Download The End of World War I

The End of World War I
World Wars
Ms. Hamer
March 5 and 8, 2010
Last Push for Germany
• Fighting had ended on the Eastern Front
with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• Germany wanted to secure victory on the
Western Front before the arrival of
American troops
Previous German Gambles
• Schlieffen Plan
• Battle of Verdun February-December 1916
– Germany’s attempt to “bleed the French army
white”
– Long, bloody battle with 250,000 battlefield
deaths and 500,000 wounded
– Germany lost since they didn’t gain their goal of
the city of Verdun
• Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Effects on Germany of Brest-Litovsk
• Happy over victories
– Gained 1/3 of Russian territory and much of
Eastern Europe
• Caused some problems
– 1 million German troops that were left to man the
occupied territories could have been used on the
Western Front
– Germany’s treatment of both Russia and Romania
in the two treaties was so harsh that it solidified
Allied sentiment against Germany
• Especially because the Allies didn’t want this type of
treatment to happen to them!
The Last Gamble –
German Spring Offensive of 1918
• German leadership saw itself as risking
everything on this last point
– No reserves left if this operation failed
• Called the Kaiser’s Battle and Operation Michael
(German archetype, like “Uncle Sam”)
• Germany had a superiority of 10% in manpower
over the Allies after German troops were sent to
the Western Front from the East
• Attack began March 21, 1918
New Technology and Tactics of
Operation Michael
• 5 hour bombardment of heavy artillery
– Intended to destroy front and communication lines
• Then a succession of different types of poison gas
• Aimed at the place where French and British
forces met – to split the armies apart
• Then rolling barrage of artillery fire with German
troops following behind
New Technology and Tactics of
Operation Michael
• Stormtroopers
– Specialty and
strongest forces in
small groups aimed
at weak points to
quickly break apart
the front lines
Effects of the Initial Attack
• Over four months, Allied lines were pushed
back 40 miles (impressive in trench warfare)
• Ludendorff developed new strategy and
tactics, but did not have a plan for victory
• Caused unified command to emerge for the
Allies under French General Foch
• Germans were finally stopped 56 miles from
Paris
Shelling of Paris
• To inspire terror
for civilians
• Used long range
shells
• 250 Parisians
killed
• No real effect on
war
The Paris Gun
How did Germany Fail with the
Spring Offensive?
• No plan for victory
• Stormtroopers had a higher casualty rate for the
best troops and then left the rest of the groups
with not as qualified troops
• Desperate German troops stopped to loot Allied
trenches for food and liquor
• “Black Day” of the German Army – August 8,
1918
– Tank led Allied counterattack broke the German lines
– Breakdown in German morale
Central Powers Retreat
• Numerous Allied attacks followed the Central
Powers in retreat
– Allies in Salonika against Bulgaria and then Austria
Hungary
– Americans at St. Mihiel and other points along the
German fortified Hindenburg Line
• Hindenburg Line is where Germany began the Spring
Offensive
• Ludendorff said an armistice would be the only
thing to save Germany
– Upper government even tried to create a constitutional
monarchy (more representative government)
– Appealed to Wilson for peace on October 4, 1918
Central Powers Leave the War
• Bulgaria out of war September 1918
• Turkey dropped out October 1918
• Italian and Allied troops from Salonika beat
Austria-Hungary, which signed an armistice
on November 3, 1918
Germany Crumbles from Within
• Revolution breaks out within Germany:
• November 3, 1918, German naval officers
wanted to march out and meet the British
– Naval soldiers revolted
• Socialist revolt broke out in Bavaria on November
7th
• Ludendorff was fired and left the country
• Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and left for Holland
• Revolutionaries declared a German democratic
government in Berlin on November 9, 1918
Path to Armistice
• November 8, 1918 German armistice
delegation met with General Foch, Allied
commander
• November 11, 1918, 11am – Armistice came
into effect
– 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour
• The war had lasted 52 months
Reactions to Armistice
Signing the
Armistice
• Germany’s Representative
to the signing was
Catholic Center Party
Leader Matthias
Erzberger
• Hindenburg told
Erzberger to sign at any
price because an armistice
was necessary
– Erzberger later killed for it
in 1921 by a death squad
Armistice Day
• Many hopes put into the peace session that
would end the war
• Of course, not all fighting ended on
November 11th
– Many in Eastern Europe would also fight for
independence
– Americans jumped the gun and celebrated the
Armistice on November 7th!
