Download Lesson 7 - Nearing the End of WW1

World War 1 – Nearing The End
In 1914 (…the start of WW1…), the United States
did NOT declare war on Germany.
Throughout the war, German submarines
attacked and sank any ship…passenger liner,
military vessel, freighter or medical ship. In 1915,
the Germans sank a British passenger ship killing
1195 passengers, including 128 Americans.
In 1917, the USA prepared to enter WW1 as a
fighting nation.
WW1 also included the Eastern Front with the
Germans fighting the Russians. German won this
part of the war, and in 1917, Russia withdrew.
If you were a German General, what would you
do?
World War 1 – Nearing The End
If you were a German General, what would you
do?
You would want to attack and defeat the Allied
armies on the Western Front (i.e., French, English
and Canadians) BEFORE the USA entered the
war with new supplies and fresh troops.
In early 1918, the Germans launched a massive
assault on the Western Front. Initially, the Allied
troops retreated, but eventually the German
advance was stopped.
In the summer of 1918, American troops
reinforced the Allied positions.
With the new equipment and soldiers, what
would likely happen?
World War 1 – Nearing The End
What happened next was a large Allied
attack. It is called THE HUNDRED DAYS
OFFENSIVE. It is the last 100 days of WW1.
The first battle began on 8 August 1918, and
it involved 414 tanks and 120 000 soldiers. In
seven hours, the Germans were routed and
retreated nearly 12 km. This attack was
halted when the tanks ran out of gas.
Led by Canadian General Arthur Currie, the
Canadians won many battles. In this march,
9000 Canadian soldiers were killed and
almost 40 000 were wounded.
By October 1918, the Germans armies had
lost many battles. They were nearly
surrounded.
If you were a German General, what would
you do?
World War 1 – Nearing The End
At the same time, support inside Germany for the war
was falling.
Recall…
 The British navy had defeated the Germany navy in
the battles for the Atlantic Ocean.
 The German ships had been forced to return to
docks.
 The British navy had established a naval blockade
that prevented ANY SUPPLIES from reaching
Germany.
In 1918, desperate German Generals planned to
undertake a suicide attack to break the blockade.
You are a German sailor. You learn about the plan to
attack the British blockade. What would you do?
With all the clues, offer one idea why support for the
war be falling inside Germany?
World War 1 – Nearing The End
Why was support for the war be falling
inside Germany?
The British naval blockage stopped food
from reaching Germany. The German
people were starving.
On the Western Front, the German armies
were surrounded. New German soldiers
were old men or boys. They had no food
or supplies, while the Allies had tanks and
250 000 fresh USA soldiers. The Germans
faced sure defeat.
German sailors staged a mutiny rather
than attack the British blockade.
As a German leader, what would you do?
World War 1 – Nearing The End
An ARMISTICE to end the fighting was
negotiated. Fighting was to stop on 11
November 1918 at 11:00 a.m.
German soldiers fought fiercely until
the very last moment, and the last
Canadian soldier, Private George
Lawrence Price, was killed at 10:58
a.m.
In total, over 10 million soldiers were
killed.
About 620 000 Canadians fought in
WW1. Nearly 67 000 were killed and
173 000 wounded. Nearly 40% of
Canadian troops were killed or
wounded.
World War 1 – Nearing The End
Country
Dead
Wounded
Missing
TOTAL
Germany
1 600 000
4 065 000
103 000
5 768 000
AustriaHungary
922 000
3 600 000
855 283
5 377 283
1 359 000
4 200 000
361 650
5 920 650
Great Britain
658 700
2 032 150
395 150
3 050 000
Canada
67 000
173 000
240 000
Russia
1 700 000
5 000 000
6 700 000
58 480
189 995
France
USA
14 290
262 725