Transcript AMERICAN POWER TIPS THE BALANCE (Chapter 11, Section 2)

AMERICAN POWER
TIPS THE BALANCE
(Chapter 11, Section 2)
1914-1918
America Mobilizes
 America was not ready for
war – only 200,000 men were
in service when war was
declared
 Congress passed the
Selective Service Act in May
of 1917
 By the end of 1918, 24
million had signed up and
almost 3 million were called
to duty
 About 2 million American
troops reached Europe
FRESH U.S. SOLDIERS JOIN
THE FIGHT
 After 2 ½ years of fighting,
the Allied forces were
exhausted
 One of the main
contributions of the Americans
was fresh and enthusiastic
troops
 American infantry were
nicknamed “doughboys”
because of their white belts
 Most doughboys had never
ventured far from the farms or
small towns they lived in
SEGREGATED TROOPS
 About 400,000 African
Americans served in the
segregated army. Most
African Americans served
in noncombat duties,
although there were
exceptions
 Women were not
allowed to enlist, the army
reluctantly accepted
women in the Army Corps
of Nurses, but denied
them army rank, pay , and
benefits.
Soldiers of the 369th (15th N.Y.) who
won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry
in action, 1919
MASS PRODUCTION
The mass production of
ships increased by
exempting shipyard
workers from the draft and
fabricating parts of ships.
The United States had to
find a way to transport
men, food, and equipment
over thousands of miles of
submarine infested ocean.
On July 4, 1918 the U.S. launched 95 ships
 The use of a convoy
system (heavy guard of
destroyers to escort
merchant/transport ships)
cut U-boat losses in half.
NEW WEAPONS USED
 Machine Guns – Guns could now fire 600 rounds per minute
 The Tank – New steel tanks ran on caterpillar treads
 Airplanes – Early dogfights resembled duals, however by 1918 the
British had a fleet of planes that could deliver bomb loads
 Poison Gas – mustard gas was used to subdue the enemy
Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum est (1917)
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in.
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Famous poem by Wilfred
Owen about the evils of
mustard gas
Animals were also
susceptible to gas
AMERICAN TROOPS GO ON
THE OFFENSIVE
 When Russia surrendered to
the Germans in 1917, it allowed
the Central Powers to focus on
the Western Front
 By May, the Germans were
within 50 miles of Paris
Men of the 42nd Division during the
Second Marne. These men were
killed by artillery fire just 5 minutes
after this photo was taken
 The Americans arrived and
immediately played a major role in
pushing the Germans back
In July and August the Americans
helped the Allies win the Second
Battle of the Marne
AMERICAN WAR HERO
 Alvin York, a blacksmith from
Tennessee, originally sought an
exemption from the war as a
Conscientious Objector
 York eventually decided it was
morally acceptable to fight if the
cause was right
 On October 8, 1918, armed
with only a rifle and a revolver,
York killed 25 Germans and (with
six doughboys) captured 132
prisoners
The man
The movie
 Upon his return home he was
promoted to Sergeant and hailed
a hero
GERMANY
GERMANY COLLAPSES;
COLLAPSES,
THE GREAT
WAR WAR
ENDSENDS
 On November 3, 1918,
Germany’s partner, AustriaHungary, surrendered to the
Allies
 That same day, German sailors
mutinied against their
government
 Other revolts followed, and
Germany was too exhausted to
continue
 So at the eleventh hour, on the
eleventh day, of the eleventh
month of 1918, Germany signed
a truce ending the Great War
War ends 11/11/18
THE FINAL TOLL
World War I memorial in Washington D.C.
 World War I was the
bloodiest war in history up t
that time. Deaths numbered
about 22 million, more than
half of them civilians.
In addition, 20 million
people were wounded, and
10 million more became
refugees.
The direct economic costs
of the war may have been
about $338 billion.
The United States lost
48,000 men in battle, with
another 62,000 dying of
disease. More than 200,000
Americans were wounded
Partner Question, Chapter
11, Section 2
• Respond to the U.S. decision to enter
the war, considering such issues as
whether it should have entered earlier
or not at all. Explain why you agree or
disagree with the decisions that were
made.
• In what ways was World War I
different from earlier wars in which
the United States had been involved?