• “Quiet exhaustion” in the Allied Reactions to
trenches
the Armistice
• Reported joyous
celebration throughout
England and France
– Released apes from a gas
factory terrorized England
until they were caught again!
– School inappropriate
celebrations in the streets!
– A beer called “Pax” was
made in Belgium
– Bells rang in Paris as parades ran through the streets
pulling captured cannons
– Allied soldiers in Paris were carried through the streets
• Allied civilians who lost loved ones in the war mourned
Eastern European Reaction to
Armistice
• Celebrations of nationalism
• November 11th is now celebrated as
Independence Day in Poland
German Reaction to the Armistice
• Glad war was over, but shocked by their defeat
• Psychologically unprepared because government
censorship and propaganda had hidden true nature
of the war
– Worst sounding propaganda from the front had said “All
Quiet on the Western Front” instead of “We’re Losing
Badly…”
– How was it possible to lose the war when Germany as a
territory had not been lost?
• “Stab in the Back legend” – Germany had not lost
the war, but those who took over the government at
the end of the war were to blame for the loss
– Socialists, Jews, Catholics, and democratic revolutionaries
became scapegoats
Terms of the Armistice
• Signed at 5am on November 11, 1918 in a
railway car in a forest near Paris
• General Foch drew up the armistice to
prevent Germany from regrouping and
continuing the war:
– Germany had to withdraw from all occupied
territory
• Not including Eastern Europe because the Allies
were freaked out by the Bolsheviks and communism
in Russia
Terms of the Armistice cont.
– Alsace-Lorraine would return to France
– The German Rhineland was to become a
demilitarized zone occupied by the Allies
– German military materiel and navy were to be turned
over to the Allies
– Treaty of Brest-Litovsk became invalid
– Germany would have to pay for the damage caused by
the war
– British naval blockade of Germany while the final
peace negotiations occurred
• There were provisions to feed the German civilians
– Armistice was at first set for 36 days, but was then
extended indefinitely
A “Wilson Peace”
• Germany wanted a
peace based on
American President
Wilson’s Fourteen
Points – this would be
the most kind peace
for Germany as
opposed to the one
England and France
would create!
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
1. No secret treaties
2. Free and open seas
3. Free trade through the reduction or
elimination of tariffs
4. Reduction of military stockpiles
5. The needs of colonial populations need to
be taken into consideration as well as the
needs of the imperialist powers
Points 6-13 Deal with Specific Regions
6. Evacuation of Russian territory
7. Evacuation and restoration of Belgium
8. Evacuation of France with the restoration of Alsace
and Lorraine
9. Boundaries of Italy should be realigned based on
ethnicity (Italy gets back land previously lost to AH)
10.People of Austria-Hungary should be allowed
autonomous rule
11.Evacuation of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro
and guarantee of independence for all Balkan States
12.Turkey should be sovereign, but the rest of the
Ottoman Empire should be given autonomy
13.Poland should be recreated along ethnic boundaries
The Big One – Point 14
14. Establish a League of Nations to provide a
forum for nations to discuss and settle their
grievances before turning to war
Losses of WWI
WORLD War One
Allies: Green
Central Powers: Gold
Neutral: Grey
The War to End All Wars
• World War I was the bloodiest war in history
to that time.
• 22 million were dead – more than half of them
civilians.
• 20 million people were wounded
• 10 million became refugees.
