Transcript World War I

World War I and Its Aftermath
(1914–1919)
Chapter 17: World War I and its Aftermath
(1914–1919)
Section 1:
The Seeds of War
Section 2:
The Spark
Section 3:
The War
Section 4:
The Russian Revolution
Section 5:
Peace At Last
The Road to War: 1890-1914
1898: Germany begins its naval buildup.
1902: Britain and Japan conclude a naval alliance
1905: The First Moroccan Crisis.
1907: Anglo-Russian treaty over Persia.
oTriple Entente is completed.
1911: Italy annexes Tripoli
1912: The First Balkan War
World War I
1914-1918
1913: The Second Balkan War
1914: The Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand is
assassinated in Sarajevo
World War I begins
The Course of the War: 1914-1918
1914: The Battle of the Marne
oThe Ottoman Empire enters the war
1915: The Armenian Massacre
1916: The Battle of Verdun.
1917: The February Revolution in Russia
oThe United States enters the war on the Allied side
oThe Balfour Declaration on Palestine
1918: Germany and the Soviet Union conclude the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk.
oPresident Wilson's Fourteen Points
oArmistice ends the war.
The Aftermath
1918: Revolutions in
Germany, Austria and
Turkey.
1919: Allied governments
intervene in Russia
The Treaty of Versailles is
ratified.
The League of Nations is
founded.
1
The Pursuit of Peace
By the early 1900s, many efforts were underway to end war
and foster understanding between nations.
• In 1869, the first modern Olympic games were held. Their
founder hoped the games would promote “love of peace and
respect for life.”
• Alfred Nobel set up the annual Nobel Peace Prize to reward
people who worked for peace.
• Women’s suffrage organizations supported pacifism, or
opposition to all war.
• In 1899, world leaders attended the First Universal Peace
Conference. There they set up the Hague Tribunal, a world
court to settle disputes between nations.
1
Nationalism and International Rivalries
Aggressive nationalism was one leading cause of international
tensions.
• Nationalist feelings were strong in both Germany and France.
• In Eastern Europe, Pan-Slavism held that all Slavic peoples
shared a common nationality. Russia felt that it had a duty to
lead and defend all Slavs.
Imperial rivalries divided European nations.
• In 1906 and again in 1911, competition for colonies brought
France and Germany to the brink of war.
The 1800s saw a rise in militarism, the glorification of the military.
• The great powers expanded their armies and navies, creating an
arms race that further increased suspicions and made war more
likely.
1
Causes and Effects of European Alliances
Distrust led the great powers to sign treaties pledging
to defend one another.
These alliances were intended to create powerful
combinations that no one would dare attack.
The growth of rival alliance systems increased
international tensions.
1
European
Alliances,
1914
1
Standing Armies in Europe, 1914
Which power had the largest standing army ?
This map compares the
size of the different armies in
World War I with the number
of wounded and dead
among the major
combatants in the war. The
relatively light numbers of
American dead and
wounded reflect the late
entry of the United States in
the war. The major
European participants
suffered enormous losses.
Twice as many men died in
World War I as in all the
significant wars from 1790
to 1913 combined. (Note
that due to the scale of
destruction, the estimated
figures given here for
Russians and Ottomans
killed are probably low.)
World War I Troop
Strength and Casualties
2
The Guns of August
• How did ethnic tensions in the Balkans spark a political
assassination?
• How did conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia
widen?
• How do historians view the outbreak of World War I?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsLB55b5z1g&feature=related
2
Assassination in Sarajevo
In 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary
announced he would visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.
• At the time, Bosnia was under the rule of Austria-Hungary., but
it was also the home of many Serbs and other Slavs.
News of the royal visit angered many Serbian nationalists.
• They viewed Austrians as foreign oppressors.
• The date chosen for the archduke’s visit was a significant date
in Serbian history. On that date in 1389, Serbia had been
conquered by the Ottoman empire. On the same date in
1912, Serbia had freed itself from Turkish rule.
Members of a Serbian terrorist group assassinated the Archduke
and his wife.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, far
right, was shot to death on June 28, 1914, shortly after
this photo was taken. His assassination triggered the
outbreak of World War I.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• Family name: Hapsburg
Heir to the Austrian Throne:
Third in line to the throne at one
point, he became heir through
two untimely deaths. The first
was of the Emperor's son, Crown
Prince Rudolph, who killed
himself (and his sixteen year old
mistress) in 1889. The second was
the death of his father, Archduke
Charles Louis, in 1896.
• Fate: The Archduke and his wife
Sophie were assassinated in
Sarajevo on 28-Jun-1914 (their
fourteenth wedding anniversary)
by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo
Princip. The Archduke's role of
Inspector General of the Austrian
army had brought him to Sarajevo
for the summer maneuvers.
Neither Emperor Franz Josef or
the Kaiser saw fit to attend the
funeral.
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand
General Information
Family name: Hapsburg
Heir to the Austrian Throne: Third in line to the throne at one point,
he became heir through two untimely deaths. The first was of the
Emperor's son, Crown Prince Rudolph, who killed himself (and his
sixteen year old mistress) in 1889. The second was the death of his
father, Archduke Charles Louis, in 1896. Now it was Franz Ferdinand
that would be next in line for the Crown.
1863-1914
Politics: Considered more flexible in matters of military and domestic
affairs than his uncle Emperor Franz Josef, he was a reformist with
new ideas to be put into practice when he ascended to the Hapsburg
throne. One of these ideas was "trialism" - the reorganization of
the dual monarchy into a triple monarchy by giving the Slavs an
equal voice in the empire. This would put them on an equal footing
with the Magyars and Germans living inside the AustroHungarian borders. These politics were in direct conflict with
those of the Serbian nationalists.
The ill-fated couple
arriving in Sarajevo.
Personal:
Much has been said about Franz Ferdinand and very little of
it good. He has been referred to as a miser, a bigot, and a
spoiled child. Shunned by the elite of Viennese society, he
was also called "the loneliest man in Vienna". He lacked the
two key elements for success in this social scene - charm and
elegance. His home life appears to have been surprisingly
better. His marriage to Countess Sophia von Chotkowa und
Wognin, Duchess of Hohenburg in 1900 was called one of
the world's great love affairs. Unfortunately the Emperor
considered the Duchess a commoner and tried to convince
Franz Ferdinand he was marrying beneath his station. They
went through with the marriage against the Emperor's
wishes but had to renounce rights of rank and succession
for their children. In the years to come, Sophie would not
be allowed to ride in the same car with her husband during
affairs of state.
Ferdinand
and Sophie
The Archduke with Sophie
and their children
The Heir with his uncle
Emperor Franz Josef.
The Archduke (left) with the Kaiser on maneuvers in 1909.
Gavrilo Princip
A 19 year old tubercular Bosnian Serb student. A member of Mlada Bosna
("Young Bosnia"), a movement dedicated to a Bosnia free of Hapsburg rule. He
and his six fellow assassins were equipped with pistols and bombs by a Serbian
terrorist organization known as the Black Hand.
On 28-Jun-1914, he succeeded where his accomplices failed in assassinating
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Countess Sophia in Sarajevo.
He attempted suicide at the scene, but the gun was knocked from his hand
by an onlooker. His second attempt at suicide was by cyanide, but it made
him retch and he vomited up the poison. He was taken into custody and
made to stand trial. He was found guilty but, because of his age, spared the
death penalty. He died in prison of tuberculosis in 1918. All in all, it seems
he was treated fairly by the government he considered so tyrannical.
Quotes "There is no need to carry me to another prison. My life is already
ebbing away. I suggest that you nail me to a cross and burn me alive. My
flaming body will be a torch to light my people on their path to freedom."
Princip to the prison governor on being moved to another prison.
2
How Did the Conflict Widen?
After the assassination of the archduke, Austria sent Serbia an ultimatum,
or final set of demands.
Serbia agreed to most, but not all, of the terms of Austria’s ultimatum. As
a result, Austria declared war on Serbia.
• Germany offered full support to Austria-Hungary. Instead of urging
restraint, the Kaiser gave Austria a “blank check.”
•
Serbia sought help from Russia, the champion of Slavic nations.
When Austria refused to soften its demands, Russia began to
mobilize.
•
Germany responded by declaring war on Russia.
•
Russia appealed to its ally France. France offered full support to
Russia, prompting Germany to declare war on France.
2
The Historians’ View
How could an assassination lead to all-out war in just a few
weeks?
Today, most historians agree that all parties must share blame.
• Each of the great powers believed that its cause was just.
• Once the machinery of war was set in motion, it seemed
impossible to stop.
• Although leaders made the decisions, most people on both
sides were equally committed to military action.
Frederick Wilhelm Viktor Albert of Hohenzollern
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany
• Ascent: Emperor Wilhelm I dies 9-Mar-1888. Frederick III is crowned Emperor but
cannot rule due to throat cancer and a ninety-nine day coma. Wilhelm II succeeds
his father and is crowned Emperor (midyear) 1888.
•
Noteworthy Relations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Crown Prince Wilhelm
Czar Nicholas II
King Edward VII
King George V
King Frederick III
Queen Victoria
Emperor Wilhelm I
•
Relationship
son
cousin
uncle
cousin
father
grandmother
grandfather
Country
Germany
Russia
Britain
Britain
Prussia
Britain
Germany
Politics: Above all, the Kaiser wanted "a place in the sun" for the German people.
The problem was the only places left were in the shade. There was very little room
left for new colonization in the early part of this century. Nevertheless, the Kaiser
built up the German military machine and built a naval fleet to rival that of Great
Britain. The term "saber rattler" sums up his politics as well as his personality.
Historian Barbara Tuchman put it well when she referred to the Kaiser as
"possessor of the least inhibited tongue in Europe".
• Personal: The Kaiser was born with a
withered left arm. This, together with
having some tough footsteps in which to
follow, led Wilhelm towards the military
lifestyle. He loved his numerous uniforms
and surrounding himself with the elite of
German military society.
• Misconception: The Kaiser was a war monger solely responsible for the
First World War. The Kaiser did not start the war. The Kaiser did not want
the war. "Saber rattling" is one thing, a war with the other major European
powers is something very different indeed! The most that can be said is
that the Kaiser did not do enough to try to control the actions of AustriaHungary and prevent the outbreak of war. In the end, he accepted war.
• Fate: The Kaiser was forced to abdicate as part of the Armistice. He went
to Holland where he died in 1941. He is buried at Doorn.
