Transcript Fighting In France

By: Laura Stokes
Jesus Daal
Alec John
 Identify and explain how the Treaty of Versailles and
the League of Nations led to another war.
 Determine why the League of Nations was detested by
many people.
 Identify the US’s contributions to WWI.
 Understand how the style of war changed from
traditional to modern.
 The Bolshevik Revolution happened in 1917
 The revolution allowed Russia to pull out of WWI
 Freed thousands of Germans to fight the Western front
in France
 US fight for “democracy”
 Spring 1918: 500,000 German Huns advanced
forward towards France
 Able to move fast because they moved with very few
arms and supplies
 Heavy bombing of Allied lines
 Krupp Canons shot over 180 shells at Paris from
over 74 miles away
 One of their greatest strengths and weakness
 30,000 US troops along with French Marshal Foch
sent to stop the taking of Paris
 First American engagement in an European war
 By July 1918, one million German soldiers had died
 Second Battle of the Marne
 Where: Aisne-Marne Sector (75 miles northeast of Paris)
 When: July 15 - September 16, 1918
 What happened: German Erich von Ludendorff attacked
Marne but were unsuccessful. Foch organized a
counterattack
 Casualties: 120,000 Allied, 170,000 German
 Importance: Started the German withdraw
 When: September 26 – November 11, 1918
 Where: North and Northwest of Verdun
 Who: General John J Pershing
 Goal: Cut German railroad lines to Western
front
 Importance: Biggest operation/victory of
American Expeditionary Force in WWI
 Outcome: 10% of American army injured or
dead
 On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of
1918, Germany surrendered to Allied Forces
 US Contributions: foodstuffs, munitions, credits, oil,
and manpower
 Endless amounts of US troops demoralized the Germans
 Woodrow Wilson was the “moral leader” of WWI
 In Congressional Elections of 1918, he appealed for
a Democratic victory.
 Republican majority was the turn out
 Republicans angered because Wilson went to
Europe
 No president had ever traveled to Europe before
 The conference convened in Paris on January 18,
1919
 32 countries attended (Germany was not invited)
 The major decisions were made by the Big Four — David
Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France,
Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and Wilson
 Wilson took every opportunity to advance his Fourteen
Points, in particular his cherished proposal for an
association of nations. The others held greater concern
for their nations’ security in the future than for Wilson’s
idealism.
 1. No more secret agreements
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("Open covenants openly arrived
at").
2. Free navigation of all seas.
3. An end to all economic barriers
between countries.
4. Countries to reduce weapon
numbers.
5. All decisions regarding the
colonies should be impartial
6. The German Army is to be
removed from Russia. Russia
should be left to develop
her own political set-up.
7. Belgium should be independent
like before the war.
8. France should be fully liberated
and allowed to recover AlsaceLorraine
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9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in
Italy. Italy's borders are to "along clearly
recognizable lines of nationality."
10. Self-determination should be allowed
for all those living in Austria-Hungary.
11. Self-determination and guarantees of
independence should be allowed for
the Balkan states.
12. The Turkish people should be
governed by the Turkish government.
Non-Turks in
the old Turkish Empire should govern
themselves.
13. An independent Poland should be
created which should have access to the
sea.
14. A League of Nations should be set up
to guarantee the political and territorial
independence of all states
 Some tension causing issues were:
 The British opposed any move toward freedom of the seas, sought
primacy in the Middle East and hoped to take control of a number
of German colonies
 France made no secret of its commitment to regain Alsace and
Lorraine
 Italian nationalists raised the cry of “Italia Irredenta” (Italy
Redeemed) as the slogan for their drive for primacy in the Adriatic
 The Japanese wanted German holdings in the Shantung Peninsula
of China as well as a number of German islands
 Russia wanted Constantinople, but didn’t receive it because of the
earlier treaty the Bolshevik government made with Germany
 At the Paris Conference, Woodrow Wilson wanted an
association of the world’s countries
 The League of Nations would be an assembly with seats for
all nations and a council to be controlled by the great
powers
 Goals: disarmament, preventing war through collective security,
settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy
and improving global welfare
 February 1919: League Covenant created
 Strengths: 42 initial members (moved up to 60 in the 30’s), Britain
and France were “leaders”, could impose economic sanctions,
arbitration
 Weaknesses: No army, US and Russia weren’t members, poor
organization, never agreed on decisions
 “The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no
good at all when eagles fall out.”
 Benito Mussilini
 Irish-Americans, isolationists, liberals detested
 Republicans had great animosity towards the
League of Nations
 They claimed it would never be approved because US
didn’t want involvement with Europe
 This delighted Allied adversaries in Paris who now
had a stronger bargaining power because Wilson
wanted to protect American interests by changing
the Covenant
 After watching the video and discussing the political
cartoons, decide and explain whether the League of
Nations was or was not successful.
 League of Nations
Territorial:
 The following land was taken away from Germany : Alsace-Lorraine
(France), Eupen and Malmedy (Belgium), Northern Schleswig
(Denmark), Hultschin (Czechoslovakia), West Prussia, Posen and
Upper Silesia (Poland)
 The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League
of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to
stay in Germany.
 Japan kept economic holdings in Shandong
 Pledged to return to China later
 The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas
colonies.
 Germany had to return land to Russia taken in the Treaty of BrestLitovsk.
 Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
Poland also received some of this land.
Military:
 Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men
 Allowed 6 naval ships
 Not allowed: air force, tanks, submarines,
 The west of the Rhineland and east of the Rhine
River was made into a demilitarized zone (DMZ).
 No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this
zone
 The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on
the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.
Financial:
 Loss of vital industrial territory
 Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a
vital economic loss
 Reparations
 Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria, an
attempt to keep economic potential to a minimum
Three vital clauses:
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Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting
the war
German had to pay reparations since they were
responsible for the war.
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The bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for
the damage done
Payment could be in kind or cash
The figure was not set at Versailles. The Germans were told to
write a blank check, which the Allies would cash when it
suited them. The figure was eventually put at $32 billion
League of Nations was to be created to keep the peace
 Called the treaty the Diktat (dictation)
 Germans weren’t involved with the creation of the treaty
 Left mood of anger throughout Germany
 Fourteen Points left out
 Many didn’t approve of the treaty but were forced to sign it
 “November Criminals”
 In last attempt of defiance, the German navy sank itself
 Many German citizens felt that they were being punished
for the mistakes of the German government in August 1914
as it was the government that had declared war not the
people.
 Satisfied the "Big Three" as in their eyes
 Kept Germany weak yet strong enough to spread
communism
Submarines/Torpedoes
 Red Baron
 Zeppelins
 Ace Pilots (5 victories)
 Republicans:
 President Canidate:
Warren G Harding
 VP: Calvin Coolidge
 Appealed to Pro-League
and Anti-League Parties
 Democrats:
 President: James M Cox
 VP: Franklin D. Roosevelt
 Pro-League Party
 Warren Harding won the election
 Leads to the fall of the League of Nations
 Israeli Palestinian Conflicts
 Peace never met; anger and tension
 Security Treaty (US and Britain protect France)
 World’s police
 “Modern” Warfare
 Technology, total destruction, civilians
 League of Nations
 Similar to the UN