI.
Impact on the War
• Russia’s withdrawal had an immediate
impact on the war. With Russia out of the
struggle, Germany could concentrate its
Armies on the Western front.
• The Central Powers were prepared to win
the War
• WHAT HAPPENED??
• A “Sleeping Colossus” like the world had
never seen was awakened!
The United States
Declares War
• Soon after the Russian withdraw another
event altered the balance of forces
• The United States declared war on
Germany May 6, 1917
Unrestricted Submarine
Warfare
• One of the major reasons the United States entered
WWI was because of the German U-Boat attacks on
merchant ships
• President Woodrow Wilson insisted that neutral ships
had a right to safe passage, but the Germans continued
to sink ships, saying they carried supplies to the allies
• On May 7, 1915 a German U-Boat sunk the Lusitania a
British luxury liner caring over 1200 passengers, 128
Americans died.
• President Wilson forced Germany to agree to warn any
merchant or passenger ship before firing to allow neutral
citizens time to jump ship
• By December 1916 Germany began sinking any ship
they found on the high seas
• President Wilson then denounces Germany, first step to
war
Cultural Ties
• Many Americans supported the Allies.
They had strong feelings for the British,
because of culture and language, and a
great support of France who aided in the
revolutionary war and was also a
democracy
• Many German Americans favored the
Central Powers, along with the American
Irish who hated the British and the
Russian Jews who despised the Tsar!
Zimmerman Note
• In 1917 British intelligence intercepted a
message from the German foreign minister,
Arthur Zimmermann, to his ambassador in
Mexico. Zimmermann promised that, in return
for Mexican support, Germany would help
Mexico “to reconquer the lost territory in New
Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.” Britain revealed
the Zimmermann note to the American
government. When the note became public,
anti-German feeling intensified in the U.S. And
patriots demanded WAR
Declaring War
• In April 1917 President Wilson asked Congress*
to declare war “We have no selfish ends to
serve… this war will make the world safe for
war… and this war is a war to end all wars!”
• The United States declared war on Germany on
May 6, 1917 and Austria December 7, 1917
• It took the U.S. months to recruit, train, supply ,
and transport a modern army across the Atlantic,
but by 1918 there were over 2,000,000 U.S.
troops in Europe
• The troops gave moral a boost in the Allied army
as well as the U.S. provided money for the war!!!
The Fourteen Points
President Woodrow Wilson issued the Fourteen Points, a
list of his terms for resolving World War I and future wars.
He called for:
• freedom of the seas
• free trade
• large-scale reductions of arms
• an end to secret treaties
• self-determination, or the right of people to choose
their own form of government, for Eastern Europe
• the creation of a “general association of nations” to
keep the peace in the future
Campaign to Victory
In 1917, The United States declared war
on Germany.
By 1918, about two million American soldiers
had joined the Allies on the Western Front.
The Germans launched a huge offensive,
pushing the Allies back.
The Allies launched a counteroffensive,
driving German forces back across France
and Germany.
Germany sought an armistice, or agreement
to end fighting, with the Allies. On November
11, 1918, the war ended.