3
A New Kind of Conflict
• Why did a stalemate develop on the Western Front?
• How did technology make World War I different from
earlier wars?
• How did the war become a global conflict?
3
The
Western
Front
The Allies
included
France,
Great
Britain,
Italy, and
Russia.
German forces swept through Belgium toward Paris.
Russia mobilized more quickly than expected.
Germany shifted some troops to the east to confront Russia,
weakening German forces in the west.
British and French troops defeat Germany in the Battle of the
Marne. The battle of the Marne pushed back the German
offensive and destroyed Germany’s hopes for a quick victory
on the Western Front.
The result was a long, deadly stalemate, a deadlock in which
neither side is able to defeat the other. Battle lines in France
remained almost unchanged for four years.
Europe at War, 1914–1918
Schlieffen Plan
In 1904 France and Britain
signed the Entente Cordiale
(friendly understanding). The
objective of the alliance was
to encourage co-operation
against the perceived threat
of Germany.
• Negotiations also began to add Russia to this alliance. As a result
of these moves the German military began to fear the possibility
of a combined attack from France, Britain and Russia.
Alfred von Schlieffen, German Army Chief of Staff, was given
instructions to devise a strategy that would be able to counter
a joint attack. In December, 1905, he began circulating what
later became known as the Schlieffen Plan.
• Schlieffen argued that if war took place it was vital that France was speedily
defeated. If this happened, Britain and Russia would be unwilling to carry on
fighting. Schlieffen calculated that it would take Russia six weeks to organize its
large army for an attack on Germany. Therefore, it was vitally important to
force France to surrender before Russia was ready to use all its forces.
Schlieffen's plan involved using 90% of Germany's armed forces to attack
France. Fearing the French forts on the border with Germany, Schlieffen
suggested a scythe-like attack through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The rest of the German Army would be sent to defensive positions in the east
to stop the expected Russian advance.
• When Helmuth von Moltke replaced Schlieffen as German Army Chief of Staff
in 1906, he modified the plan by proposing that Holland was not invaded. The
main route would now be through the flat plains of Flanders. Moltke argued
that Belgium's small army would be unable to stop German forces from quickly
entering France. Moltke suggested that 34 divisions should invade Belgium
whereas 8 divisions would be enough to stop Russia advancing in the east.
• On 2nd August 1914, the Schlieffen Plan was put into operation when the
German Army invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. However, the Germans were
held up by the Belgian Army and were shocked by the Russian Army's advance
into East Prussia. The Germans were also surprised by how quickly the British
Expeditionary Force reached France and Belgium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCsldbh9hAY
Top Ten Tanks- #4: WWI Tank
•
•
•
The airplane was first used in combat during World War I. Airco D.H.4's, like this one,
were highly regarded British bombers. The D.H.4 held a pilot and a gunner and
carried bombs under its wings.
The submarine proved its value as a warship in World War I. German submarines, like
this UB II, challenged British sea power. They fired torpedoes that struck surface ships
and then exploded.
The tank was a British invention of World War I. Tanks were designed to rip through
barbed wire and cross trenches. Crews inside gunned down the enemy. This MK IV
tank first saw action in 1917. The machine gun made World War I more deadly than
earlier wars. The gun's rapid fire slaughtered attacking infantrymen. The 8-millimeter
Hotchkiss gun used by the French army is shown here.
World War I Technology
Modern weapons added greatly to the destructiveness of the war.
Airplane
A one- or two-seat propeller plane was equipped with a machine gun. At first
the planes were used mainly for observation. Later, “flying aces” engaged in
individual combat, though such “dogfights” had little effect on the war.
Automatic machine gun
A mounted gun that fired a rapid, continuous stream of
bullets made it possible for a few gunners to mow down
waves of soldiers. This helped create a stalemate by
making it difficult to advance across no man’s land.
Submarine
These underwater ships, or U-boats, could launch
torpedoes, or guided underwater bombs. Used by
Germany to destroy Allied shipping, U-boat attacks helped
bring the United States into the war.
Miracle of the Marne
• The Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle
fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted
in a Franco-British victory against the German Army
under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke.
• The battle effectively ended the month-long German
offensive that opened the war and had reached the
outskirts of Paris. The counter-attack of Allied forces
during the First Battle of the Marne ensured that a
quick German victory was impossible, and set the
stage for four years of trench warfare on the
Western Front.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/video/taxisofthemarne.htm
Parisian Taxi Cabs Save the Day!
• With German forces close to achieving a breakthrough against
beleaguered French forces outside Paris between 6-8 September 1914, a
decision was taken by French military authorities to dispatch emergency
troop reinforcements from Paris.
• Extraordinarily these were dispatched - on 7 September - using a fleet of
Parisian taxi cabs, some 600 in all, ferrying approximately 6,000 French
reserve infantry troops to the front.
• The tactic worked and Paris was saved - barely. The incident quickly
gained legend as "the taxis of the Marne". Events at the ensuing First
Battle of the Marne led to a throwing back of German forces, ensuring
Paris' safety - and military stalemate and with it the onset of trench
warfare.
Second Battle of
Ypres
• The Allies planned a major counteroffensive. Their attack was stopped
in its tracks by the German use of
chlorine gas. Although the Allies
knew of German plans, they were
unprepared, and there troops were
forced to withdraw in disarray.
• It was the first time a former
colonial force (Canadians) pushed
back a major European power
(Germans) on European soil, which
occurred in the battle of St. JulienKitcheners' Wood.
• The Battle of Verdun was one of the
major battles during the First World
War on the Western Front. It was
fought between the German and
French armies, from 21 February to
18 December 1916 in north-eastern
France. The Battle of Verdun ended
in a French victory The Battle of
Verdun resulted in more than a
quarter of a million battlefield
deaths and at least half a million
wounded. Verdun was the longest
battle and one of the most
devastating in the First World War
and more generally in human
history. A total of about 40 million
artillery shells were exchanged by
both sides during the battle. In both
France and Germany it has come to
represent the horrors of war.
The Battle of
Verdun
The Battle of
the Somme
The Tank makes its debut!
• The Battle of the Somme took place during the First World War
between 1 July and 18 November 1916 One of the largest battles
of the First World War, by the time fighting had petered out in
late autumn 1916 more than 1.5 million casualties had been
suffered by the forces involved. It is understood to have been one
of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded.
The Gallipoli Campaign
• The Gallipoli Campaign took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April
1915 to 9 January 1916, during the First World War. A joint British and French
operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul, and secure
a sea route to Russia. The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides.
• In Australia and New Zealand, the campaign was the first major battle
undertaken by a joint military formation, the Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps (ANZAC), and is often considered to mark the birth of national
consciousness in both of these countries.
• The Ottoman Empire/Turkey was ably led by the nation's revered founder,
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
• The Russians were in desperate need of war supplies. The only route to them
was blocked by the Turkish blockade of the Dardanelle Straits. The British
decided to land troops to capture the heights overlooking the straits. In a
campaign that lasted eight months, the British failed to capture the straits, and
were forced to withdraw without accomplishing anything.
• It probably hastened genocide against the Armenians.
T. E. Lawrence
•
•
•
British archaeological scholar, adventurer, military strategist, and the writer of The Seven
Pillars of Wisdom (1927), an ambitious work, which combines a detailed account of the Arab
revolt against the Turks and the author's own spiritual autobiography. T.E. Lawrence's (18881935) enigmatic personality still fascinates biographers and his legend has survived many
attempts to discredit his achievements.
In 1914, he was quickly taken up by the Intelligence Service, and was based in Cairo where
he seems to have made an excellent impression on his superiors. In 1916 he was sent to
Jeddah to liaise with the Sharif Hussein who had launched the Arab Revolt on June 10th.
He was later detached as permanent liaison, and subsequently at Prince Faisal's request
was named "advisor" to Faisal. He spent the remainder of the Arab Revolt in this capacity,
entered Damascus with the Arab tribesmen to prepare the way for Faisal and later
attended the Peace Conference at Versailles with the Arab delegation.
Disillusioned with the decisions taken there, he retired from any public activity and was
killed in a motorcycle accident in 1935.
Edith Cavell
• Edith Cavell (1865-1915) was a British nurse
serving in Belgium who was executed on a
charge of assisting Allied prisoners to escape
during World War One.
• Many of the captured Allied soldiers who
were treated at Berkendael subsequently
succeeded in escaping - with Cavell's active
assistance - to neutral Holland. Cavell was
arrested on 5 August 1915 by local German
authorities and charged with having
personally aided in the escape of some 200
such soldiers. She, along with a named
Belgian accomplice Philippe Baucq, were
duly pronounced guilty and sentenced to
death by firing squad.
Dirigibles and
Zeppelins
The Zeppelin men: (from left) Hugo
Eckener, Count von Zeppelin, and Peter
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin died
Strasser
of pneumonia on 8-Mar-1917 at the
age of seventy-eight. Peter Strasser,
Chief of the Naval Airship Division and
the driving force behind the German
airship program, was aboard the
height-climber L 70 when it was shot
down over the English Channel on 5Aug-1918. This event marked the end
of the airship as a strategic bomber.
Hugo Eckener would go on to lead
Germany's postwar airship program.
3
How Did the War Become a Global Conflict?
EASTERN EUROPE
In August 1914, Russian armies pushed
into eastern Germany.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
In 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central
Powers and helped crush Serbia.
After Russia was defeated in the battle of
Tannenburg, armies in the east fought on
Russian soil.
OUTSIDE EUROPE
Japan, allied with Britain, tried to impose
a protectorate on China.
The Ottoman empire joined the Central
Powers in 1914.
Arab nationalists revolted against
Ottoman rule.
THE COLONIES
The Allies overran German colonies in
Africa and Asia.
The great powers turned to their own
colonies for troops, laborers, and
supplies.
4
Total War
Warring nations engaged in total war, the channeling of a
nation’s entire resources into a war effort.
Economic impact
• Both sides set up systems to recruit, arm, transport and supply
huge fighting forces.
• All nations except Britain imposed universal military
conscription, or “the draft.”
• Governments raised taxes, borrowed money, and rationed food
and other products.
Propaganda
• Both sides waged a propaganda war. Propaganda is the
spreading of ideas to promote a cause or to damage an opposing
cause.
4
Women
and War
Women played a critical role in total war:
• As men left to fight, women took over their jobs and kept
national companies going.
• Many women worked in war industries, manufacturing
weapons and supplies.
