The Final Days of WWI

1. The Final Days of WWI IB 20th Century History

2. Defeat of Central Powers • 1918 Russia was out of the War (Russian Revolution) • Central Powers focus on taking over Paris • May 1918 just 37 miles from Paris but U.S. troops arriving everyday. • End of September 1918: • Turkey asks for peace • Austria-Hungarian empire breaks up

3. Armistice– an agreement to stop fighting • November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m. all fighting stops and WWI comes to an end

4. Terms of Armistice • Germany agrees to: • Cancel treaty with Russia • Give up a large part of its navy including all submarines • Turn over much of its munitions • Release war prisoners

5. Cost of WWI • 8.5 million dead • 1.8 million Germans, 1.8 million Russians • 1.4 million French • 1 million Austria and Hungary • 1 million British • 110,000 U.S. • 21 million wounded • Total cost was more than $300 billion

6. War Deaths by Country

7. The Story so far… • World War I is over, the killing has ceased. • January 18, 1919, a conference was built at the Palace of Versailles. • The Allied powers, the victors of WWI, meet to clean up the war mess.

8. Paris Peace Conference • Where – Versailles (outside of Paris) • When – January 1919 • Why – To arrange terms of peace • Who – • British Prime Minister David Lloyd George • French Premier Georges Clemenceau • Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando • U.S. President Woodrow Wilson

9. Meeting at Versailles • Paris Peace Conference • Delegates representing 32 countries • Major decisions were made by the Big Four: • Woodrow Wilson (U.S.) • Georges Clemenceau (France) • David Lloyd George (Great Britain) • Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

10. Conflict of Interests • France wanted security over another German attack, return of Alsace-Lorraine • Britain wanted Germany’s African’s colonies & destruction of Germany’s navy • Italy also wanted land • Japan wanted German colonies in the Pacific

11. “I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation there will be another world war if the nations of the world do not concert the method by which to prevent it." Woodrow Wilson, 1919

12. The League of Nations Wilson's 14 points

13. Woodrow’s Plan 1918 • Woodrow proposed his Fourteen Points • Outlined a plan for maintaining peace • Proposed the following points: • 1st Point: End all secret treaties • 2nd Point: Freedom of the Seas • 3rd Point: Free trade • 4th Point: Reduce national armies (trying to stop militarism) • 5th Point: Colonial Fairness (trying to stop harsh imperialism) • 6th-13th Points: Rearranging borders (self-determination) • 14th Point: Create a general association of nations that would negotiate solutions to world conflicts (The League of Nations)

14. Unsatisfied with Wilson’s plan • Plan threatened national security • Plan was too nice– GB and France thought it lacked punishment against Germany • Wanted to take away Germany’s power • Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay for France’s suffering • France lost more than 1,000,000 soldiers and civilians during wartime. This was about 11% of the population. • France’s land was destroyed and devastated.

15. Germany/Full Blame for the War

16. Waging Peace/Post WWI How did America react to the Treaty of Versailles?

17. Why did the US Reject the Treaty of Versailles? • Critics of the Treaty believed that the League would drag the US into future European wars (Senator Henry Cabot Lodge) • Americans were “war weary” and wanted to return to isolationism • Wilson suffered a stroke and was unable to sell the treaty to the people • The US refused to join the League of Nations, making the League a “paper tiger” or weak on the world stage.

18. America's Reaction

19. U.S. – Wanted organization to maintain world peace called League of Nations • Idea was well liked • Many thought it was not realistic • Reparations – payment for war damages • Who should pay? How much?

20. What Kind of Peace? • Option 1: Fair and not so harsh that it would kindle future wars • Option 2: Germany caused the war, should be punished harshly to prevent them from ever being powerful again.

21. Treaty of Versailles 1919 • French, British, and U.S. argued and finally compromised. The product was The Treaty of Versailles. • Signed between Germany and the Allied powers, June 28. 1919. • Adopted Wilson’s 14th point, created League of Nations • Aimed for world peace, stopping further wars • General Assembly, 32 allied and neutral nations • Executive Council, the 5 Allied Powers • U.S. • Great Britain • France • Italy • Japan Germany and Russia were left out of the League of Nations.

22. REPARATIONS

23. Treaty of Versailles 1. Pay reparations 2. Admit guilt 3. Give up territory 4. Not build up Rhineland 5. Free Poland 6. Make Danzig a free city 7. Allow allied troops in Rhineland 8. Establish “Polish Corridor” to sea 9. Not manufacture war materials 10. Make army smaller 11. Establish League of Nations

24. Features of the Treaty of Versailles Very Limited German Military

25. Punishments Against Germany • Treaty of Versailles also punished Germany: • Portions of Germany’s territories were taken away, colonies in Asia and Africa were given to League of Nations to be administered. • Military restrictions • Article 231-” Germany was solely responsible for the war”, therefore, had to pay reparations to the Allies. Alsace-Lorraine is given up to France Germany

26. End of World War I > Europe in 1914

27. End of World War I > Europe in 1919

28. New Nations Formed • Negotiated between Allies and defeated nations (Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire) 1919, 1920. It literally broke down Europe into many tinier new nations. • Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken down into independent nations: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia • Ottomans had to give up all the land lost in Southwest Asia, losing Palestine, Iraq, and Transjordan to British rule. Syria and Lebanon went to France. The Ottomans could only keep Turkey. • Russia lost territory to Romania and Poland. Also, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (formerly part of Russia) become independent nations. Europe Before WWI After WWI

29. Unlasting peace • U.S. rejected the treaty • Americans thought that if they wanted peace, they should get themselves out of European affairs. • Germany is upset • War-guilt clause caused them to hate the Allies. • Economically devastated • Militarily restricted • In their point of view, unfairly sanctioned • Colonies were unsatisfied that they could still not gain independence • Japan and Italy did not get what they wanted out of the war—land, so also backed out. • Without consent or support of U.S., the League of Nations could not do anything to amend or take any action. • Observer at Versailles noted the treaty was merely, “a peace built on quicksand.”

30. Legacy of WWI • This was a New kind of war. New weapons and technology were introduced killing people faster, and more efficiently than ever before. • War was brought to the global scale • People could see that war could get extremely destructive.

31. Causes of WWI • Nationalistic pride • Competition for colonies • Military buildup • Tangled web of alliances • Assassination of Franz Ferdinand Effects of WWI • Destruction in Europe • Boom in American economy • Suppression of dissent in the U.S. • Allied victory • Defeated empires lose their colonies • The U.S. emerges from the war as a world leader and an economic giant