Download Diplomacy & The Great War

WORLD
WAR I
The
“Spark”
Archduke Franz Ferdinand &
His Family
The Archduke is killed!
 On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was
riding in a car in Sarajevo (the capital of
Bosnia)
 Gavrilo Princip, who was a member of the
Serbian terrorist group known as the Black
Hand, shot a killed the archduke and his wife
Sophie
 Why? The Black Hand wanted Bosnia to
break away from Austria-Hungary and join
Serbia
The Assassination: Sarajevo
The Assassin:
Gavrilo
Princip
Who’s To Blame?
War is declared!!!
 Within days of the archduke’s
assassination, the system of alliances
already in place began to be enacted.
 Soon, the major powers of Europe were set
to go to war against one another
 Huge armies began to mobilize, or prepare
for war.
Who’s fighting?
 The war pitted the Central Powers –
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the
Ottoman (Turkish) Empire against the
Allied Powers – France, Britain, and
Russia.
 In time 21 other nations would join the
Allies.
Soldiers Mobilized
14
12
Millions
10
8
6
4
2
0
France
Germany
Russia
Britain
The United States
Goes to War
Wilson’s Peace Efforts
 Wilson felt that the United States, as a
neutral nation in the conflict, could lead the
warring nations to peace.
 His efforts failed.
 He was able to win reelection in 1916 with
the campaign slogan – “He kept us out of
war!”
Submarine warfare
 Germany had a new weapon that was wreaking
havoc on the high seas.
– This weapon was called submarine, or U-boat.
 In an attempt to stop supplies from reaching
Britain, German U-boats torpedoed and sank
several merchant, or supply, ships.
 Many of these ships were from neutral nations,
including the U.S.
 What do you think? Is it true that all is fair in
love and war?
Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats
Germany forces America into the war
 Two incidents forced the United States to
declare war against Germany:
– Sinking of the Lusitania
– Zimmerman telegram
Cont.
 The Lusitania was a British passenger ship that
was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915.
1,200 people were killed, including 128
Americans.
 The Zimmerman telegram was a secret message
sent by the Germans to Mexico urging them to
attack the U.S. if they declared war on Germany.
– In return, Germany would help Mexico win back their
lost territory in the American Southwest.
The Sinking
of the Lusitania
The Zimmerman Telegram
America Declares War
 On April 2, 1917, President Wilson went before
Congress to ask for a declaration of war.
 He declared that “The world must be safe for
democracy.”
 Congress voted for war 455 to 56 and on April 6,
1917 Wilson signed the declaration of war.
 For the Allies, America’s entry could not have
come at a better time. A revolution in Russia
caused them to sign a separate peace with the
Central Powers and they exited the war.
Wartime
Propaganda
What is propaganda?
 Propaganda is the spreading of ideas that
help a cause or hurt an opposing cause.
– It is essentially brainwashing because the
purpose is to alter one’s opinion about a
certain topic through visuals or audio.
Australian Poster
American Poster
Financing the War
German Poster
Think of Your Children!
Propaganda Assignment
 Your assignment is two-fold:
– 1st: Look through your magazine and find an
advertisement that you think could be deemed
as propaganda. Cut the add out of the
magazine. On a separate piece of paper,
explain why you think it is propaganda.
– 2nd: On a separate piece of paper, create a
wartime advertisement (propaganda)
attempting to recruit Americans to help the
war effort. This can be by joining the army or
buying liberty bonds.
The Home
Front
When a country goes to war,
how does life change at home?
How does a country
prepare for war?
America mobilizes
 The U.S. was able to raise an army by
passing the Selective Service Act on May
18, 1917.
 It required all men from 21 to 30 to register
for the military draft.
– A draft is a law requiring people of a certain
age to serve in the military.
Funding the War Effort
 The government had to prepare to feed and
arm the troops that would be fighting over
in Europe.
 In order to pay for the war, Americans
bought Liberty Bonds, which was money
lent to the government to pay for the war
 Raising money wasn’t enough to prepare
the nation – business, government, and
industry had to coordinate their efforts
Financing the War
Conserving Resources
 The Food Administration and Fuel
Administration were in charge of the
production and supply of these essential
resources.
 Efforts by these administrations were huge
successes.
 Example: Victory Gardens
Victory Gardens
Organizing Industry
 The War Industries Board (WIB), headed
by Bernard Baruch, had overall
responsibility for allocating scarce
materials, establishing production
priorities, and setting prices.
 This was the government’s central war
agency.
 Not all industry’s agreed with this – steel
example.
 Does this sound like laissez-faire?????
Mobilizing Workers
 Because of the draft, there was a shortage of
labor. As a result, union leaders took the
opportunity to strike in order to get better wages
and working conditions.
 To prevent further strikes, President Wilson
formed the National War Labor Board (NWLB)
to arbitrate disputes between owners and workers
 Women joined the workforce to supplement the
lack of laborers.
 Also, almost 500,000 African-Americans and
thousands of Mexican-Americans migrated to the
northern cities to work in factories.