• Women grew food when shortages threatened.
• Some women joined branches of the armed forces.
• Women worked as nurses close to the front lines.
4
Collapsing
Morale
By 1917, the morale of both troops and civilians had plunged.
• As morale collapsed, troops mutinied or deserted.
• Long casualty lists, food shortages, and the failure of
generals to win promised victories led to calls for
peace.
• In Russia, soldiers left the front to join in a full-scale
revolution back home.
1917
Feb. 1
Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare.
April 6
The United States declared war on Germany.
June 24 American troops began landing in France.
Dec. 15
Russia signed an armistice with Germany, ending the fighting on
the Eastern Front.
1918
Jan. 8
President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points as the
basis for peace.
March
3
Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
March
21
Germany launched the first of its final three offensives on the
Western Front.
Sept. 26 The Allies began their final offensive on the Western Front.
Nov. 11
Germany signed an armistice ending World War I.
4
Why Did the United States Enter the War?
• German submarines were attacking merchant and passenger
ships carrying American citizens. In May 1915, a German
submarine torpedoed the British liner Lusitania, killing 1,200
passengers, including 120 Americans.
•
Many Americans felt ties of culture and language to Britain and
sympathized with France as another democracy.
• In early 1917, the British intercepted a telegram sent by German
foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman. It revealed that, in exchange
for Mexican support, Germany had offered to help Mexico
reconquer New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.
“I Dare You To
Come Out”
• This 1917 cartoon shows
the arrogant piratical
Kaiser defying American
Rights, national honor,
freedom of the seas, and
international law while
standing on the conning
tower of a German U-boat.
• These are the things for
which we will fight!
War In Air & At Sea
Anthony Michael Michalski
165th Infantry, KIA
John Rudolph Webb
and Crew
301st Tank Battalion
The Art of War
One water bottle for 40 men
by G.P. Hoskins
Gassed by John Singer Sargent
Take a Little
Tour
• LEGEND:
• 1. A 3rd Class berth.
2. The 3rd Class Dining saloon.
3. The Bridge.
4. The Port Side Regal Suite.
5. The 1st Class Library.
6. The 1st Class Lounge.
7. The 1st Class Dining Saloon and 1914 Menu.
8. The 2nd Class Lounge.
By all accounts, she was riding low in the water.
What was she carrying? Supplies and shells?
Schwieger's log and the testimony of several survivors shows categorically that
he only fired one torpedo; but a larger, second explosion had occurred almost
instantaneously, which was highly likely to have been attributable to a particular
consignment of 5,000 live artillery shells in the hold. It was the second
explosion, caused we think by the sympathetic detonation of these munitions,
which was ultimately responsible for the ship's rapid demise.
Germany and Great Britain were at war. So were most of the other countries of
Europe. The United States, wanting to remain neutral, had not yet entered World
War I. But the Imperial Government of Kaiser Wilhelm II had issued a dire warning to
American citizens: Stay out of the waters around the British Isles. Those waters
included the Irish Sea. How many of the 1959 people on board the Lusitania on May
7, 1915 knew about Germany’s threat to sink non-military ships? Of those who
knew, how many really believed that women and children would be treated like
front-line soldiers of war?
"Torpedo coming on the starboard side!"
The torpedo struck the ship with a sound which Turner
later recalled was
"like a heavy door being slammed shut."
Almost instantaneously came a second, much larger
explosion, which physically rocked the ship.
A tall column of water and debris shot skyward,
wrecking lifeboat No. 5 as it came back down. The
clock on the bridge said 14.10.
Watching events through his periscope,
Kapitan-Leutnant Schwieger could not believe that so
much havoc
could have been wrought by just one torpedo.
He noted in his log that "an unusually heavy
detonation"
had taken place and noted that a second explosion had
also occurred which he put down to "boilers, coal or
powder." He also noticed that the torpedo had hit the
Lusitania further forward of where he had aimed it.
Schwieger brought the periscope down and U-20
headed back to sea.
On the bridge
of the
Lusitania,
Captain Turner
could see
instantly that
his ship was
doomed.
He gave the
orders to
abandon ship.
• The Lusitania was gone, and with her
had gone 1, 201 people.
The Sinking of the Lusitania
• Then, nearly instantaneously,
the Lusitania exploded. Not
from a second torpedo. From
an internal explosion.
• Nearly 2,000 people had 18
minutes to get off the mortally
wounded, quickly-sinking liner.
(Follow the link to a rare copy
of the "Annex to the Report,"
from the official inquiry
conducted by Lord Mersey.)
Captain William Turner
As the stern of the ship settled back, the bridge was
awash and the Captain was swept into the Irish Sea. He,
unlike most others, survived.
Germany, however, was unapologetic. The
government had issued its warning. Their
actions were justified, they said, because
they believed the ship carried arms that
would have been used to kill Germans.
U boats would stalk the North Atlantic. Ships used the convoy
system to protect cargoes. Surround the cargo vessels with circling
military ships.
The Zimmerman Telegram
• The German ambassador
Zimmerman telegraphs
the Mexican ambassador
with a proposition. The
British intercept it and
decode it for US.
• The Kaiser is offering
Mexico choice parts of the
US (CA, TX, NM) if they
attack US and keep US off
balance during The Great
War.
• This angers US so much
that we will join the Allies
against Germany.
• It is the
unrestricted Uboat activity in
the North Atlantic
that makes US
finally ditch
Isolationism &
join the war.
Steps to War!
• 1. The Lusitania is sunk!
• 2. Zimmerman Telegram discovered
• 3. Sussex pledge broken—unrestricted submarine
warfare is back!
• 4. Lenin freed from German jail, goes back to
Russia, and the Russians desert the Allies for their
Revolution.
• 5. We declare war on Germany/The Central Powers
on April 2, 1917.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k9XZB6O26w
Jeanette Rankin
Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 –
May 18, 1973) was the first woman to be
elected to the United States House of
Representatives and the first female member
of the Congress sometimes referred to as the
Lady of the House.
A lifelong pacifist and feminist, she voted
against the entry of the United States into
both World War I and World War II, the only
member of Congress to vote against the latter.
To date, she is the only woman to be elected
to Congress from Montana.
World War I
•
Facts / Statistics
Dates: 1917-1918
Troops: 4,734,991
Deaths: 116,516
Americans reluctantly entered Europe’s “Great War” and tipped the balance to Allied victory.
In part the nation was responding to threats to its own economic and diplomatic interests.
But it also wanted, in the words of President Woodrow Wilson, to “make the world safe for
democracy.” The United States emerged from the war a significant, but reluctant, world
power.
• The Yanks Are Coming!
•
•
•
Under unprecedented government direction, American industry mobilized to produce
weapons, equipment, munitions, and supplies. Nearly one million women joined the
workforce. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the South migrated north to
work in factories.
Two million Americans volunteered for the army, and nearly three million were drafted. More
than 350,000 African Americans served, in segregated units. For the first time, women were
in the ranks, nearly 13,000 in the navy as Yeoman (F) (for female) and in the marines. More
than 20,000 women served in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps.
The first contingent of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), commanded by General John
J. Pershing reached France in June, but it took time to assemble, train, and equip a fighting
force. By spring 1918, the AEF was ready, first blunting a German offensive at Belleau Wood.
The Great War was without precedent ... never had so many nations taken
up arms at a single time. Never had the battlefield been so vast… never had
the fighting been so gruesome..."
•
The World War of 1914-18 - The Great War, as contemporaries called it -- was the first manmade catastrophe of the 20th century. Historians can easily identify the literal "smoking gun"
that set the War in motion: a revolver used by a Serbian nationalist to assassinate Archduke
Franz Ferdinand (heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne) in Sarajevo on June 28,
1914.
But scholars are still debating the underlying causes. Was it the desire for greater empire,
wealth and territory? A massive arms race? The series of treaties which ensured that once
one power went to war, all of Europe would quickly follow? Was it social turmoil and
changing artistic sensibilities brought about by the Industrial Revolution? Or was it simply a
miscalculation by rulers and generals in power? The answer provided in "The Great War and
The Shaping of the 20th Century" is that all of these volatile elements combined to set off a
gigantic explosion we now know as World War I.
"World War I marked the first use of chemical weapons, the first mass
bombardment of civilians from the sky, and the century's first genocide..."
•
True to the military alliances, Europe's powers quickly drew up sides after the assassination. The allies -chiefly Russia, France and Britain -- were pitted against the Central Powers -- primarily Germany, AustriaHungary and Turkey. Eventually, the War spread beyond Europe as the warring continent turned to its
colonies and friends for help. This included the United States, which joined the War in 1917 when
President Woodrow Wilson called on Americans to "make the world safe for democracy."
“Over There, Over There” by George
M. Cohan
• The Americans entered a war that was deadlocked. Opposing armies were
dug in, facing each other in trenches that ran nearly 500 miles across
northern France—the notorious western front. Almost three years of
horrific fighting resulted in huge losses, but no discernable advantage for
either side.
• American involvement in the war was decisive. Within eighteen months,
the sheer number of American “doughboys” added to the lines ended
more than three years of stalemate. Germany agreed to an armistice on
November 11, 1918.
• Machine guns, poison gas, and a variety of other weapons killed tens of
thousands on both sides, but far more troops died under the rain of
artillery shells. The dead—often just parts of bodies—were carried back
from the front lines. Frequently, an American ambulance driver noted,
“there wasn’t anything left to bring.”
• Two million men in the American Expeditionary Force went to France.
Some 1,261 combat veterans—and their commander, General Pershing—
were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest
award for extraordinary heroism. Sixty-nine American civilians also
received the award.
Mademoiselle from Armentieres
or Three German Officers crossed the Rhine
|: Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous, :|
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed for forty years,
Chorus:
Hinky-dinky parlez-vous.
2. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
She got the palm and the croix de guerre,
For washin' soldiers' underwear,
Chorus:
3. |: The Colonel got the Croix de Guerre,
Parlez-vous :|
The Colonel got the Croix de Guerre,
The son-of-a-gun was never there!
Chorus:
4. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
You didn't have to know her long,
To know the reason men go wrong!
Chorus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZNAoYsgSYY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db5uGDcG0Rw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k9XZB6O26w
5 . |: Mademoiselle from gay Paree "Parley voo"
Mademoiselle from gay Paree "Parley voo"
Mademoiselle from gay Paree
You certainly did play heck with me
Chorus:
6. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
The cooties rambled through her hair;
She whispered sweetly "C'est la guerre."
