The Great War/ World War I (WWI)

The Great War/World War I (WWI) 1914-1918 U.S. Entry = 1917

Four Long Term Causes to WWI • Nationalism – belief that national interests and national unity should be placed ahead of global cooperation. • A nation’s foreign affairs should be guided by its own self-interests. • France and Germany wanted to lead Europe • France had lost the Alsace-Lorraine region during the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 and wanted it back. • Germany wanted to protect industrialization by ensuring open markets and access to overseas territories. • Russia was seen as a protector of the European Slavic people (ex. Serbs) • Serbia (in the Balkans) was independent by many Serbs lived under the Austro-Hungarian rule • Russia and Austria-Hungary tried to influence Serbia • Some ethnic groups wanted to have their own nations • Czechs, Poles, etc.

Long Term Causes continued… • Imperialism – expanding economic and political control • Linked to industrialization • Germany, France, and Britain wanted colonies that supplied raw materials (cotton, oil, etc.) • France and Britain nearly fought over Africa • Russo-Japanese War over Korea and Manchuria • Militarism – development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy • Empires are expensive to maintain – budgets rose • 1890 – Germany was the strongest militarily in Europe and the British had the strongest navy in the world. • Germany wanted to build a strong navy • Soon Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. were in a naval arms race and military build-up.

Long Term Causes continued… • Alliance System – all of this tension led nations to sign alliance treaties to help the other in case of attack • By 1914 there were two major alliances: • Triple Entente (Allies) – France, Great Britain, Russia • Russia also had an alliance with Serbia • Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy • 1915 – Italy joined Allies for promised territory • Germany, and Austria-Hungary later joined with the Ottoman Empire to form the Central Powers.

Assassination Sparks War • Balkan Peninsula (“Powder Keg of Europe”) • Surrounded by Black Sea, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea • Many countries had interests there: • Russia wanted access to the Mediterranean Sea • Germany wanted a Railroad to the Ottoman Empire • Austria-Hungary (annexed Bosnia in 1908) objected to Serbia encouraging Bosnian rejection of their rule • June 28, 1914 – assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (in Sarajevo) • Heir to the Austrian throne • Gavrilo Princip (member of a secret society aiming to unite all Serbs under one government) shot Ferdinand and his wife • Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia (others followed) • Russia mobilized troops to help Serbia • Germany declared war on Russia to help Austria-Hungary and then France • Great Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary to help France

Fighting Begins • Germany invaded Belgium on August 4, 1914 • Schlieffen Plan – plan to avoid a two-front war by concentrating troops in the west and quickly defeating the French and then, if necessary, rushing those troops by rail to the East to face Russia. • Late 1914-early 1915 trench warfare became a big factor (essentially a stalemate/deadlocks throughout Europe) • First Battle of Somme (July 1 – November 1916) • Britain lost 60,000 troops on the first day • By the end there were 1.2 million casualties, but only 7 miles of ground had changed hands. • 650,000 German, 420,000 British, 200,000 French

America Neutral (until 1917) • 1914 – Americans saw this as a European war 3,000 miles away, not involving us. • Imperialist struggle between Germany and England • Pacifist saw war as evil • Sympathy for nations involved • German atrocities – killing women and children • Naturalized citizens had ties to their native origins (Germans, Irish, French, etc.) • Connection with British • Common ancestry, language, democratic institutions and legal systems • Strong economic ties to allies (traded twice as much with them than with Germany) • TNT, cannon powder, copper wire, etc. • 1916 – Wilson was elected because he “kept us out of war”

U.S. Enters War • 1917 U.S. mobilized for war • Ensure the allies paid back their debts • Prevent Germans from threatening U.S. shipping • British set up a blockade to keep military goods and food from Germany • American ships carrying goods for Germany refused to challenge the blockade • Germany found it difficult to import food and fertilizer (750,000 starved to death) • German U-Boats (Unterseebooten)/submarines • Any ship for Britain or allies was to be sunk (75,000 died at the hand of the U-Boats) • Some Americans were mad about British blockade but more mad about the U-Boats • Public opinion became more negative toward Germany

