Transcript The Great War World War I

The Great War
World War I
1914-1918
Elias Schaefer, Courtney Haring,
Phillip Norman, Suzanne Hesse
Key Leaders and Their
Roles
Woodrow Wilson:
• President during entire war
• Wanted to remain neutral
• Kept his promise even when the British
liner Lusitania was sunk by German
submarines even when around 124
Americans were killed.
• “There is such a thing as a man being too
proud to fight.”
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• Before Wilson’s reelection the public believed,
“he kept us out of war.”
• Forced to join when German submarine warfare
began and when the Zimmerman telegraph was
sent in 1917.
• On April 6 Wilson declared war.
• He said it was a, “war to end war.”
• Wilson then proposed his “Fourteen Points” a
peace settlement and an attempt for a better
world.
“We wish her only to accept a place of equality
among the peoples of the world--the new world in
which we now live--instead of a place of mastery.”
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John J. Pershing:
• Supreme Allied Commander
• Arrived in England June 7, 1917.
• At Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood, U.S.
helped stop German advance.
• Led the American Expeditionary Force
during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive,
which broke German lines and ended war.
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•Returned to the U.S. as a hero.
•The success of the troops
credited to Pershing.
•By the end of the war he
commanded 1.8 million men.
“A competent leader can get
efficient service from poor troops,
while on the contrary an incapable
leader can demoralize the best of
troops.”
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US Involvement in 1917
•When the war began in 1914, the Isolationist Foreign Policy
kept America Neutral until 1917.
•It was difficult to remain neutral due to several long term
causes such as…
•Nationalism-An atmosphere of competition created a
absolute pride in one’s country and tension between
others.
•Imperialism-European nations built empires to extend
their political and economic control. As Germany
industrialized Europe and Germany competed for
colonies.
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• Militarism- Militaries grew in size as nationalism and
imperialism increased. Each nation needed a stronger
military in order to beat out other countries and gain new
territory.
• Alliance System- Two major allies increased tension and
once one country was in war, the alliance system forced the
rest of the allies to join the war also.
Triple Entente (Allies)
Triple Alliance
France
Germany
Britain
Austria-Hungary
Russia
Ottoman Empire
Italy
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Short Term Cause of US Involvement
The Zimmermann Note
•The note was a coded telegram
dispatched by Arthur Zimmermann of
The German Empire to the German
Ambassador of Washington.
•The note was also sent to Mexico and
requested an alliance against America
and a promise of the land back to
Mexico they lost in the MexicanAmerican War. Germany purposed
unrestricted submarine warfare against
the United States.
•It was intercepted and decoded by the
British and led to the United States
entrance in the war on April 6.
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Battle of St. Mihiel
•
•
September 12-15 1918
American Expeditionary Force and 48,000 French Troops under the
command of John J. Pershing pursued the City of Metz.
• They caught Germany retreating which made the battle more
successful because Germany had misplaced most artillery.
• Due to the outdistancing of artillery and food supplies, Metz was not
captured but proved the United States “Stature improved” according to
Britain and France.
Significance
• Illustrated the critical role of artillery
• First US solo offensive in WWI
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Battle of Meuse-Argonne
• Planned by Marshall Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg
line and force German Forces to surrender.
• “Grand offensive” (Hundred Day Offense) by Allies on the
Western Front.
• Involved troops from France, Britain, Canada, Australia and
New Zealand.
• Allies advanced through Argonne Forest to attack leading to a
victory.
• Main US effort took place in Verdun Sector Sept. 26 – Nov. 11
Significance
• Biggest Operation and victory of the American Expeditionary
Forces
• Deadliest Battle
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Public View on the War
• Before: Americans saw no need to join a
war that was 3,000 miles away across the
Atlantic Ocean. Because the war was not
hurting or threatening American lives or
property. But that didn’t mean Americans
had an opinion about the “Great War.”
Public View (continued)
During: Due to the immensity of World
War 1 the entire economy had to be
redirected in order to raise money for
the war. Therefore Congress gave
Wilson direct control over the economy.
After: Many Americans looked forward
to returning to their everyday lives what
President Warren G. Harding called
“normalcy.”
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Divided Loyalties in America
Before the United States entered
World War 1 they saw no need to get
involved in European affairs. But the
didn’t mean Americans had an
opinion about the “Great War.”
Socialists: Viewed the war as a
capitalist and imperialistic struggle
between Germany and England. To
control markets and colonies in
China, Africa, and the Middle East.
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Divided Loyalties (cont.)
Pacifists: Viewed the war as evil and
the U.S. should set an example of
peace to the world. (ex: William
Jennings Bryan & Jeannette Rankin)
In general Americans felt close to
Great Britain due to similar ancestry,
language, democratic institutions, and
legal systems. And so the United
States had strong economic ties with
the Allies before, during, and after the
war.
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Cost in Money and Lives
Between 1914-1918…
U.S- $22,625,253,000
Germany- $37,775,000,000
Britain- $35,334,012,000
France- $24,265,583,000
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About 65 million people fought around the
world
•
•
•
•
8 million killed in battle
2 million died of disease
21.2 million wounded
7.8 million were prisoners of war or went
missing in action.
• 6.6 million civilians were killed
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4,734,991 American soldiers participated…
• 116, 516 were killed
• 204, 002 were wounded
• 320, 518 total casualties
• Over 100,000 soldiers held prisoner.
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Financial Costs After War
• Disabled soldiers had to be cared for
• Rebuilding homes and industries
• Cemeteries and war memorials built
and cared for
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WWI compared to WWII and
the Iraq war
WWI
WWII
Iraq
casualties: 320,518 497,000
70,000
costs:
196.5 bil. 2,091.3 bil. 1.3 tril.
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Negative Effects
• World War I Caused tension between
nations. This will generally happen in
any war, and this war was no exception.
• Again, like any war many lives were
lost. America lost few compared to other
nations but still lost a great number of
soldiers.
War Conditions
• Soldiers had to fight in terrible conditions.
They had to fight in trenches, which would
fill with water and bodies of fallen soldiers.
This caused all kinds of diseases to
spread in the trenches. Many soldiers
died in world war one, but not just from
gunfire. There was a great deal of men
who died just from the poor conditions in
the trenches alone.
Bibliography
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www.history-world.org
www.lib.byu.edu
www.worldwar1.com
www.threeworldwars.com
www.paralumun.org
William Matthews and Dixon Wecter, Our Soldiers Speak 1775-1918.
Brown and Co., 1943
• Adele Comandini, I Saw Them Die: The Diary and Recollections of
Shirley Millard. Brace & Co., 1936.