Chorus:
7. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
She'll do it for wine, she'll do it for rum,
And sometimes for chocolate or chewing gum!
Chorus: 8. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from
Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
You might forget the gas and shells
But you'll nev'r forget the Mademoiselles!
Chorus:
9. |: Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous :|
Where are the girls who used to swarm
About me in my uniform?
Chorus:
Propaganda  for
the War Boards
George Creel’s propaganda
W/ Herbert Hoover,
Bernard Baruch, and
Can Do McAdoo
daschund dog
Meatless Mondays
and Wheatless
Wednesdays
Liberty Pups and
Liberty Cabbage.
Victory Gardens
Manfred
Albrecht
Freiherr von
Richthofen
As a young cadet Manfred von Richthofen climbed a church steeple at Wahlstatt and tied his
handkerchief to its lighting rod, just for fun. He loved risk. He came from a wealthy Junker
family and in his youth enjoyed hunting and riding horses. When the war broke out Manfred
was a cavalry officer and saw duty on both the Eastern and Western fronts scouting for the
German Army. By May of 1915 he was bored with scouting and asked to be transferred to
the Flying service.
On September 17, 1916, Richthofen recorded his first aerial combat victory. Before his
career was over he shot down eighty allied aircraft and was the leading ace of the war. As his
success increased so did his popularity with the German people. He was showered with
military decorations and treated like a hero by the Germans. His flaming red Fokker airplane
became infamous to the troops in the trenches. In the air he embodied deadly grace and his
experience as a hunter helped him as a pilot. By 1918 he had become such a legend that it
was feared that his death would be a blow to the morale of the German people. His
superiors asked him to retire, but he refused as long as there were still troops in the
trenches. He began to get more depressed and the emotional weight of being responsible
for so many deaths began to press on him. On April 21, 1918, his career ended when he was
shot down over enemy lines by Roy Brown of Canada. His opponents had so much respect
for the noble flyer, that he was given a hero’s funeral.
Who put the fatal bullet into the Red
Baron as he closed in on Canadian
Wilfrid May along the Somme River
on April 21, 1918? Theories
abound.
Various Allied gunners on the ground
claimed to have shot the Baron
down. To whom that honor truly
belongs will likely never be known.
4
Campaign
to Victory
In 1917, The United States declared war on
Germany.
By 1918, about two million American soldiers had
joined the Allies on the Western Front.
“LaFayette,
we are here!”
The Germans launched a huge offensive, pushing
the Allies back.
The Allies launched a counteroffensive, driving
German forces back across France and Germany.
Germany sought an armistice, or agreement to end
fighting, with the Allies. On November 11, 1918, the
war ended.
Edward "Eddie" Vernon
Rickenbacker
1890-1973
• The son of Swiss immigrants, Rickenbacker was the American "Ace of
Aces." He recorded 26 official victories against German aircraft during
World War I and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Between WWI and
WWII, Rickenbacker bought and administered the Indianapolis Speedway
and became president of Eastern Airlines. In October 1942, he was aboard
a B-17 bomber that crashed in the Pacific Ocean while on a secret mission
to New Guinea. "Iron Man Eddie" and six companions survived 24 days
afloat on life rafts.
In 1995, the United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp in honor
of Rickenbacker's accomplishments as an aviation pioneer.
Edward V. Rickenbacker
• Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
• "For extraordinary heroism in action near Montsec, France, 29 April
1918. Lt. Rickenbacker attacked an enemy Albatros monoplane and after
a vigorous fight, in which he followed his foe into German territory, he
succeeded in shooting it down near Vigneulles-les-Hatten-Chatel." DSC
citation
• Medal of Honor
• "Edward V. Rickenbacker, Colonel, specialist reserve, then first lieutenant,
94th Aero Squadron, Air Service, American Expeditionary Forces. For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty
in action against the enemy near Billy, France, 25 September 1918. While
on a voluntary patrol over the lines Lieutenant. Rickenbacker attacked
seven enemy planes (five type Fokker protecting two type Halberstadt
photographic planes). Disregarding the odds against him he dived on
them and shot down one of the Fokkers out of control. He then attacked
one of the Halberstadts and sent it down also..." Medal of Honor
citation, awarded 6 November 1930
On September 26th, Allied troops now took the offensive, under the
command of General Foch.
Thanks to the presence of a million American soldiers in France by this
time, the Allies made slow, but steady, progress.
The German high command warned that it could no longer ensure victory
and, as the German army began mutinying, it sued for peace.
York, 1919,
in the
Argonne
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Born Alvin Cullum York, December 13, 1887, in Pall Mall, Tennessee.
His life was turned around by a woman, Gracie Williams, who convinced
him to give up his worldly ways and go to church. He formed long held
and firm religious beliefs as a result.
Drafted in 1917.
Impressed the regular army officers with his ability to use a gun. Shot
accurately at ranges of 200, 300 and 500 yards. Struggled with the
moral issue of killing human beings, and refused to shoot at human
silhouettes (targets).
At the battle of the Argonne Forest in the fall of 1918, as a member of
the 82nd division, he killed 25 Germans, knocked out 35 machine guns,
and captured 132 prisoners almost single-handed.
Received the French Medaille Militaire and Croix de Guerre, the Italian
Croce de Guerra and the American Medal of Honor.
Came home to the adulation of the American people, married Gracie
Williams, and died in Nashville, Tenn. on September 2, 1964 after
having a cerebral hemorrhage.
1887-1964
Sergeant
Alvin C. York
Alvin’s Conundrum
• "Sir, I am doing wrong. Practicing to kill people is against my
religion."
York, speaking of target practice at human silhouettes.
• "What you did was the greatest thing accomplished by any
private soldier of all the armies of Europe."
Marshall Ferdinand Foch, on York's feat in the Argonne.
• "This uniform ain't for sale."
York, on demands for his endorsement.
• "It's over; let's just forget about it."
York's modesty about the event that brought him the Medal
of Honor.
• 1914-1918 - World War I
- More than 400,000
African-American troops
fight against the Germans.
* 6,000 of the 8,000
American Indians who
fought were volunteers.
The Battle of Henry Johnson (18971929)
• Henry Johnson’s claim to fame was his
remarkable performance during WWI in
France. Johnson, born in 1897 in WinstonSalem, North Carolina, moved to Albany, New
York with his family when he was still a
child. At the age of 20, Johnson worked as a
“Red-cap” porter at the Albany train
station. On June 5th of that ear, however, he
signed up to fight in World War I and was
eventually assigned to the all-black New York
369th Infantry Regiment better known as the
“Harlem Hellfighters.”
• Nearly four months into his Army enlistment,
Johnson married Georgia Edna Jackson of
Great Barrington, Massachusetts on
September 17, 1917.
• Johnson and the other troops were trained in segregated
Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina. Due to racial tensions
between the black soldiers and the local red necks, Johnson’s
regiment was shipped over to Europe earlier than others.
They were attached to French units despite Black Jack
Pershing’s order. (The French were not prejudiced along color
lines.)
• On January 1, 1918, the unit arrived in Brest, France and at
first used as laborers and stevedores. By mid-March the
369th was sent to the front and attached to the 16th Division
of the French Army.
• On May 1, 1918, Johnson was promoted to sergeant.
Fourteen days later, on the night of May 14, Henry Johnson
and Needham Roberts were assigned to sentry duty at a
bridge held by American forces.
• They were ambushed by a 20 man German Army raiding
party. Although Roberts was taken prisoner, Johnson killed
four German soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, wounded
twenty others and rescued Roberts.
• His heroic stubborn defense of the bridge sent the other
German soldiers into retreat. After this skirmish which was
soon dubbed the Battle of Henry Johnson,” it was
discovered that the sergeant was wounded 21 times. He
was treated in a French hospital for bayonet wounds in the
back, stabs on the left arm and knife cuts on the face and
lips. Johnson was awarded the Croix de Guerre, France’s
highest military honor, becoming the first enlisted American
soldier to win the medal.
• In 1923, he and his wife divorced. Denied work and without a
pension, Johnson became an alcoholic and died in poverty and
alone at the age of 32 in New York City on July 2, 1929.
• He was, however, buried with full military honors in the
Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C.
• On July 25, 1996 the U.S. Army awarded posthumously awarded
Johnson a Purple Heart for his battle wounds. Six years later on
March 19, 2002, he was awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross for bravery.
• Johnson went home a hero
of World War I.
• Discharged on February 14,
1919, he and the 369th
received a tumultuous
welcome when they paraded
up New York City’s Fifth
Avenue to Harlem. Johnson
was personally greeted by
New York Governor Alfred E.
Smith and other officials
when his train arrived in
Albany.
Despite the hero’s welcome which
included discussions of a movie
contract and proposals to name a
street after him, Johnson, who was
permanently disabled by his wounds,
was never able to fully support
himself in post-World War I America.
The extraordinary valor of the 369th
earned them fame in Europe and
America. Newspapers headlined the
feats of Corporal Henry Johnson
and Private Needham Roberts. In
May 1918 they were defending an
isolated lookout post on the
Western Front, when they were
attacked by a German unit. Though
wounded, they refused to surrender,
fighting on with whatever weapons
were at hand.
They were the first Americans awarded
the Croix de Guerre, and they were not
the only Harlem Hellfighters to win
awards; 171 of its officers and men
received individual medals and the unit
received a Croix de Guerre for taking
Sechault.
Henry Johnson (left) and Needham Robert
(NARA photo)
http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/Scott/SCh18.htm
Henry Johnson •
369th Infantry
Awarded DSC 14 Feb
2003
More than 83 years later, and following a campaign of several
years, the US Army has agreed to posthumously award
Johnson the country's second-highest medal, the
Distinguished Service Cross. Now senators Hillary Clinton and
Charles Schumer have proposed legislation to enable Johnson
to receive the ultimate recognition of his service, the Medal of
Honor - and in doing so have focused fresh attention on a
largely unrecognized episode in American military and racial
history.
The 369th Regiment from New York - the "Harlem Hellfighters"
- were not conscripts. They were black soldiers who chose to
sign up, despite the US military's insistence that they would
not be permitted to fight alongside white troops. Mostly lowpaid laborers in Manhattan's service sector - waiters,
doormen, messengers - they were sent to South Carolina, a
particularly racist state even by the standards of the time, for
rudimentary training using wooden sticks for guns.