Final Draw into War • May 7, 1915 the British carrier RMS Lusitania traveling from New York to Liverpool was sunk. • Torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat • 1,198 people were killed (128 were Americans) • Germans said the ship carried war materials (they had warned that they would be sunk) • In the following months the U.S. stayed neutral, but more ships were sunk and more Americans died • Break off diplomatic relations with Germany unless they changed their tactics – agreed under one condition: • The U.S. had to persuade Britain to lift its blockade against food and fertilizers or else Germany would renew unrestricted submarine warfare. • 1917 – Zimmerman Note • Written by the German foreign minister to the German Ambassador in Mexico – intercepted by British (in an attempt to keep the U.S. neutral or else, unrestricted submarine warfare would begin). • Suggested an allegiance between Germany and Mexico if Mexico would fight the U.S. for Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona • President Wilson asked Congress to declare war – both houses declared war on Germany and the U.S. entered WWI

Trench Warfare • German commander ordered trenches to be dug to protect troops from the advancing French and British troops. Allies couldn’t break through so they too dug trenches. • Germans dug in on the high ground • Tactical advantage and also forced the allies to live in worse conditions. • Invariably found water 2-3 feet below the surface = never-ending struggle against water and mud. • Much of the land was either sand or clay = water could not pass through the clay and with the sand on top, trenches became waterlogged when it rained. • Trenches were hard to dig and kept on collapsing. • Shells from guns and bombs made craters in the ground – rain filled up the craters and then poured into the trenches. • Duck-boards were placed at the bottom of trenches to protect soldiers against problems like trench foot.

Dangers of Trench Warfare • Trench Foot – infection of the feet cause by cold, wet and unsanitary conditions. • Men stood for hours in the waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. • Feet would go numb and skin turned red or blue – untreated, trench foot turned gangrenous and resulted in amputation. • Only remedy was for soldiers to dry their feet and change their socks several times a day. Soldiers also had to cover their feet with a grease made of whale-oil (battalion used 10 gallons a day). • Rats – decomposing bodies and foot scraps attracted rats and a pair of rats can produce 880 offspring a year. • Some grew extremely large – eat a wounded man if he couldn’t defend himself and took food from sleeping men. • 2-3 rats would be found in a dead body – went for the eyes first and then burrowed their way into the corpse.

Dangers continued… • Snipers – specifically trained marksmen who had rifles with telescopic sights. • German snipers crept out at dawn into no-man’s land and remained their all day. • Wore camouflaged clothing and used a fake tree for cover, they waited for a British soldier to pop his head above the trench. • Common trick: send up a kite with English writing – anyone who raised his head to read it was shot. • Shell-Shock – tiredness, irritability, giddiness, lack of concentration and headaches and eventually mental breakdowns (PTSD) caused by enemy’s heavy artillery. • Bursting shell disturbs the cerebro-spinal fluid, which upsets the working of the brain. • Only cure was complete rest away from fighting – some officers were sent home, however, the army was often less sympathetic (cowards trying to get out of fighting).

Gas Attacks • Poisonous gas was considered an uncivilized weapon and many were reluctant to use it. • French were the first to use – tear-gas grenades. • Germans began firing shrapnel shells in which the steel balls had been treated with a chemical irritant • Chlorine gas cylinders – destroyed the respiratory organs and led to a slow death by asphyxiation. • Victim would cough and limited the intake of poison. • Phosgene – small amount needed and usually killed its victims within 48 hours • Mustard Gas – (Germans) was most lethal – almost odorless and took 12 hours to take effect. Remained in the soil and active for several weeks. • Bromine and chloropicrin – nerve gas • Allied troops were supplied with masks of cotton pads soaked in urine – ammonia in the pad neutralized the poison. • Handkerchiefs, socks, flannel body-belt dampened with a solution of bicarbonate of soda tied across the mouth and nose. • Was not until 1915 when efficient gas masks and anti-asphyxiation respirators were given.

How did the U.S. mobilize for War? • Raising of an army during WWI • Selective Service Act (draft) – required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for service. • At the time of declaration, only 200,000 men were in service and very few had combat experience. • 8 month training in U.S. and France – 17 hour days. • Women = nurses. • Increase ship production • Exempted shipyard workers from the draft/being deployed (“deferred”) • Emphasized the importance of shipyard workers • Fabrication techniques – standardized parts were built elsewhere and then assembled at the yard. • Government took over commercial and private ships to use them in war.

