Download Chapter 7 Lesson 3 - Guthrie Public Schools

Discussion
How was a U.S. Army doughboy outfitted
for battle?
Clothing, equipment, and weaponry shown
and explained in the image.
Discussion
 Based on the image and information,
what do you think life was like for
American soldiers during WWI?
American soldiers faced many hazards,
including shelling, poison gas, mud, bullets,
and shrapnel. Life was not easy for an
American soldier on the front lines.
Combat in World War I
 Artillery Most attacks started with an artillery barrage fired from far
behind the front lines.
 Trench Warfare Vast networks of trenches, fenced with barbed wire,
sheltered troops from direct fire. Attacking soldiers scrambled out of
their trenches into a hail of enemy machine gun fire to try to break
through the enemy’s lines. Automatic weapons with a high rate of fire
caused enormous casualties.
 Chemical Weapons Fumes from chemical weapons sickened, blinded,
and suffocated soldiers. To counter poison gas attacks, the gas mask
became standard equipment for the infantryman.
 Tanks Armored mechanized vehicles could knock down barbed wire
and roll across open trenches.
 Airplanes Aircraft were first used to locate enemy positions and
movement. Later, carrying bombs and outfitted with machine guns,
airplanes turned into offensive weapons.
Discussion
 How did new technologies affect tactics in
WWI?
Long-range artillery led to trench warfare, which in
turn called for new weapons, such as tanks.
Machine guns made direct assault difficult.
Chemical weapons in the form of poison gas
forced soldiers to wear gas masks. Airplanes
made long-range recon possible and opened a
new arena in war. Submarines prowled the seas.
Discussion
 What role do you think new technologies
played in civilian casualties in WWI?
Weapons such as poison gas could not be
confined to battle areas. Artillery created socalled "collateral damage" in populated
areas near battlefields.
Discussion
 What other factors besides new
technologies might have caused deaths
in World War I?
Disease spread quickly and easily among
soldiers who lived in trenches for long
periods of time. There were incidents of
friendly fire. Malnutrition. Suicide.
The Americans Arrive
 U.S. forces reached France in July 1917. British and French
commanders wanted U.S. troops placed under their command. U.S.
General John J. Pershing insisted that American soldiers fight under
U.S. command. President Wilson agreed. In late May 1918, U.S. forces
saw their first action. In June, along with French troops, the Americans
blocked an intensive German drive on Paris. U.S. and French forces
also repelled one final German push toward Paris in July of 1918.
 After blunting the German offensive, the Allies counterattacked in
September 1918. In the Battle of the Argonne Forest, American troops
shattered German defenses and opened a hole in the German lines.
 In October 1918, a revolution in Austria-Hungary split that empire into
independent states. By early November, Austro-Hungarian and
Ottoman governments had surrendered to the Allies. On November 11,
the German government signed an armistice. At the 11th hour on the
11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the fighting stopped.
Discussion
 Who was winning the war before the
United States joined the Allies?
Neither side had gained much during the
long period of stalemate, and many soldiers
had died in bloody, often pointless attacks.
By the time American troops arrived,
Germany had begun to launch several
large-scale offenses.
Discussion
 What could the Americans bring to the
war to help the Allies?
More soldiers and supplies as well as a new
energy and spirit
Discussion
 Why do you think British and French
commanders wanted to have American
soldiers under their command?
Both countries had lost thousands of
soldiers. They needed to replace these
losses with fresh troops. Also, as Britain and
France had been fighting the war since
1914, they did not wish to relinquish control.
Discussion
 Why do you think Pershing and Wilson
agreed that American soldiers should
remain under U.S. command?
Public support for the war in the United
States might weaken if Americans were
placed in units under foreign command that
had suffered high casualties.
Background
 At the time, World War I was called the
Great War, in part because of its
unprecedented size and scope.
Contemporaries also hoped that it would be
the “war to end all wars.” Its identification by
historians as World War I or the First World
War came, naturally, only after the start of
the Second World War.
Postwar Goals
 The British wanted to punish the Germans for
starting the war and force them to pay reparations.
 The French, who shared a border with Germany,
wanted to permanently end the threat of German
invasion by reducing the size of Germany’s military
and prohibiting troop placement near the Rhine
River.
 President Wilson proposed a plan called the
Fourteen Points that was meant to create a lasting
peace in Europe. It advocated various freedoms,
addressed the right of national self-determination,
and called for the creation of a League of Nations.
Discussion
 How did the postwar goals of the main
Allies vary?
European powers wanted to punish and
weaken Germany. The United States sought
to create a lasting peace through openness
and conflict resolution.
Changes in Europe
 Peace talks began at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, in January
1919. Delegates from 27 countries, excluding Russia, attended the
meeting.
 The Treaty of St. Germain dissolved the empire of Austro-Hungary and
recognized the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland,
and the Balkan states.
 The final terms of the Treaty of Versailles severely punished Germany,
essentially blaming German aggression for starting the war. Germany’s
military and navy were severely downsized. Heavy reparations were
demanded, and German territory was taken from German control.
 President Woodrow Wilson came to the treaty negotiations with his
Fourteen Points proposal. European powers were only lukewarm on
Wilson’s ideas. However, the final treaty did at least call for a League of
Nations, which was Wilson’s primary objective.
Discussion
 How do you think the Treaty of Versailles
affected Germany in the years following
WWI?
It would weaken Germany because its
armed forces would be greatly reduced in
size and its economy would struggle to pay
war reparations for years to come.
Predictable Misunderstanding
 You might think that Versailles was the site
of the last battle of World War I. Actually,
Versailles was a palace in France where the
treaty formalizing Germany’s surrender was
signed.
Senate Rejection
 Republicans felt excluded from the negotiations.
“Irreconcilables” opposed the League of Nations.
Reservationists wanted changes in the treaty to
ensure that U.S. forces would not be called into
action in European conflicts.
 Congress voted twice and rejected the treaty both
times. Many of those opposed feared what George
Washington had more than 100 years earlier
called “entangling alliances.”
Discussion
 What were the Senate’s objections to the
Treaty of Versailles?
The “Irreconcilables” saw the League of
Nations as the kind of “entangling alliance”
that the founders had warned against. The
“Reservationists” argued that the League
might force the United States into a war
without congressional approval.
Discussion
 Why do we call this conflict a world war
when it was fought mainly in Europe?
Nations from many parts of the world,
including Europe, Africa, Asia, and North
America, participated in or were affected by
the fighting.