Eventually, the army - facing a manpower crisis on the
European frontline - reluctantly allowed them to fight. To
avoid breaching segregation rules, they had them placed
under the command of the French.
"The French were horrified by the segregation, and by all these
directives that came from the American high command
instructing them not to praise the black troops, not to socialize
with or speak to black officers outside of the line of duty," says
Gail Buckley, author of American Patriots, a study of AfricanAmericans in war. "The French command apparently ordered
[General John] Pershing's directives to be burned."
•
• from the Guardian 21 March 2002 Honor at last for war hero ignored for
being black American 'Harlem Hellfighter' who fought off German attack
single-handedly is finally awarded a medal
• Oliver Burkeman in New York
Shortly after midnight on May 15 1918, an American soldier called Henry Johnson was on
duty near the Allied-German frontline in France when he heard the sound of barbed wire
being snipped in the darkness. Silence returned for a moment. Then it began raining
grenades. Afterwards, Pte Johnson would rarely speak of his wartime experiences, but
military historians agree on the essentials of what happened that night. Under sustained
attack from between 15 and 20 Germans, Johnson - armed with one rifle, and then, when his
ammunition ran out, with only a knife - fended them all off, killing many of them, and
managed to rescue his sole companion on duty that night, Pte Needham Roberts, who had
been seriously wounded. Johnson himself received 21 injuries in the attack.
The way Herman Johnson sees it, his father was a war hero - and would have been
recognized as such long ago had he not been African-American. "It beats me why this country
didn't do that," says Mr. Johnson, an 85-year-old estate agent living in Kansas City. "There's
something inside a human being when his country is in need of service. And my father just
had that thing and he deserves the appropriate award." Instead, prevented by his injuries
from returning to work as a railway porter in Albany, New York, Henry Johnson died in
poverty in 1929, reportedly suffering from alcoholism.
•
More than 83 years later, and following a campaign of several years, the US Army has agreed to
posthumously award Johnson the country's second-highest medal, the Distinguished Service Cross. Now
senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer have proposed legislation to enable Johnson to receive the
ultimate recognition of his service, the Medal of Honor - and in doing so have focused fresh attention on a
largely unrecognized episode in American military and racial history.
The 369th Regiment from New York - the "Harlem Hellfighters" - were not conscripts. They were black
soldiers who chose to sign up, despite the US military's insistence that they would not be permitted to
fight alongside white troops. Mostly low-paid laborers in Manhattan's service sector - waiters, doormen,
messengers - they were sent to South Carolina, a particularly racist state even by the standards of the
time, for rudimentary training using wooden sticks for guns. Eventually, the army - facing a manpower
crisis on the European frontline - reluctantly allowed them to fight. To avoid breaching segregation rules,
they had them placed under the command of the French.
"The French were horrified by the segregation, and by all these directives that came from the American
high command instructing them not to praise the black troops, not to socialize with or speak to black
officers outside of the line of duty," says Gail Buckley, author of American Patriots, a study of AfricanAmericans in war. "The French command apparently ordered [General John] Pershing's directives to be
burned."
Henry Johnson's son Herman, pictured on the left, and New York governor George Pataki, honour his grave
at Arlington VirginiaAnd so for a brief, extraordinary period, the black soldiers fought alongside the white
French as equals, forging friendships that led some of the Americans to return to settle in Paris - and,
incidentally, introducing Harlem jazz to the nightclubs of Montmartre. "One of the famous melodies of the
day was called How You Gonna Keep Them Down on the Farm Once They Have Seen Paree?," says John
Howe, a former New York state legislator and military historian who has worked "pretty much full-time" on
the Henry Johnson case for the last few years.
Johnson became the first American soldier of the war to be awarded France's highest honour, the Croix du
Guerre. "The American report is too modest," a French general wrote of Johnson and his fellow soldier,
Roberts. "As a result of oral information furnished me, it appears the blacks were extremely brave. This
little combat does honor to all Americans!"
•
And the Hellfighters did return to something like a heroes' welcome. They had not been
permitted to march in the farewell parade before their departure, but now they were at the
helm of a tickertape parade that swept up Fifth Avenue into Harlem.
But it was not to last. It was the summer of 1919, and the Ku Klux Klan was on the rise. The
Harlem Hellfighters received no official American honors except the standard Purple Heart "just a recognition that he'd been wounded", says Herman Johnson. "In spite of what some
people may think of black people, we've fought in every war this country's ever had... It's a
classic example of racism in our country."
"For this American hero to be denied his due honors simply due to the color of his skin is a
tragic yet blatant reminder of the rampant racism that existed in this nation during the first
world war," said New York governor George Pataki recently. "The time is now to right this
eight decades-long injustice, and finally recognize the valor, patriotism and grit of a man
who was both a great New Yorker and an exemplary American soldier."
Now, says John Howe, the Distinguished Service Cross "means the fable of Henry Johnson is
no longer a fable. It's not the award he deserves, but it makes him an official part of
American history. It makes him a real American hero. He's not just a legend any more."
Herman Johnson holds Sunday the
Distinguished Service Cross
awarded posthumously to his
father, Sergeant Henry Johnson.
John Howe, left, was a key fighter
for recognition of Henry Johnson's
heroism.
Broken Promises & Broken Dreams
We return
We return from fighting.
We return fighting.
-W.E.B. DuBois, after WWI
The world was perhaps not safe for democracy, but
hypocrisy was on the run. It will only have to wait
another forty years….
•
•
•
In 1916 Wilson ran on the slogan,"he kept us out of war," and narrowly defeated Supreme
Court Justice Charles Even Hughes. Wilson managed to keep America out of the war until it
was clear that Germany's submarine warfare would continue to claim American civilian
lives. During the 976 days of neutrality Wilson repeatedly tried to negotiate for an end to
the fighting, and called on all those involved to accept peace without victory. Facing the
imminent defeat of France, and seeing no end to Germany's attacks on civilian shipping,
Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany 2-Apr-1917. Neutrality had ended, the
nation was at war.
United States Involvement in WW1
Wilson continued to work for an end to the fighting while mobilizing the nation for war.
American forces led by General Pershing made a significant addition to the allied fighting
force in both numbers and morale. When America entered the war France was on the
verge of collapse. Within months the Germans agreed to an armistice based on Wilson's
14 points. It was clear that they could not continue.
The Versailles Peace Conference
"Punitive damages, the dismemberment of empire we deem childish and in the end less
than futile" Woodrow Wilson, 1917
Wilson became the first President to leave the country while in office when he left for France
aboard the S.S. George Washington 4-Dec-1918. Wherever he went in Europe huge crowds
gathered to cheer him on. His 14 points were very popular and the common people saw him
as the savior of France, and the greatest hope for world peace. His efforts, for the most part,
would end in vain. British Prime Minister Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Georges
Clemenceau resisted most of his ideas. To them the goal was to punish Germany to the extent
that it could never make war again. They both were very conscious of the revengeful attitude
of constituents, and would not budge. Wilson, through much effort, did manage to prevent
some of the more extreme punishments against Germany, and convinced the allies that a
League of Nations was necessary. With these small victories in hand Wilson headed home.
The Last Battle
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired."
F. Scott Fitzgerald
•
•
•
Wilson could not convince people at home that it was time for America to join the World
Community. America had stepped back into isolationism, and would not be budged. The
Congress was in Republican hands and was generally uncooperative with Wilson. Led by
Wilson's longtime adversary Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, the Republicans insisted that certain
parts of the League be altered. Wilson refused to make even the smallest concessions, fearing
it would make it impotent. The Senate would not agree to the treaty so Wilson entered the
final chapter of his relatively short political story. He decided to take the matter directly to the
public.
His doctor warned him not to go. His wife begged him to reconsider. Wilson was determined
and would not be turned back. The Senate would not listen to him, so he hoped to convince
the public through an extensive speaking tour, and thus pressure the Senate into ratifying the
treaty. The tour started out well. Enthusiastic supporters cheered him at each stop. Victory
turned out to be beyond his grasp. Wilson’s fragile health halted the tour abruptly in
Colorado. . "I don't seem to realize it," he commented to an advisor, "but I seem to have gone
to pieces."
For the remainder of his administration Wilson was a near invalid. His wife looked over him
carefully and was suspected of making important decisions for him. His hope was not
shattered, but his body was, and that handicap was insurmountable. Wilson lived on until
1924, but never fully regained his mental or physical abilities. He died with his wife by his side,
confident to the end that wrongs would be righted, and that America's mission would be
fulfilled. His last words were "Edith,(his wife) I'm a broken machine, but I'm ready."
•
•
•
•
•
Legacy
His influence has been significant. During his tenure there were 3 amendments to the
constitution. The Seventeenth provided for the direct election of United States Senators.
The Eighteenth prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.
The Nineteenth, guaranteed suffrage for women. His legislative successes included the
Federal Reserve Act, the Clayton Anti-trust Act, Keating-Owen Child Labor Act, and the
Adamson Act which established the eight-hour work day on railroads. According to Henry
Kissinger, his foreign policy has shaped 20th Century United States policy like no other.
He was a man known for his principles, drawn from the pages of the Bible and the doctrine of
the Presbyterians. He was an unusual president in that he had years of thinking and writing
the philosophy of government, but little in the way of political experience. In the end he may
be remembered more for his failure concerning the League of Nations than his progressive
reform.
Wilson served in an era before Watergate, and before all of the scandals that have reduced
faith in government to tired cynicism. Wilson was a great man in an age when people still
believed in great men.
• Epilogue
"I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation
there will be another world war if the nations of the world do not concert
the method by which to prevent it."
Woodrow Wilson, 1919
At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the war
ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice.
The Big Four at the Paris Peace Conference.
David Lloyd-George-- from Britain
Vittorio Orlando-- Italy
Georges Clemenceau-- France
and Woodrow Wilson-- United States
4
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
President Woodrow Wilson issued the Fourteen Points, a list of
his terms for resolving World War I and future wars. He called
for:
•
•
•
•
•
freedom of the seas
free trade
large-scale reductions of arms
an end to secret treaties
self-determination, or the right of people to choose their own
form of government, for Eastern Europe
• the creation of a “general association of nations” to keep the
peace in the future
5
Making the Peace
• What were the costs of the war?
• What issues faced the delegates to the Paris
Peace Conference?
• Why were many people dissatisfied with the
Treaty of Versailles and other peace settlements?
5
The Costs of War
• More than 8.5 million people died. Twice that number had
been wounded.
• Famine threatened many regions.