Battlefield Successes • Convoy System – protected Allies’ merchant ships from being sunk by U-boats. • Heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships across the Atlantic. • Shipping losses were cut in half by 1917. • Helped to lay 230 miles of mines across the North Sea from Scotland to Norway – bottle up U-boats to keep them out of the Atlantic. • New arrival of troops (U.S. troops) • Brought freshness and enthusiasm to exhausted and demoralized Allied troops • Had already been fighting for 2 years

New Weapons and Medical Problems • American Expeditionary Force (AEF) – led by General John J. Pershing • Urged to be used and an independent fighting force not simply as reinforcements. • Believed in aggressive combat (trenches made Allies too defensive) • New Weapons • Refined the machine gun (600 rounds/minute) • Tanks running on treads – mow-down barbed wire/soldiers and were built from steal (bullet proof) • Airplanes with front-mounted machine guns and bombs (Zeppelins – floating gas-filled airships) • Anti-aircraft guns and poison gases • All could attack more soldiers and cover greater distances – also a threat for civilians and communities • Medical Services – physical and emotional wounds • Improved methods of fighting infections • Skin-graft technology for gunshot wound to the face • Importance of rehabilitation • Filthy conditions, poison gases, lack of sleep, “shell shock”, trench foot/mouth/fever

U.S. Offenses and the End of War • Alvin York • Originally a conscientious objector (opposed war on moral grounds – Bible says, “Thou Shall Not Kill”) – but realized it was morally acceptable to fight for a just cause. • With just a rifle and a revolver in Meuse-Argonne, he killed 25 Germans and captured 132 prisoners. • Collapse of Germany • November 3, 1918 – Austria-Hungary surrendered and German sailors mutinied against government authority to end fighting. • German republic was established and Kaiser Wilhelm gave up his throne. • Germans were too exhausted to continue fighting. • 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 (11/11/1918) • Shocking numbers • 22 million deaths – more than half were civilians • 20 million wounded • 10 million more became refuges • Cost (directly) - $338 billion • New technology continues to advance, which means more harm and war related wounds (physically and emotionally).

Economy => War Production • Saw this with ship production • Went from producing consumer goods to war supplies • Business and government collaborated (power of the government expanded) • Wilson had direct control to fix prices and regulate certain war-related industries • War Industries Board (WIB) – encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency, standardizing products, and set quotas and allocated raw materials. • Price controls – chemicals, meatpacking, oil, and steel • Railroad Administration, - railroads Fuel Administration – coal supplies (rationing gasoline and heating oil) • People – “gasless Sunday”, “lightless nights”

Effect on Economy • Industrial wages increased, however so did the prices of food/housing, affecting the consumers. • Enormous profits for stockholders and large corporations. • Unions boomed as a result of uneven pay between labor and management, increasing work hours, child labor, and dangerous “speed up” conditions => strikes broke out. • National Labor Board – workers who refused to obey board decisions would lose their draft exemptions and also worked to improve factory conditions. • Production/Conservation of food – Food Administration • Food shipments to Allied troops tripled. • Did not ration food but followed the “gospel of the clean plate” • Special Days: “meatless”, “sweetless”, two days – “wheatless”, “porkless” • “Victory Gardens” by homeowners – children spent their afternoons growing tomatoes and cucumber public parks.

Financial and Moral Support • Had to raise money for the war ($35.5 billion) and convince the public to support the war • Taxes – progressive income (high incomes have higher tax rates), war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury goods. • Public borrowing by selling “Liberty/Victory Loan” bonds. • Movie stars spoke at rallies • Committee on Public Information (CPI) to set up propaganda: biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions. • Paintings, posters, cartoons, and sculptures promoting the war • “Four-Minute Men”: spoke about the draft, rationing, bond drives, victory gardens, and other war related topics. • Promoted patriotism but also inflamed hatred and violations of the civil liberties of certain ethnic groups and opponents of the war. • Anti-Immigrant Hysteria (especially around those who emigrated from Germany and Austria-Hungry) • Espionage Act (1917) and the Sedition Act (1918): person could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to 20 years in jail for interfering with the war effort or for saying anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the government or war effort. • Violation of the First Amendment!

Social Changes – African Americans and Women • Black opinions were divided about the war (most African Americans backed the war) • W.E.B. Du Bois thought blacks should support the war because it would strengthen calls for racial justice. • Victims of racism should not support a historically racist government • Great Migration – large-scale movement of hundreds of thousands of Southern blacks to cities in the North • Escape racial discrimination in the South • Boll weevil infestation from floods and droughts, which ruined much of the cotton fields • More job opportunities (WWI and drop in European immigration) in steel mills, munitions plants, and stockyards. • Racial prejudice also existed in the North, and new migrants caused overcrowding and intensified racial tensions. • Women moved into jobs formerly held by men – railroad workers, cooks, dockworkers, bricklayers, mined coal, and as shipbuilders. • Also held “traditional jobs” – nurses, clerks, and teachers. • Volunteered for the Red Cross and encouraged the sale of bonds and planting of victory gardens. • Acknowledgement of their hard work did not include equal pay for equal work, but it did help bolster public support for women’s suffrage (1919).