Approximate Deaths in WWI
Country
Total Dead
Germany
2 million
Austria-Hungary
1.5 million
Russia
1.7 million
France
1.5 million
Great Britain
1 million
Italy
½ million
United States
100,000
Generational Losses
• 17% of those who served for France were killed
• Total – approximately 9 million soldiers died
• Injuries:
– 20 million wounded
– 7 million disabled permanently
– Unknown quantity of mental distress (PTSD) from
the war
• Called the “Lost Generation” because they were
haunted by the war
Economic Damage
• 1920 estimated cost of the war:
– $337 billion
• Loss of markets / trade
• Lots of inflation
• Shattered confidence in progress
– Technological advances were used for warfare
and murder
Political Change
• Toppling of centuries old dynasties
– Russia
– Austria-Hungary
– Ottoman Empire
– Germany (though not that old)
• Nationalism and Self-Determination created
9 new countries:
– Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and
Yugoslavia
1918 Flu Epidemic
• Known as Spanish Influenza
– Because neutral Spain did not downplay news of the flu
like those countries at war
– Appeared first in Kansas in 1918
• Effects of the war on the epidemic
– Movement of troops aided its spread
– Weakened civilian populations were affected
• Especially deadly to the young and healthy
• Killed approximately 50 million people around the
world, mostly in the fall of 1918
– Less conservative figures estimate 100 million people
• Memory of it was obliterated from popular and
historical memory, especially in the US
The Paris Peace Settlement
and theTreaty of Versailles
January 18, 1919: Formal opening of
peace negotiations took place
Paris Peace Conference
• Peacemakers for the “Big Four” represented
• England
– Prime Minister Lloyd George ended up being moderate except
on British imperial interests
• France
– Premier Clemenceau wanted to ensure French security for the
future
• The United States
– President Woodrow Wilson wanted to create an idealistic
peace and a League of Nations
• Welcomed by enormous and ecstatic crowds calling him “Wilson the
Just”
• Italy
– Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando was frustrated by Allied
refusals to meet Italian territorial demands and stormed out on
April 24, 1919
Paris Peace Conference cont.
• 27 states participated
• 10,000 delegates, observers, and experts
• Nonparticipants:
– Defeated Central Powers were not allowed to be
part of the compromise, they were just told the
terms and had to accept or reject them
– Communist Russia
• 5 separate treaties were made with the defeated
powers:
– Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey
Tensions at the Peace Table
• Competition and tension between Allies
• Hatreds built up during the war would cause
problems for a peace settlement
– England and France wanted to punish Germany
• Wilson’s goal:
– Democratic peace with the notion of self-determination
– A structure that would legalize these new ideas (League of
Nations)
• European Powers wanted:
– National Security
– Rebalancing of the Balance of Power (with Germany
taken out of the picture)
• Germany expected
– To be included in the negotiations as a new democracy
Time as a Factor
• As the negotiations moved along, other factors
were changing
• Strength of parties was altering as negotiations
moved forward
– Breaking down of armies
– New countries declaring independence
• All sides were being heavily lobbied by different
activists for nationalities who wanted
independence
– Or Zionists who wanted a Jewish home in Israel
Treaty of Versailles
• Germany
• 440 articles
• Germany lost all colonies and 13% of its prewar
territory in Europe (10% of its population)
– Alsace and Lorraine
– Lands near Belgium and Denmark
– Regions in the East that would become part of Poland
and Eastern Prussia would become geographically
disconnected
Treaty of Versailles cont.
• Rhineland would become demilitarized (30
miles wide) with no military forces of
Germany there
– West Bank of the Rhine would be occupied by
the Allies for about 15 years
– France wanted an independent Rhine state –
gave in if England and America promised to
guarantee French safety in the future
Treaty of Versailles cont.
• Germany’s armed forces would be heavily
reduced
– No draft allowed
– Volunteer force of maximum 100,000 men
– No air force, no submarines, no gas weapons
Treaty of Versailles cont.