• Across the European continent, homes, farms, factories,
roads, and churches had been shelled to rubble.
• People everywhere were shaken and disillusioned.
• Governments had collapsed in Russia, Germany, AustriaHungary, and the Ottoman empire.
5
Casualties of World War I
Deaths
in Battle
Wounded
in Battle
1,357,800
908,371
1,700,000
462,391
50,585
502,421
4,266,000
2,090,212
4,950,000
953,886
205,690
342,585
1,808,546
922,500
325,000
4,247,143
3,620,000
400,000
Allies
France
British empire
Russia
Italy
United States
Others
Central Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman empire
Countries
Total
Mobilized
Killed
& Died
Wounded
Prisoners
& Missing
Total
Casualties
Casualties %
of Mobilized
Allied Powers
Russia
12,000,000
1,700,000
4,950,000
2,500,000
9,150,000
76.3
France
8,410,000
1,357,800
4,266,000
537,000
6,160,800
76.3
British Empire
8,904,467
908,371
2,090,212
191,652
3,190,235
35.8
Italy
5,615,000
650,000
947,000
600,000
2,197,000
39.1
United States
4,355,000
126,000
234,300
4,500
364,800
8.2
Japan
800,000
300
907
3
1,210
0.2
Romania
750,000
335,706
120,000
80,000
535,706
71.4
Serbia
707,343
45,000
133,148
152,958
331,106
46.8
Belgium
267,000
13,716
44,686
34,659
93,061
34.9
Greece
230,000
5,000
21,000
1,000
17,000
11.7
Portugal
100,000
7,222
13,751
12,318
33,291
33.3
50,000
3,000
10,000
7,000
20,000
40.0
42,188,810
5,152,115
12,831,004
4,121,090
22,104,209
52.3
Germany
11,000,000
1,773,700
4,216,058
1,152,800
7,142,558
64.9
AustriaHungary
7,800,000
1,200,000
3,620,000
2,200,000
7,020,000
90.0
Turkey
2,850,000
325,000
400,000
250,000
975,000
34.2
Bulgaria
1,200,000
87,500
152,390
27,029
266,919
22.2
Total
22,850,000
3,386,200
8,388,448
3,629,829
15,404,477
67.4
Grand Total
65,038,810
8,538,315
21,219,452
7,750,919
37,508,686
57.6
Montenegro
Total
Central
Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Cost in Dollars
in 1914-18
37,775,000,000
20,622,960,000
Turkey
Bulgaria
1,430,000,000
815,200,000
Total of all Costs
60,643,160,000
Central Powers
American Lives Lost:
Cause of
Death
Overseas
Domestic
Total
Killed in Action
36,926
5
36,931
Died of Wounds
13,628
45
13,673
Died of
Accident
2,557
1,946
4,503
Drowned
328
399
727
Committed
Suicide
296
671
967
Murdered
159
159
318
Executed
11
25
36
131
190
321
54,036
3,440
57,476
Other Deaths
Total
5
The Paris Peace Conference
The delegates to the Paris Peace Conference faced many difficult
issues:
•
The Allied leaders had different aims.
•
The Italians insisted that the Allies honor their secret
agreement to gain Austria-Hungary. Such secret agreements
violated Wilson’s principle of self-determination.
• Many people who had been ruled by Russia, Austria-Hungary,
or the Ottoman empire now demanded national states of their
own. The territories claimed by these people often overlapped,
so it was impossible to satisfy them all.
5
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty:
• forced Germany to assume full blame for causing the war.
• imposed huge reparations upon Germany.
Russia was not included in any negotiations.
The Treaty aimed at weakening Germany by:
• limiting the size of the German military,
• returning Alsace and Lorraine to France,
• removing hundreds of miles of territory from Germany,
• stripping Germany of its overseas colonies.
The Germans signed the treaty because they had no choice, but German
resentment of the Treaty of Versailles would poison the international climate
for 20 years and lead to an even deadlier world war. Humiliated, bankrupt,
and broken, Germany will vow revenge!
5
1914
Europe
in 1914
and
1920
Europe
in 1914
and
1920
5
1920
1914
1920
5
Widespread Dissatisfaction
Eastern Europe remained a center of conflict.
Colonized peoples from Africa to the Middle East and across Asia
were angry that self-determination was not applied to them.
Italy was angry because it did not get all the lands promised in a
secret treaty with the Allies.
Japan was angry that western nations refused to honor its claims
in China.
Russia resented the reestablishment of a Polish nation and three
Baltic states on lands that had been part of the Russian empire.
5
World War I: Cause and Effect
Long-Term Causes
Immediate Causes
Imperialist and economic rivalries among
European powers
Austria-Hungary’s annexation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina
European alliance system
Fighting in the Balkans
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Militarism and arms race
Nationalist tensions in Balkans
Immediate Effects
German invasion of Belgium
Long-Term Effects
Enormous cost in lives and money
Russian Revolution
Economic impact of war debts on Europe
Creation of new nations in Eastern Europe
Emergence of United States and Japan as
important powers
Requirement that Germany pay reparations
German loss of its overseas colonies
Balfour Declaration
League of Nations
Growth of nationalism in colonies
Rise of fascism
World War II
We refuse to ratify the Treaty of Versailles
• The Republicans led by Henry Cabot Lodge will not ratify the Treaty —back
to Isolationism and no more foreign entanglements!!! In the upcoming
election, any Republican would have won over the Democrats.
• Wilson ruins his health trying to get support for his League of Nations and
the Treaty ratification, but his health fails—and then so does he. US signs
a separate peace with Germany, and does not join the League of Nations,
therefore dooming it to failure and another World War…
Wilson might have
succeeded if
he could have
compromised, but
it was not in his
nature to compromise
on what was right.
How did the poppy become a symbol of
remembrance?
•
•
•
Flanders is the name of the whole western part of
Belgium. It saw some of the most concentrated and
bloodiest fights at the first world war . There was
complete devastation: buildings, roads, trees and natural
life is simply disappeared. Where once there were homes
and farms, there was now a sea of mud and graves for
the dead where the men still lived and fought.
Only one other living thing survived and that was the
poppy ,flowering each year with the coming of the warm
weather brought life, hope, color and reassurance to
those still fighting.
Poppies on flower thrive in uprooted soil. Their seeds
can lay in the ground for years without germinating and
will only grow after the ground has been disturbed.
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In
Flanders Fields.
John McCrae 1915
In Flanders
Fields
By 1918 the poem was well known
throughout the allied world. Moina
Michael, an American woman, wrote
these lines in reply.
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
She then adopted the custom of wearing a
red poppy in memory of the sacrifices of
war and also as a symbol of keeping the
faith.
• Since it began in 1921, the Poppy Appeal has raised over £518m for war
veterans and their families. Poppies will go on sale this weekend but after the
death of the last British World War One veteran, Sam Wood asks whether the
poppy is still relevant
• MY granddad tells me about what it was like to grow up during the war with the
rationing and everything," says 10-year-old Megan Armstrong. "Soldiers fought
and died to save this country and we should remember that."
• Megan and her classmates at Canning Street Primary School in Newcastle will
be among 40 million people who buy poppies as part of the Royal British
Legion’s annual campaign this year. In the North East alone 200,000 veterans
and their families are eligible for support, and £10,000 is distributed every
week in the region.
• But after the death of the last surviving
World War One veteran Harry Patch earlier
this year, questions have been raised about
whether the poppy – a symbol of the killing
fields of the Great War – is still relevant
today.
• Dr Martin Farr, of the School of Historical
Studies at Newcastle University, said it
would be almost impossible to come up
with a symbol as powerful and simple as the
poppy.
He said: "Current conflicts add resonance and make people think. Some
of the images we have seen coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan
have been shocking and that will strengthen the support for the appeal I
would think.
"If you paid an expensive London advertising company top money, they
could not come up with a better symbol than the poppy. It is just so
simple and gets the message across. There are still legs in it even after
the sad death of Harry Patch.
• A French woman, Madam Guerin, visiting the
United States, learned of the custom and
took it one step further. When she returned
to France she decided to hand make the red
poppies and sell them to raise money for the
benefit of the orphaned and destitute women
and children in war-torn areas of France.
• This tradition spread to The United Kingdom,
Canada, The United States and Australia and
is still followed today. The money collected
from the sale of poppies goes to fund various
veterans programs.
Last WWI American
Veteran Turns 109
• Nearly five million Americans served in World War I. One remains alive, and he's
celebrating his birthday today.
• Frank Buckles was born Feb. 1, 1901. Yes, he's 109 today.
• More quick math will tell you he was only 16 when the United States got involved
in the war in 1917.
• According to a USA Today report from 2007, when Buckles was 16, he walked into
a Marine Corps recruiting office, saying he was 18. Not believing him, the
recruiter sent him away.
• The Navy also rejected him -- flat feet.
• Proof that Buckles was 21 was in his family Bible back home, he swore to an Army
recruiter. That one worked.
• He trained as an ambulance driver and got into the war, but not into combat. The
armistice was signed bringing the peace in 1918.
• Buckles lives in West Virginia.
Far from the deadliest epidemic.
The Bubonic Plague.
Just mention the name and you will send shivers down the spine of
many people. There is no doubt that this disease was deadly. Deadly
and gruesome to watch.
The death rate was 90% for those exposed to the bacterium. It was
transmitted by the fleas from infected Old English black rats. The
symptoms were clear: swollen lymph nodes (buboes, hence the name),
high fever, and delirium. In the worst case, the lungs became infected
and the pneumonic form was spread from person to person by coughing,
sneezing, or simply talking.
From the time of infection to death was less than one week.
There were three major epidemics - in the 6th, 14th, and 17th
centuries. The death toll was 137 million victims. As a result, the plague
is considered to be the worst epidemic of all time, but it wasn't (not that
we are downplaying the severity of the plague).
At its worst, the bubonic plague killed 2 million victims a year.
This is certainly a bad situation, but there is one that is worse.
The 1918 Pandemic
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The pandemic (an epidemic that is spread worldwide) that killed at least 25 million
people in one year. A disease that is largely forgotten.
A disease that occurred in the 20th century!
I know what you're thinking - AID's, Syphilis, or the dreaded Ebola.
All are wrong. It was the influenza of 1918-1919, right after World War I (the war
killed 9 million men in 4 years) This was no minor disease - everyone on the planet
was at risk. And it was started right here in the good old U. S. of A. In one year,
nearly twenty million cases were reported in the United States, accounting for
almost one million deaths.
