Download Conclusion of War Slideshow

NB#8 - Conclusion of WWI (HW #3)
Major Development #1:
Russia Pulls Out of War
• Russian army was LARGE but poorly equipped and poor led
– Shortage of food, guns and ammunition lead to huge Russian casualties
– Kept Germany busy on Eastern Front but anti-war sentiment grows in Russia
• By late1916, Russia reduces efforts & in 1917 exits war completely
– WWI sparks 1917 civil war – Communists overthrow & execute Czar
• Leader of new communist USSR (no longer Russia) Vladimir
Lenin agrees to a peace treaty with Germany in early 1918
– In Treaty of Brest-Litovsk USSR gives up significant amounts of territory in
exchange for German promise to stop fighting on Eastern Front
Treaty
of
Brest Litovsk
Causes
Central
Powers to
Feel
Temporarily
Optimistic
Major Development #2: USA enters WWI
Why? A combination of many factors…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaVP4NPTzS8
German submarine warfare & sinking of the Lusitania
Anti-German Allied Propaganda Sways American Public Opinion
US trade w/Allies enhances US-Allies Economic connection
as the war drags on
Zimmerman Telegram in April, 1917 Angers Many Americans
Translated Telegram
Renewal of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (April 1917) by
Germany Further Stirs US Public Against In Favor of War
President Wilson’s idealistic 14 Points speech that outlines his vision for world peace &
How US involvement in war will “make the world safe for democracy”…
makes entering war sound like most “moral” course of action
This war had its roots in the disregard of the rights of small nations and of nationalities
which lacked the union and the force to [determine their future] and their own forms of
political life. Covenants [Agreements] must now be entered into which will render such
things impossible for the future; and those covenants must be backed by the united force of
all nations that love justice and are willing to maintain it at any cost...
Woodrow Wilson
Because of all these factors,
the US Congress votes to
enter war in April, 1917
Main US Impacts on WWI:
• US supplies huge amounts of food,
supplies & weapons to Allied nations
•10,000 US soldiers arriving
on the Western Front each day by
summer of 1918…breaks German morale
• In about 5 months of active combat
duty, 110,000 Americans die & 250,00
wounded…a fraction of other
combatants in “Great War”
Major Development #3: Fighting stops after Central Powers
alliance crumbles and German leaders reach out to Allies seeking a
truce or armistice to negotiate a peace treaty.
Fighting officially stops at 11 am on 11/11/1918
The terrible results of WWI lead to anger and a desire to assess
blame, not find peace…
Major Development #4: The flawed Treaty
of Versailles officially ends World War I
The Allied leaders meet at Versailles officially to negotiate a peace treaty but many want to place
blame for results of was as seen in these French towns near Western Front.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think it was important for Allied leaders to blame someone for the war?
Leaders of the Central Powers and USSR were excluded from the negotiations. How do you
think this might impact the treaty?
Think back to NB #1: WWI Maps, which nations lose territory & why are new nations created?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro_GTBsQKG4
Read Article: The Treaty of Versailles – A Flawed Peace
Take notes to the right and answer questions at end of article
The leaders of the major four allied
countries at end of the war – France,
Britain, Italy and USA meet at Versailles.
Delegates from all over Europe and the
world attend to represent their national
interests. Germany, Austria, Ottoman
Empire and USSR are not invited.
The Treaty of Versailles Fails to Provide a Lasting Peace
The terms are in many respects terrible terms to impose
upon a country. But, terrible were the deeds which it requites
... Germany not merely provoked, but planned the most
devastating war the earth has ever seen... She deliberately
embarked upon it, not to defend herself against assailants, but to
aggrandize herself at the expense of her neighbours. I cannot
think of a worse crime.
[The aim of the Treaty is] to compel Germany, in so far as
it is in her power, to restore, to repair and to redress. Yes, and to
take every possible precaution of every kind that is in our power
against the recurrence of another such crime - to make such an
example as will discourage ambitious peoples from ever
attempting to repeat the infamy. David Lloyd George, England
America is far away, protected by the
ocean. Not even Napoleon could defeat
England. You are both sheltered; we are
not… Georges Clemenceau, France
The disgraceful Treaty is being signed
today. Don’t forget it! We will never stop
until we win back what we deserve.
German newspaper, 28 June 1919
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688K4iJ9oXM
Treaty of Versailles
redraws the map of
Europe and European
colonies around the world,
but sows seeds for many,
many future conflicts…