• Germany would have to pay reparations for the
war
– This amount was unspecified at first
• Set at $32 billion in 1921
– Wilson resisted this demand, but eventually gave in
– Limitations were put on industry and commerce to
tame the “German Revival” that many were
worried about
• Like French limitations on names of liquor and wine
(Cognac, champagne)
Treaty of Versailles cont.
• Article 231 – War Guilt Clause
– Wanted to establish a legal foundation for the
requirement of Germany paying reparations
– Therefore Germany was made to accept the
blame for starting the war
Europe
Post
WWI
German Reactions to Terms
• Public opinion was shock and then outrage
• Popular rejection of treaty across entire political
spectrum
– Especially focused on war guilt
• People of Germany were not aware of German foreign policy and
actions around the start of the war
– Slightly hypocritical since these terms were nicer than
those imposed on Russia in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• They could not negotiate the terms of the treaty –
either accept them or the blockade would continue
and the war would begin again
• The idea of German democracy would be wounded
by guilt by association after being the ones to sign
the Treaty
Treaty of Versailles Enacted
• Signed by Germany on June 28, 1919 in the
Hall of Mirrors in Versailles
• 1,000 observers were gathered to witness the
event
• 5 years after the assassination of Archduke
Ferdinand, the treaty was signed
Other Treaties of the Paris
Peace Conference
Treaty of Saint-Germain
• Austria
• September 10, 1919
• Gave some of Austrian territory to
neighboring states
• Forbade Austria’s union with Germany
– Austria was primarily composed of Germanic
people
– Austria didn’t actually want to be independent
initially, but was forced to be
Treaty of Trianon
• Hungary
• June 4, 1920
• Huge territories were ceded to
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania
– Hungarians rejected the territorial loss with the
slogan “No, no, never”
Treaty of Neuilly
• Bulgaria
• November 27, 1919
• Bulgaria also lost territory
Europe
Post
WWI
Treaty of Sèvres
• Ottoman Turkey
• August 10, 1920
• Dismembered the Empire
–
–
–
–
Syria and Lebanon would be under French control
Palestine and Iraq would be under British control
Other territory would go to Italy and Greece
Kurds and Armenians would gain autonomy
• Kurds did not
• Never ratified because of nationalist Turkish
revolts
Wilson’s League of Nations
• Was so important to Wilson that he
compromised on lots of other points
• Aim was to promote peaceful resolution of
conflicts
• Made of a General Assembly and a smaller
Council
• Began in Geneva, Switzerland in January 1920
• Had no enforcement mechanisms to make a
difference – formally dissolved in 1946
• US and USSR did not join as members
American Rejection of the Treaty of
Versailles
• The League of Nations freaked some people out:
– Would America still be sovereign?
– How involved would America have to be in this protection
of other states?
– What if non-white or non-Protestant people would be on
an even standing with the US?!
• American people were disgusted by the negotiations
of the Treaty – saw it as a return to Balance of Power
politics
• As Wilson was campaigning for the Treaty and
League of Nations he collapsed and never really
recovered
• The US Senate refused to ratify the Treaty in March
1920
Disappointments
• Those under colonial rule hoped for self-determination
– Ho Chi Minh was one of these…
– Pan-African conference
• Japanese gave a proposal for a declaration of racial
equality that was rejected
• Arab lands hoped for independence, but were instead given
this new name of “mandates”
– At least maybe they would get independence in the future
• Italy felt cheated of territory and acted like a loser in WWI
• Destroyed economic unities and Keynes warned against
crippling Germany economically
• France felt like they were left “holding the tail of the tiger”
as the ones on the continent to enforce the treaty
Historical Outcome
• Woodrow Wilson
– Loser in America
– Hero in Czech Republic
• Treaty
– Too harsh?
– Not harsh enough?
• “After a war to end all wars, this might very
well end up to be a peace to end all peace”