The cause is still unknown, but is believed to have been a mutated swine virus. It
all started on the morning of March 11, 1918 at Camp Funston, Kansas. A
company cook named Albert Mitchell reported to the infirmary with typical flu-like
symptoms - a low-grade fever, mild sore throat, slight headache, and muscle aches.
Bed rest was recommended. By noon, 107 soldiers were sick.
Within two days, 522 people were sick. Many were gravely ill with severe
pneumonia.
Then reports started coming in from other military bases around the
country. Thousands of sailors docked off the East Coast were sick.
Within a week, the influenza was hitting isolated places, such as the island of
Alcatraz. Whatever the cause, it was clearly airborne.
Within seven days, every state in the Union had been infected.
The Influenza
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Then it spread across the Atlantic. By April, French troops and civilians were
infected. By mid-April, the disease had spread to China and Japan. By May, the
virus was spread throughout Africa and South America. The actual killer was the
pneumonia that accompanied the infection.
In Philadelphia, 158 out of every 1000 people died. 148 out of 1000 in Baltimore.
109 out of 1000 in Washington, D. C..
The good news (if there was any) was that the disease peaked within two to three
weeks after showing up in a given city. It left as quickly as it arrived. The United
States death toll was a total of 850,000 people, making it an area of the world that
was least devastated by this virus.
Sixty percent of the Eskimo population was wiped out in Nome, Alaska. 80-90% of
the Samoan population was infected, many of the survivors dying from starvation
(they lacked the energy to feed themselves).
Luxury ocean liners from Europe would arrive in New York with 7% less passengers
than they embarked with. The confined area of the ship was especially conducive
to the spread of the disease.
In the end, 25 million people had died. Some estimates put the number as high as
37 million. Eighteen months after the disease appeared, the flu bug vanished and
has never shown up again.
So what happened?
The Spanish Flu
• Until recently, no one was really sure. In March of 1997, the news broke
that researchers at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in
Washington, D. C. had isolated genetic material from the virus.
• This was no easy task. The living virus is no longer around. It turns out
that while conducting autopsies in 1918, Army doctors had preserved
some specimens in formaldehyde. One of these jars contained the lungs
of a 21 year old soldier who died on September 26, 1918. Bingo!
• The researchers spent nearly two years extracting just seven percent of
the genetic code, but the evidence gathered has provided a great wealth
of information. It appears that the virus passed from birds to pigs and
then to humans. These are the deadliest of all viruses. The viruses tend
to remain stable in the birds, but occasionally they infect pigs. Of course,
the pig immune system kicks into action and the virus is forced to mutate
to survive. Both the Asian flu (1957) and the Hong Kong flu (1968), which
were not as deadly, mutated from pig viruses.
• The scary part is that it could happen again - and we're not prepared for it.
• Just think H1N1!!!!
Adolf Hitler's Book, Mein Kampf, is
Published (1925)
•
•
In July of 1925, Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945) issued his autobiography. The book,
entitled Mein Kampf or My Struggle, would have a second volume in 1926; the
People's Edition appeared in 1930. The book, written while Hitler was
imprisoned early in his career, reflected his hatred of Jews, and his belief that
Germans were a superior race. Outside of Germany the book was not given much
notice, a fact the Allies would soon regret.
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Austria. He served time in Germany's
armed forces during World War I as a political spy and became a decorated
corporal. He served as leader of the German Workers' Party, which would later be
renamed the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party. In 1933, he came to
power as chancellor of the Third Reich. Despite Hitler's doing away with
democracy, the people of Germany applauded his efforts, for they were weary of
the depressed state of affairs that followed Germany's defeat in World War I. After
involving his country in a costly second world war, geared to make it the
predominant world power, Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
Pvt. Henry Tandey, VC at
Marcoing
September 28, 1918
The annals of history are full of fateful
moments which scholars refer to as the great
"what if's" of history, where if events had
taken only a slight deviation the course of
human affairs would have been dramatically
different. Such a moment occurred in the last
moments of the Great War in the French
village of Marcoing involving 27 year old
Private Henry Tandey of Warwickshire, UK,
and 29 year old Lance Corporal Adolph Hitler
of Braunau, Austria.
Henry Tandey was born in Leamington,
Warwickshire, on the 30th August 1891, son
of former soldier James Tandey. After a
difficult childhood, part of which was spent in
an orphanage, he became a boiler attendant
at a hotel in Leamington before enlisting in
the British Army, joining the Green Howards
Regiment in August 1910 and embarking on a
'Boys Own' adventurous life.
•
•
Tandey was mentioned five times in dispatches and certainly earned his VC during the
capture of the French village and crossing at Marcoing, his regiment held down by
heavy machine gun fire Tandey crawled forward, located the machine gun nest and
took it out. Arriving at the crossing he braved heavy fire to place wooden planks over a
gaping hole enabling troops to roll across and take the battle to the Germans, the day
still not over he successfully led a bayonet charge against outnumbering enemy troops
which helped bring hostilities to an end. As the ferocious battle wound down and
enemy troops surrendered or retreated a wounded German soldier limped out of the
maelstrom and into Private Tandey's line of fire, the battle weary man never raised
his rifle and just stared at Tandey resigned to the inevitable. "I took aim but couldn't
shoot a wounded man," said Tandey, "so I let him go."
The young German soldier nodded in thanks and the two men took diverging paths,
that day and in history. Hitler retreated with the remnants of German troops and
ended up in Germany, where he languished in the humiliation of defeat at wars end.
Tandey put that encounter out of his mind and rejoined his regiment, discovering soon
after he had won the Victoria Cross. It was announced in the London Gazette on 14th
December 1918 and he was personally decorated by King George V at Buckingham
Palace on 17th December 1919, in newspaper reports a picture of him carrying a
wounded soldier after the Battle of Ypres was published, a dramatic image which
symbolized a war which was supposed to have put an end to all wars and immortalized
on canvas by Italian artist Fortunino Matania.
Leaving the army in 1926 at the rank of sergeant the 35 year old settled in Leamington
where he married, settling back into civilian life he spent the next 38 years as
Commissionaire, or plant security chief, at Triumph, then called the Standard Motor
Company. He lived a quiet life and although regarded as a hero by all and sundry
wasn't one to brag or boast, wouldn't mention the war unless asked about it.
• Tandey was haunted the remainder of his life by his good deed, the simple
squeeze of a trigger would have spared the world a catastrophe which cost
tens of millions of lives. He was living in Coventry when the Luftwaffe
destroyed the city in 1940, sheltered in a doorway as the building he was
in crumbled and city burned like a scene from Dante's Inferno. He was also
in London during the Blitz and experienced that atrocity first hand, he told
a journalist in 1940, "if only I had known what he would turn out to be.
When I saw all the people, woman and children he had killed and
wounded I was sorry to God I let him go".
• When war irrupted the 49 year old tried to rejoin his regiment to see to it
that, "he didn't escape a second time", but failed the physical due to
wounds received at the Battle of the Somme. Nonetheless he did his bit on
the homefront, volunteering wherever he could be of service but was
always haunted by an act of decency to an indecent man.
• Henry Tandey VC DCM MM died without issue in Coventry in 1977 aged 86,
in accordance with his wishes he was cremated and interred at the British
Cemetery in Marcoing alongside fallen comrades and close to where he won
his Victoria Cross 60 years earlier. His widow sold his medals three years
later for a record £27.000 and on Armistice Day 1997 they were presented
to his old regiment, the Green Howards, by Sir Ernest Harrison OBE at a
special ceremony at the Tower of London and are displayed with great pride
at the Green Howards regimental museum.
Chamberlain & Hitler
• In 1938 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940),
Conservative PM from 1937-40, made his gloomy trip to
Munich to meet Chancellor Hitler in a last ditched effort
to avoid war which resulted in the ill-fated 'Munich
Agreement'. During that fateful trip Hitler invited him to
his newly completed retreat in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, a
birthday present from Martin Bormann and the NAZI
Party. Perched 6017 feet up on Kehlstein Mountain it
commanded spectacular views for 200 kilometers in all
directions. While there the Prime Minister explored the
hill top lair of the Führer and found a reproduction of
Matania's famous Marcoing painting depicting allied
troops, puzzled by the choice of art Hitler explained,
"that man came so near to killing me that I thought I
should never see Germany again, providence saved me
from such devilishly accurate fire as those English boys
were aiming at us".
•
Chamberlain's thoughts aren't recorded, World War II erupted soon after and he lost
power to Winston Churchill, dying of stomach cancer within months of that event.
Although I feel safe in assuming he wished Tandey had pulled the trigger, ridding the
world of a venomous creature. Hitler seized the moment to have his best wishes and
gratitude conveyed to Tandey by the Prime Minister, who promised to phone him on
his return to London. It wasn't until that time Tandey knew the man he had in his
gun sight 20 years earlier was Adolph Hitler and it came as a great shock, given
tensions at the time it wasn't something he felt proud about.
The story first broke in 1940 but no one gave it much thought at the time, however
in recent years it has generated greater interest. Some historians are doubtful as it
sounds too good to be true, however it has an unmistakable ring of truth to it. No
one in their right mind would make up a story about having spared the life of a
tyrant who at that time had just fire bombed Coventry, was Blitzing London and
mass murdering people on the continent.
• Hitler's regiment was in the Marcoing region at the
time although his presence cannot be verified, a
great deal of German records for the Great War
were lost in WWII due to allied bombing of Berlin
which resulted in the destruction of a significant
amount of the State Archives. So documents
showing Adolph Hitler's exact whereabouts on 28
September 1918 are not available, Hitler
biographers have differing opinions. However there
is irrefutable evidence that Hitler possessed a copy
of the famous Matania painting featuring Tandey as
early as 1937, acquiring it from Tandey's old
regiment. "Colonel Earle said that he had heard
from one Dr. Schwend that Hitler had expressed a
wish to have a large photograph of the Matania
painting.
• At the outbreak of the Great War, Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) joined
the 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment and became a Dispatch Runner.
He proved himself a capable and brave soldier, was twice wounded,
once almost fatally gassed and awarded the Iron Cross in recognition
of his bravery. He had a deep sense of destiny entwined with
delusions of grandeur and a warped view of the world, influenced by
melodramatic Wagnerian operas he cast himself as the savior of the
Germanic race.
