Download Presentation

General Information…
• Started on July 28, 1914
• Ended on November 11, 1918
• Almost 8,000,000 dead.
*** Russia the most = 1.7 million
• Almost 22,000,000 wounded…..
• Map of Europe greatly changed.
WWI War Goals
• France
–
–
–
–
regain Alasace/Lorraine, Saar Basin (coal region)
create a DMZ (Rhineland) as a buffer
cripple Germany’s military
get German & Turkish colonies in Africa & Mid-East
• Great Britain
– get German & Turkish colonies in Africa & Mid-East
• Italy
– wanted land from Austria-Hungary
WWI War Goals
• Russia
– wanted control of the Dardenelle & Bosporus Straits
• Austria-Hungary
– self preservation
• Germany
– part of France, Luxembourg, Belgium, western
Russia
– A-H and the Balkans as a “sphere of influence”
– take over French and British colonies in Africa
• United States
– win an end to the war
– Wilson’s 14 Points
• New aspect of “Total
War”
• Targeting “neutral
merchant” ships
Submarines
• Germans announce
submarine blockade
• Part physical, part
psychological weapon
• Draws Allied resources
away from offensive
operations
• Civilian control of
production
• Sinking of ships with US
passengers is major
factor in US’s eventual
entry into the war
www.nrotc.net/310/17.ppt
1915
• May 7 Sinking of the
passenger ship Lusitania
• Killed 1200, 123 Americans
• May 23 Italy declares war
on Austria-Hungary
• August 30 Germany
responds to U.S. anger by
ceasing to sink ships
without warning
• December 28 Allies begin
withdrawal of troops from
Gallipoli
www.nrotc.net/310/17.ppt
The Gallipoli Disaster, 1915
Major Battles Continued
• Gallipoli Campaign
– Feb. 1915-Jan. 1916
– Britain attacked Turkish forts along the
Dardanelles
– Both sides suffer heavy casualties, but the
British eventually withdrew all troops.
(although Winston Churchill recommended
sending more troops)
Verdun – February, 1916
 German offensive.
 Each side had 500,000
casualties.
Major Battles Continued
• Battle of Verdun
– Known as the greatest and longest battle in world
history-due in part to the great number of men fighting
over such a small piece of land
– Battlefield was 10 square kilometers
– Lasted from Feb. 1916 to Dec. 1916
– French and German troops fighting for prestige
– Over 700,000 casualties
The Somme – July, 1916
 60,000 British soldiers killed in one
day.
 Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.
Major Battles Continued
• Battle of the Somme
– July-Oct. 1916
– This battle has come to symbolize the horrors of
modern WWI warfare and the futility of trench warfare.
– The British attempted to relieve the French who had
suffered great losses at Verdun. The British try to
advance over a 25 mile front to the German trenches.
– This battle is also known for the massive amount of
British casualties (420,000)
Major Battles Continued
• Battle of Meuse-Argonne
– Also known as the Battle of Argonne Forest
– September-Nov. 11, 1918
– Final Allied offensive of WWI, also known as
the Grand Offensive.
– All major allied powers were involved in
breaking through German lines.
– Fresh U.S. troops are credited with tipping the
scale to victory.
Map 31.1: Major U.S. Operations in France, 1918
Figure 31.1: Approximate Comparative Losses in World War I
The Treaty of Versailles
June 1919
What did France want from the
treaty?
Security
Revenge
Reparations
Clemenceau : The
Tiger
Clemenceau wanted to make sure
that Germany could not invade
France in the future. He was
determined that Germany should be
made to pay for the damage that had
been caused in northern France by
the invading German armies.
What did Britain Want?
In public Lloyd-George said he
wanted to punish the Germans. The
British public was very anti-German
at the end of the war.
In private he realised that Britain
needed Germany to recover
because she was an important
trading partner.
David Lloyd-George
He was also worried about the
“disease from the east”,
communism. The Russian
government had been overthrown
by a communist revolution in 1917.
Lloyd-George believed that the
spread of communism had to be
stopped. A strong Germany would
be a barrier against it.
What did America Want?
Woodrow Wilson wanted the treaty to be
based on his Fourteen Points
He believed Germany should be punished
but not severely. He wanted a just
settlement that would not leave Germany
feeling resentful
Wilson wanted to set up an international
organisation called The League of
Nations which would settle disputes
Woodrow Wilson
The American public did not support him.
They were fed up with involvement in
European affairs. The USA became more
isolationist.
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
To do with Germany’s armed forces :
The German army was to be reduced to 100,000 men. It was
not allowed to have tanks.
Germany was not allowed an airforce
The area known as the Rhineland was to be de-militarised
The Allies were to occupy the west bank of the Rhine for
fifteen years
The German navy was to have no submarines or large battleships
The War Guilt Clause
"The Allied and Associated Governments
affirm, and Germany accepts, the
responsibility of Germany and her Allies for
causing all the loss and damage to which the
Allied and Associate Governments and their
nationals have been subjected as a
consequence of a war imposed upon them
by the aggression of Germany and her
Allies."
Article 231
GERMANY ACCEPTED
RESPONSIBILITY FOR
STARTING THE WAR
REPARATIONS
Germany agreed to pay for the damage
caused by her armies during the war. The
sum she had to pay was later fixed at
£6.6 billion ($33 billion US dollars)
Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria
How did Germans React to the Treaty?
Germans thought the Treaty was a “diktat” : a dictated peace.
They had not been invited to the peace conference at Versailles
and when the Treaty was presented to them they were
threatened with war if they did not sign it.
The Treaty was NOT based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points as the
Germans had been promised it would.
Most Germans believed that the War Guilt Clause was
unjustified. The French and British had done just as much to
start the war
The loss of territory and population angered most Germans who
believed that the losses were too severe.
Many Germans believed the German economy would be crippled
by having to pay reparations.