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New Weapons and American Neutrality in World War I 1914-1917

New Weapons and American Neutrality in World War I 1914-1917. Fighting Begins. Germany invaded Belgium on Aug. 4, 1914 on the way to Paris Ended nearly 100 years of relative peace in Europe. Schlieffen Plan. 10 divisions sent to defend eastern front against Russians

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New Weapons and American Neutrality in World War I 1914-1917

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  1. New Weapons and American Neutrality in World WarI1914-1917

  2. Fighting Begins • Germany invaded Belgium on Aug. 4, 1914 on the way to Paris • Ended nearly 100 years of relative peace in Europe

  3. Schlieffen Plan • 10 divisions sent to defend eastern front against Russians • Remaining divisions would invade Belgium to the west and sweep down to Paris • After defeating French, western forces would march to the east and defeat the Russians

  4. Trench Warfare • Germany and France dug trenches on Western Front. Millions died in “no-man’s-land” between trenches.

  5. Trench Warfare

  6. Western Front Trenches

  7. The Western Front

  8. New Weapons • Poison Gas • Chlorine or mustard gas melted soldiers lungs.

  9. New Weapons • Machine Guns • Fired 600 rounds per minute.

  10. New Weapons • Tanks • Very hard to maneuver in muddy conditions.

  11. New Weapons • Airplanes • Gather information, shoot enemy planes • Dogfights

  12. Neutrality • “All Americans ought to be neutral in fact, as well as in name … impartial in thought as well as in action” – Woodrow Wilson

  13. Easier Said than Done! • Most Americans backed Allies – common language, ancestry, culture. French were allies during American Revolution. • British propaganda painted Germans as “brutal war mongers”. • Many immigrants were from Germany, Austria-Hungary. • U.S Merchants and Banks do major business will Allies.

  14. Challenges to Neutrality • German U-Boat attacks. • Germany treats sea around G.B. as “war zone”. • Wilson: Germany accountable for any Americans killed. German U-Boat sinks British ocean liner Lusitania – May 7, 1915. 128 Americans Die.

  15. Challenges to Neutrality • Germans sink French passenger liner Sussex. Americans outraged. • Sussex Pledge – Germany promises not to sink merchant vessels without warning and saving human lives. • Wilson reelected “kept us out of war”. • National Defense Act – Creates National Guard, increases army, navy, military spending (must be prepared just in case)

  16. U.S. Declares War • Americans outraged. • Wilson asks Congress to declare war. • “We shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts, for democracy … and to bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free”. • Congress declares war – April 6, 1917.

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