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Chapter 19 Section 3. Americans on the European Front. Preparing for War. By April 1917, the United States only had 100,000 soldiers, 15,500 Marines, and 132,000 Coast Guard In June 1917, Wilson sent General John J. Pershing and 14,500 troops to Europe
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Chapter 19 Section 3 Americans on the European Front
Preparing for War • By April 1917, the United States only had 100,000 soldiers, 15,500 Marines, and 132,000 Coast Guard • In June 1917, Wilson sent General John J. Pershing and 14,500 troops to Europe • Congress only sent naval support, supplies, arms, and $3 billion dollars in loans • Pershing pushed for 3 million soldiers by 1918 • Congress passed the Selective Service Actof 1917 – authorizing a draft for young men • By 1918 24 million people signed up for draft and 3 million were picked • Volunteers and Guardsman made up the rest of American Expeditionary Force (AEF) -
Turning the Tide of War • In November 1917, followers of Vladimir Lenin called the Bolsheviks in Russia, overthrew the Republican government • Lenin signed a truce with Germany on March 3, 1918 – ended the two-front war Germany was fighting • Germany then sent hundreds of thousands of troops to the West – finally broke deep into Allied lines and focused on capturing Paris • American forces came to the rescue – losing almost half of their troops, they joined the French in pushing back the Germans • The second Battle of Marne – Germans were pushed back and retreated, ending any hope for victory
Preparing for War • Military held training camps – not all the soldiers were trained for long – and then shipped out • In 1917 alone, German U-boats sank more than 400 Allied and neutral ships • Soldiers and merchants then travelled in convoys – unarmed ships (usually merchant or soldier transports) surrounded by destroyers or other armed naval ships • This was highly successful for soldier transport • American soldiers surprised Europeans with their energy and enthusiasm
Counterattack and the Air War • Using new weaponry, tanks, Allies were able to break German lines • Over 250,000 American soldiers arrived each month • In September 1918, 500,000 American soldiers and 100,000 French began to hit the final German lines • The final Allied assault, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, left the Germans in full retreat by September 26, 1918 • Planes were in infancy, but were used in large numbers by 1918 • Germans zeppelins – floating airships, and bombers led more than 100 raids on London killing thousands
Ending the War • Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire signed separate treaties with the Allies • Austria-Hungary Empire splintered as Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungarians declared independence • German naval commanders pressured generals for peace – signed and armistice – cease-fire, on November 11, 1918 • A new influenza virus killed more soldiers and people worldwide than all of the Battles in WWI • Over half of American soldiers and 30 million people worldwide died from this new flu
Results of the War • 50,000 Americans died in battle and many more from disease • 8 million European soldiers and sailors is only an estimate • Averages 5,000 each day of the war • Injured or sick outnumbered the dead in every major country • Ottomans unleashed genocide – organized killing of an entire people, on Armenians until 1920
