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American Entrance into World War I: Reasons

American Entrance into World War I: Reasons. 4) American Economic Interests : UK blockade; US  Allies extensive loans ; want to get paid back 5) American Idealism : A better world would emerge desire to end autocracy “World safe for democracy.” 6) American Security :

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American Entrance into World War I: Reasons

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  1. American Entrance into World War I: Reasons • 4) American Economic Interests: • UK blockade; US  Allies extensive loans; want to get paid back • 5) American Idealism: • A better world would emerge desire to end autocracy • “World safe for democracy.” • 6) American Security: • A German victory - dominant in Europe viewed as a threat to the US

  2. Special Note on Wilson • USA enters the war as an “associated power” not an ally of Britain & France • Wilson determined to distance US from Old World ambitions • Crusade for democracy & freedom, not a struggle for land & colonies

  3. American Military Mobilization April 1917 – US had limited military power 200,000 men; few officers w/ combat experience US air corps had 55 planes & 130 pilots May 1917 – Selective Service Act passed 10,000,000 men registered w/out riots 2,000,000 reached Europe before the armistice (3/4 saw combat)

  4. American Military Mobilization Women: not drafted; the navy accepted them for non-combat purposes 13,000 served (nurses, secretaries, etc.) African Americans: double their proportion in the general population Segregated units & excluded from the navy & marines; mostly non-combat roles Some black officers The 369th Infantry Regiment saw continuous duty on the front

  5. American Success in Combat 1) US had relied mostly on foreign ships Begins to expand its merchant fleet 2)Rear Adm. William S. Sims  best way to defeat the U-boat threat was with the convoy system Merchant vessels would travel in a large group with a guard of circling DD & CA By midsummer 1917 shipping losses cut in half US Navy mined & patrolled the North Sea

  6. American Success in Combat • Fighting in Europe • General John J. Pershing (AEF) • US initially served mostly as replacements • Pershing insisted the US should fight as a separate army • Believed in aggressive combat – felt the Allies had become too defensive • Wanted the US to have a strong voice @ the peace table – most likely to happen if the AEF remained distinctive & separate • After April 1918 US soldiers fought independently under Marshall Foch

  7. General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing

  8. American Success in Combat • German Success: • March 3, 1918 – Treaty of Brest-Litovsk • March 21, 1918 – Operation Michael begins • Tide Turns Due to US Participation • Battle of Cantigny - US helps stop the new German offensive • Chateau-Thierry & Belleau Wood – played a major role in throwing back German attacks • US helps win the Second Battle of the Marne • Sept. 1918 – US mounted offensives at Saint-Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne area

  9. This map of the Western Front shows the three main offensives of the American Expeditionary Force. The areas in color were areas newly conquered by the Germans from March, 1918 to July, 1918.

  10. Significance to US Entrance: • (1) turned the tide of battle in favor of Allies • (2) broke sharply w/ America’s traditional isolationism; “foreign entanglements” • (3) marks America’s emergence as a world power and eventual world leader

  11. Allied & Central Powers (WWI)

  12. The German Surrender • September 1918: Hindenburg & Ludendorff realize the war was lost • Kaiser abdicates; Reichstag left in control • Reason: • 1) hoped to obtain better peace terms • 2) the new government, not the army leaders would be blamed for defeat • New Government asks Wilson for an armistice based on the 14 Points

  13. German Surrender: • Nov. 11, 1918: armistice signed by the new socialist government • The Great War ends @ 11:00 AM • Most Germansthought they were winning the war – German troops still controlled Belgium & large areas of Eastern Europe (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) • Armistice a SHOCK! • After 1918, nationalists claim Germany could have won the war had it not been for the “November criminals” (socialists & Jews) who “stabbed Germany in the back”

  14. This photograph was taken after reaching an agreement for the armistice that ended World War I. The location is in the forest of Compiègne. Foch is second from the right. The train carriage seen in the background, where the armistice was signed, later became the setting of France's own armistice in June 1940.

  15. The "Stab-in-the-Back" legend (Dolchstoßlegende) from an Austrian postcard, 1919 • The capitulation was blamed upon the unpatriotic populace, the Socialists, Bolsheviks, the Weimar Republic, and especially the Jews (1919).

  16. Versailles Palace

  17. The Treaty of Versailles with Germany (1919) • A. Different Allied Objectives: “Big Four” • 1.David Lloyd George - PM (Br.) • Expand empire; preserve naval & industrial supremacy • “Make Germany pay for war.” • 2. Georges Clemenceau - P (Fr.) • Protect from future invasion • weaken Germany with: • (a) territory (b) financial payments (c) military limitations

  18. The Treaty of Versailles with Germany (1919) • 3. Vittorio Orlando – Pres. (It.) • Expand Italy and overseas empire • 4. Woodrow Wilson – Pres. (US) • Just peace; world based on the 14 Points

  19. Left to Right, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France, and President Woodrow Wilson of the USA

  20. German delegates in Versailles: Professor Dr. Walther Schücking, Reichspostminister Johannes Giesberts, Justice Minister Dr. Otto Landsberg, Foreign Minister Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau, Prussian State President Robert Leinert, and financial advisor Dr. Carl Melchior

  21. THETREATY OF PEACEBETWEENTHE ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERSANDGERMANY,The protocol annexed thereto, the Agreement respectingthe military occupation of the territories of the Rhine,AND THETREATYBETWEENFRANCE AND GREAT BRITAINRESPECTINGAssistance to France in the event of unprovokedagression by Germany.Signed at Versailles, June 28th, 1919.

  22. The Treaty of Versailles with Germany (1919) • B. Major Treaty Provisions: • 1. Territorial (a) Alsace-Lorraine  Fr. • (b) Saar Valley  Fr. 15 years • (c) Denmark and Belgium (minor lands) • (d) Posen, West Prussia, and “corridor” given to the Poles • (e) Danzig  League of Nations (Polish use)

  23. The Treaty of Versailles with Germany (1919) • 2. Disarmament • (a) army –> 100,000 volunteers • (b) Rhineland demilitarized • (c) navy - no BB; no U-boats; coastal defense • (d) military aircraft forbidden • (e) war industries prohibited

  24. The Treaty of Versailles with Germany (1919) • 3. Colonial - Germany cedes all colonies to the League of Nations • 4. War Guilt and Reparations - • (a) accept sole responsibility for causing the war (Article 231) • (b) pay reparations for all damages (1921) • ₤6.6 Billion • 5. League of Nations - Germany not a member

  25. Mass demonstration in front of the Reichstag against the Treaty of Versailles

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