• He believed Private Tandey's benevolent action was part of the
grand scheme of things, the gods were watching over their emissary,
which was also his sentiment upon surviving assassination attempts
later on. Hitler never forgot the moment he stared down the barrel
of death, nor the face of the man who spared him, he stumbled
across a newspaper featuring the famous image of Private Tandey
which noted his being awarded the VC for bravery. Hitler kept it and
on becoming Chancellor of Germany ordered government officials to
obtain a copy of his service record and reproduction of the Matania
painting, which he hung and pointed out to loyal disciples with
pride.
Rasputin, the
Mad Monk
• During the fateful last evening of Rasputin's life, the conspirators drugged
with poisoned wine (he had taken enough cyanide to kill six men),
poisoned with cyanide in the cakes, shot at point blank range, beaten, and
then dumped in the river. Yet the monk survived all of these and actually
died by drowning when his body, wrapped in a carpet was thrown into the
Moika Canal on the Neva River. Rasputin's corpse was discovered under
the ice of the Neva on December 19. His hands had been untied and there
was water in his lungs. He died from drowning.
Tsar Nicholas of
Russia
The Last of the
Romanovs
The Last of the
Romanovs:
L to R: Olga, Marie,
Nicholas II, Alexandra,
Anastasia, Alexei,
Tatiana
• The Romanovs were
murdered by the
Bolshevik guards,
machine- gunned to
death, thus
eliminating the
threat of a countercoup by the
supporters of the
Czar. Rumors
persisted that
Anastasia had
escaped this fate.
Nicholas II, Olga,
Tatiana, Marie,
Anastasia, and
Alexei (photo
taken by
Alexandra)
Anastasia
Lives?
Most persistent was the claim that the Tsar’s youngest
daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia, survived. (Anastasia is
Greek for “the woman who rose again.”) Only 17 at the time of
the execution, the Russian report had it that she had not been
hit by bullets (some may have ricocheted off her jewelry) but
merely fainted. She revived moments later in a pool of her
family’s blood and began screaming. At this point she was run
through with many bayonets and bludgeoned to death. This
much was reported and this much was confirmed in recent
excavations.
The Anastasia rumors lived, bolstered perhaps by her failure
to die in the initial volley. As early as 1925 Grand Duchess Olga
(the Tsar’s sister) interviewed one Anna Anderson in Berlin.
Anderson was a young woman with a history of mental illness,
and Olga quickly rejected her claim to be Anastasia. Yet just
three years later the first of at least four books was published
claiming Anna Anderson was Anastasia. One, purporting to be
a first-person account, titled I am Anastasia, was even rejected
as a forgery by Anderson herself. Her claim was featured in a
1956 cover article in Life. Over the years additional fauxAnastasias appeared, many of them interviewed and rejected
by Olga, who died in 1960. The Anastasia mania inspired four
films, five plays, a musical, two ballets, two TV shows, and a
1956 song by Pat Boone. Ingrid Bergman copped an Oscar for
her role in the 1956 eponymously titled movie.
Lenin
• Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин), original surname
Ulyanov (Улья́нов) (April 22 (April 10 (O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a
Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the
Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism.
• "Lenin" was one of his revolutionary pseudonyms. He is believed to have created
it to show his opposition to Georgi Plekhanov who used the pseudonym Volgin,
after the Volga River; Ulyanov picked the Lena which is longer and flows in the
opposite direction. However, there are many theories on where his name came
from and he himself is not known to have ever stated exactly why he chose it.
He is sometimes erroneously referred to in the West as "Nikolai Lenin", though
he has never been known as such in Russia.
• Lenin was chilling in a German jail until his sudden release. He was put on a
train back to Russia and he fomented a revolution that took Russia out of The
Great War.
"Fire!"
By 1949, the Soviets had expanded their control to
cover most of Eastern Europe, and it appeared
that China would soon fall to the communists as
well.
"The fear-filled forties and fifties were a dark
period when the spread of communism abroad
increased anxieties and frustration at home,"
wrote Herb Block. In their zeal to stamp out all
signs of subversion in the United States,
professional and amateur anti-communists
threatened to suppress American liberties as
well," Fire!" June 17, 1949 Reproduction from
original drawing Published in the Washington
Post (25)
Revolution in Russia
(1917–1939)
Revolution in Russia (1917–1939)
Section 1: Two Revolutions in Russia
Section 2: From Lenin to Stalin
Section 3: Life in a Totalitarian State
1
Two Revolutions in Russia
• Why did revolution occur in Russia in March 1917?
• Why did Lenin and the Bolsheviks launch the November
revolution?
• How did the Communists defeat their opponents in
Russia’s civil war?
1
Why Did Revolution Occur in Russia in March
1917?
• Czars had made some reforms, but too few to ease the
nation’s tensions.
• Much of the majority peasant population endured stark
poverty.
• Revolutionaries worked to hatch radical plots.
• World War I was producing disasters on the battlefield for
the Russian army, and food and fuel shortages on the home
front.
• Rasputin’s influence in domestic affairs weakened
confidence in the government.
1
Why Did Lenin and the Bolsheviks Launch the November
Revolution?
Lenin adapted Marxist ideas to fit Russian conditions. He called
for an elite group to lead the revolution and set up a “dictatorship
of the proletariat.”
Conditions were ripe for Lenin and the Bolsheviks to make their
move:
•
•
•
•
The provisional government continued the war effort and failed
to deal with land reform.
In the summer of 1917, the government launched a disastrous
offensive against Germany.
The army was in terrible shape and growing numbers of troops
mutinied.
Peasants seized land and drove off fearful landlords.
1
Russian Civil War
How did the Communists defeat their
opponents in Russia’s civil war?
Lenin quickly made peace with Germany so that the
Communists could focus all their energy on defeating enemies at
home.
The Communists adopted a policy called “war communism.”
They took over banks, mines, factories, and railroads,
took control of food produced by peasants, and drafted
peasant laborers into military or factory work.
Trotsky turned the Red Army into an effective fighting force.
When the Allies intervened to support the Whites, the
Communists appealed to nationalism and urged Russians to drive
out the foreigners.
2
From Lenin to Stalin
• How did the Communist state develop under Lenin?
• What were the effects of Stalin’s five-year plans?
• How did Soviet foreign policy affect relations with the
western powers?
2
Turning Points in Russia, 1914–1921
1914
August
World War I begins.
1917
March
Revolution forces the czar to abdicate. A provisional government is formed.
April
Lenin returns to Russia.
July
Russians suffer more than 50,000 casualties in battle against German and AustroHungarian forces.
November
A second revolution results in Bolshevik takeover of government.
December
Bolshevik government seeks peace with Germany.
1918
March
Russia signs treaty of Brest-Litovsk, losing a large amount of territory.
July
Civil war between the Reds and Whites begins.
The czar and his family are executed.
August
British, American, Japanese, and other foreign forces intervene in Russia.
1921
March
Communist government is victorious. Only sporadic fighting continues.
2
The Communist State Under Lenin
The Communists produced a new constitution that:
•
•
•
set up an elected legislature, later called the Supreme Soviet
gave all citizens over 18 the right to vote
placed all political power, resources, and means of production in the hands of
the workers and peasants
The new government united much of the old Russian empire in the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union.
Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy, or NEP.
•
•
It allowed some capitalist ventures.
The state kept control of banks, foreign trade, and large industries. Small
businesses were allowed to reopen for private profit.
2
Soviet Union, 1917–1938
2
Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
Once in power, Stalin set out to make the Soviet Union a modern industrial
power. He put into place several “five-year plans” aimed at building heavy
industry, improving transportation, and increasing farm output.
• Stalin brought all economic activity under government control.
The Soviet Union developed a command economy, in which
government officials made all basic economic decisions.
• Stalin also brought agriculture under government control. He
forced peasants to give up their land and live on either stateowned farms or collectives, large farms owned and operated
by peasants as a group.
• Overall, standards of living remained poor. Wages were low,
and consumer goods were scarce.
2
The Great Purge
Stalin harbored obsessive fears that rival party leaders were
plotting against him. In 1934, he launched the Great Purge.
• At least four million people were purged during the Stalin years.
• The purges increased Stalin’s power.
• The victims of the purges included most of the nation’s military
leadership. This loss of military leadership would weigh heavily
on Stalin in 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
Leon Trotsky was a close friend of Lenin and shared idealistic ideas
about the Communist state. He can be seen with Lenin in both photos.
But Trotsky was deported in1929 and declared “an enemy of the State”, as a
threat to Stalin’s power, so Stalin had Trotsky airbrushed out of the pix.
Many
others
will be
“erased”.
Some
for real!
The Case of the
Vanishing
Commissar
Stalin’s enemies just
seem to disappear!
Nikolai Yezhov, chief of
the Soviet secret police
Knew where too many
bodies were buried, so
he is made to vanish.
2
Soviet Foreign Policy
Between 1917 and 1939, the Soviet Union pursued two very
different goals in foreign policy.
As Communists, both Lenin and Stalin wanted to bring about
the worldwide revolution that Marx had predicted.
• Lenin formed the Communist International, or Comintern, which aided
revolutionary groups around the world.
As Russians, they wanted to guarantee their nation’s security
by winning the support of other countries.
•The Soviet Union sought to join the League of Nations.
The Comintern’s propaganda against capitalism made western
powers highly suspicious of the Soviet Union.
3
A Totalitarian State
Stalin turned the Soviet Union into a totalitarian state. In this
form of government, a one-party dictatorship attempts to
regulate every aspect of the lives of its citizens.
•
To ensure obedience, Stalin used secret police (the KGB),
censorship, violent purges, and terror.
•
The party bombarded the public with relentless propaganda.
•
The Communists replaced religion with their own ideology.
3
Changes in Soviet Society, Comrade!
The Communists transformed Russian life.
• They created a society where a few elite groups emerged as
a new ruling class.
• The state provided free education, free medical care, day
care for children, inexpensive housing, and public recreation.
But quality of everything was poor and the average person
had no choices.
• Women were granted equality under the law.
• There was no place for the Church in the regime.
3
State Control and the Arts
Stalin forced artists and writers to conform to a style called
socialist realism. Its goal was to boost socialism by showing
Soviet life in a positive light. Lots of statues of himself were
evident.
Government controlled what books were published, what
music was heard, and which works of art were displayed.
Censorship and propaganda were rampant and the State
controlled all news, information, and media.
Writers, artists, and composers faced government persecution.
They were killed or sent to Siberia, or imprisoned in a gulag.
Few people were allowed to emigrate and fewer people were
allowed in.
Hitler/Soviet Pact