Flu Epidemic - 1918 • Home-front suffered when the international flu affected ¼ of the U.S. population. • Mines shut down, telephone services cut, and factories and offices staggered working hours to avoid the spread. • In the army, where living conditions were already terrible, ¼ of the soldiers caught the disease (Germans fell victim in larger numbers than the Allies) • 30 million people dead worldwide

Everlasting Peace…? • Meeting at the Versailles Palace, President Wilson tried to persuade the Allies to construct a just and lasting peace to establish a League of Nations • Many Allies were looking for vengeance on Germany after four years of warfare so his peace plan was shut down. • Various groups were looking for Wilson to help them set up independent nations. • “Big Four” – U.S., France, Great Britain, and Italy • Russia and the Central Powers were not a part of this conference • IN AN IDEAL WORLD, CAN PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENTS RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES WITHOUT WAR?

Fourteen Points • Fourteen Points • Three groups – the first five represented issues that Wilson believed had to be addressed to prevent another war: • No secret treaties among nations (ZIMMERMAN NOTE) • Freedom of the seas for all (BRITISH BLOCKADE/U-BOATS) • Tariffs/economic barriers should be lowered or abolished to foster free trade (IMPERIALISTIC COMPETITION) • Arms should be reduced – as low as possible to still ensure domestic safety (MILITARISTIC COMPETITION) • Colonial policies must consider the interests of both the colonial people and imperialist powers (NATIONALISM) • Next eight points dealt with boundary changes • Self-determination along historic lines of nationality – distinct ethnic identities formed their own nation-states or decide to which they would belong. (NATIONALISM) • Last point called for the creation of a League of Nationsthat would meet to settle grievances without going to war.

Issues with the Plan • Allied leaders rejected the plan as it was too lenient on Germany • Too much anger from Allied leaders to settle on a peace treaty • French premier, Georges Clemenceau wanted to prevent future invasions • British prime minister, David Lloyd George won reelection with the slogan of “Make Germany Pay” • Italian prime minister, Vittorio Orlando wanted control of Austrian territory • Peace agreement did not include Central Powers or Russia who was now under the control of a Communist government • Wilson let go many of his points in his meeting with the “Big Four” for the establishment of the League of Nations. • Wanted stability for a rebuilt Europe, however anger ensued

Treaty of Versailles • Established 9 new nations – Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia – and shifted the boundaries of others • 5 areas where the Ottoman Empire was were divided up between France and Great Britain as mandates (temporary colonies) – administer their policies until they were ready or self-rule and independence. • Barred Germany from maintaining an army and required Germany to return the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France and to pay reparations(war damages - $33 billion). • Weaknesses – treatment of Germany (to take the blame) made lasting peace almost impossible • War-Guilt Clause: forced Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting WWI • Impossible for Germany to pay the financial reparations (lost its colonial possessions in the Pacific that could have at least helped) • Russia lost more territory than Germany because it was excluded from the peace conference – Soviet Union was determined to regain the territory • Ignored claims of colonized people for self-determination (Vietnam) • Opposition • Herbert Hoover thought it was too harsh • Sell-out to imperialism (exchanged some colonial rules for others) • Ethnic groups were upset about the shift in control (Poles/Germans) • League of Nations threatened the U.S. policy of isolation • Unsure about the joint-economic and military action against aggression (now fully involved in foreign wars) – would have to align its foreign policy with the League. • U.S. never joined the League – rejected by the Senate

Legacy of WWI • Warren G. Harding (new president) pushed for a “return to normalcy”. • Strengthened the military and the government, while creating social change, especially for African Americans and women. • The war created political (and economic) instability in many countries – Communism in Russia and fascism in Italy, Spain, and Germany (dictators rise to power) • Austrian Adolf Hitler (angry veteran from WWI) and other leaders (Russia, Italy, etc.) sought for vengeance almost two decades later. • Unresolved issues (arguably, newly created issues) in Europe would drag America into a much wider war

The Great War/ World War I (WWI)