– This was called the Great Migration.
Suppressing Opposition
 There was much opposition to the war voiced
across the country.
 In response, Congress passed the Espionage Act
and Sedition Act
 These laws outlawed acts of treason and made it
a crime to “utter, print, write, or publish any
disloyal…or abrasive language” criticizing the
government, the flag, or the military.
 What does this go against?????
 Despite opposition to the laws, the Supreme
Court upheld the laws in Schenck v. United States
Trench
Warfare:
A “War of
Attrition”
A Multi-Front War
The Western Front
Stalemate in the Trenches
 By November 1914, the German advance and the
Allied counterattack created a deadly stalemate.
– A stalemate is a deadlock in which neither side is
strong enough to defeat the other.
 As a result, soldiers dug in, creating a huge maze
of trenches.
 The area between the trenches was called “no
man’s land”….why do you think?
Trench Warfare
Trench Warfare
“No Man’s
Land”
Verdun – February, 1916
e German offensive.
e Each side had 500,000 casualties.
War Is HELL !!
The Yanks
Are Coming!
Munitions Workers
1918 Flu Pandemic:
Depletes All Armies
50,000,000 –
100,000,000 died
The
Americans
Arrive
Russia makes a separate peace
 Russia withdrew from the war in March 1918
following a revolution of the Bolsheviks led by
Vladimir Lenin.
 Lenin embraced the ideas of Karl Marx, who
stated that the working class would unite to
overthrow the ruling class.
 This would lead to a classless society with no
private ownership – THIS IDEA IS
COMMUNISM
 Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk,
ending Russia’s participation in the war.
Americans arrive in France
 Over 1,000,000 American troops arrived in
France in 1918 ready to fight.
 They were led by General John J.
Pershing.
 The U.S. wanted to have an independent
role in the peace talks and therefore
operated as separate units from other
soldiers already fighting in the trenches.
 They were called the American
Expeditionary Force (AEF)
Harlem Hell Fighters
 The U.S. allowed very
few African Americans
to train for combat.
 However, one unit
fought alongside the
French and earned
valor and respect on the
battlefield.
– These brave men
became known as
the Harlem Hell
Fighters
Marines hold at Belleau Wood
 The U.S. faced its first real test at the
Battle of Belleau Wood.
 The battle raged for 3 weeks but the U.S.
marines emerged victorious.
The Battle of the Argonne Forest
 Following a failed German offensive in
mid-July 1918, the Allied attempted one
last offensive to destroy the retreating
German forces.
 After 47 days and 100,000 casualties,
American troops won the Battle of the
Argonne Forest.
 Similar victories by British, French, and
Belgian forces made it look like the war
was finally about to come to end
Armistice Ends the War
 Germany offered an armistice to the Allies.
– An armistice is an agreement to stop
fighting.
 The Allies agreed on 2 conditions:
1. Germany had to accept the proposed
peace plan by Woodrow Wilson
2. The German emperor had to abdicate, or
give up power
 Following the abdication of the emperor, the new
German leaders agreed to the armistice terms.
– The war ended at 11 A.M. on November 11,
1918 – The eleventh hour of the eleventh
day of the eleventh month
11 a.m., November 11, 1918
The Armistice is Signed!
9,000,000 Dead
The Somme American
Cemetary, France
116,516 Americans Died
A Flawed
Peace
Wilson’s Fourteen-Point Peace Plan
 Before the war ended, Wilson outlined his
plan for peace known as the Fourteen
Points.
 Among his ideas were the end of secret
agreements. Also, he urged freedom of
the seas, free trade, and a limit on arms.
 The fourteenth point was the most
important – The League of Nations
League of Nations
 The L.O.N. was to be an association of
nations whose job would be to protect the
independence of all countries and
prevent war
Should the U.S. have joined the League of Nations?
Should the U.S. be a part of international
organizations like this?
Make a T-Chart with 5 reasons for “YES”
and 5 reasons for “NO” and be ready to
discuss
The Paris Peace Conference
 Diplomats from 30 different nations met in
Paris and Versailles to discuss peace.
 Among them were the Big Four:
– Woodrow Wilson: U.S.
– David Lloyd George: Britain
– Georges Clemenceau: France
– Vittorio Orlando: Italy
The Treaty of Versailles
 The Allies hammered out a harsh peace
agreement for German called the Treaty
of Versailles.
– Germany wasn’t even invited to peace
talks.
 They were forced to take full blame for
starting the war and had to pay
reparations, or cash payments, for the
losses suffered during the fighting.
– The sum totaled $300 billion
What did Germany owe?
 Compensation to civilian populations
 Coal, livestock, ships, and timber
 Cost for damage to Allied property
Effects of the Treaty
 Germany felt humiliated
 League of Nations is established to
prevent future wars
– The U.S. did not join the league…why do you
think?
– The U.S. wanted to practice isolationism
 Several new nations were created on the
principle of self determination.
World War I Casualties
10,000,000
9,000,000
8,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
Russia
Germany
Austria-Hungary
France
Great Britain
Italy
Turkey
US