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Key Terms – The Great War. The Western Front Trench Warfare No Man's Land The Eastern Front Treaty of Brest-Litvosk U-Boats Lusitania. Zimmerman Note Armistice Treaty of Versailles The Fourteen Points War-Guilt Clause Reparations Weimar Republic League of Nations. The Western Front.
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Key Terms – The Great War • The Western Front • Trench Warfare • No Man's Land • The Eastern Front • Treaty of Brest-Litvosk • U-Boats • Lusitania • Zimmerman Note • Armistice • Treaty of Versailles • The Fourteen Points • War-Guilt Clause • Reparations • Weimar Republic • League of Nations
The Western Front • Most of the fighting took place within France. • The Germans attempted to capture Paris in 1914 but failed; this led to prolonged battles for control over small stretches of land. • The current technology forced each side to have to take defensive measures to win tracts of land and progress one way or another.
Trench Warfare • Trench Warfare → the digging of large trenches in which soldiers would camp and fight from. • The Maxim gun (machine gun) forced each side to avoid making large charges towards the other side. • The two sides would dig trenches and fight for control of small stretches of land. • The territory between the two trenches is known as no man's land → section where death is MOST likely.
Results on the Western Front • Trench warfare proved to be extremely difficult for troops to deal with. • Soldiers endured long stretches within the trenches attempting to avoid machine gun, rifle, and artillery fire. • Soldiers would also have to endure poison gas raids which would decimate troops quickly • This practice would later be banned by the Geneva Convention. • Neither side would give up, even though little to no territory was acquired by either side.
The Eastern Front • Serbia would be quickly absorbed in 1915 by the Central Powers. • An attempt to secure the Dardanelles by the British would be thwarted by the Ottoman Turks, prolonging the war and leaving Russia wide open. • Russia would be invaded in 1914 and the Russian army would be decimated which would force great change in Russia itself.
Results of the Eastern Front • The Russians would lose their will to fight and force the overthrow of the Romanov family. • The new temporary government chose to remain in the war even though supplies were limited and the heavy loss of troops. • The new government would be overthrown by the Communists during the Communist Revolution of 1917 led by V.I. Lenin. • Lenin would sign the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk in 1918, granting the exit of Russia from World War I. • Russia would cede large chunks of territory and leave the war ending the two front fight.
Africa and the Middle East • The Allies made a point of preventing German expansion in Africa, limiting them to Eastern Africa (now Tanzania). • The British successfully thwarted an attempt by the Germans to take the Suez Canal. • The British were unable to take the Ottoman Empire alone and decided to use the help of Arab nationalists.
Results in Africa and the Middle East • The Arab Nationalists would help weaken the Ottoman Empire in 1917 by assisting British forces. • The joint effort would allow the Allies to take forts in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Israel and take the major cities of Jerusalem, Damascus, and Baghdad.
The Battle at Sea • The British did well in containing the Germans and preventing ships from entering their harbors via a North Sea blockade. • The Germans did manage to slip their U-boats (submarines) past the British into the Atlantic preventing the British from acquiring supplies from the Americans and other groups.
The U.S. Enters the War • The United States maintained a policy of neutrality throughout the war and sold goods to both sides. • Eventually, the Germans would begin unrestricted submarine warfare and began to destroy U.S. ships bound for Europe. • The sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 increased anti-German sentiment among Americans. • The U.S. would continue to lose ships even though Germany was warned not to shoot them down.
The Zimmerman Note • The German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, wrote a letter to the Mexican government offering assistance in acquiring New Mexico, Arizona and Texas in exchange for assistance against the United States. • The British intercepted the telegram and informed the Americans who promptly printed it in newspapers. • The U.S. entered the war on April 6, 1917.
The War Ends • The U.S. entry into the war provided the morale boost necessary for the Allies to push back the final major German offensive in France. • The Allies were able to take back the last German stronghold in France and could begin an invasion of Germany. • The Germans revolted against Kaiser Wilhelm II and created the Weimar Republic (a new legislative government). • The Germans would sign an armistice agreement (cease fire) on November 11, 1918 ending World War I.
The Paris Peace Conference • The major leaders of the world met in Paris to create a treaty providing conditions for peace in Europe. • The Treaty of Versailles would be signed in June 1919 and would be considered one of the more unfair treaties ever created.
The Treaty of Versailles • Woodrow Wilson had his own ideas as to how the Germans should be dealt with; he sought a means by which there would not be future warfare. • He stipulated in his Fourteen Points (outlines for how to deal with Germany) that: • There should be no secret treaties • Freedom of the seas • Reduction of militaries • A neutral body that could oversee future international disputes • The other countries felt that Germany should pay for their actions.
The Treaty of Versailles (cont.) • The major nations forced the inclusion of a war-guilt clause → places all blame for World War I on Germany. • The Treaty stipulated that: • Germany pay 6 billion dollars in reparations • Germany's colonies were to be divided among the Allies. • France is to re-acquire Alsace and Lorraine • German military is reduced • Allied control of industrial areas would occur if reparation payments were not satisfied on time.
Side Dealings • The empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia were all broken up into pieces. • The powder keg territory of the Balkans was turned into many independent countries: • Yugoslavia (formerly Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina) • Czechoslovakia • Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland • The Ottoman Empire would also be broken up into Turkey, Iran, and Arabia. • Britain would take over Palestine, Jordan and Iraq. • France would acquire Syria and Lebanon.
The League of Nations - As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, a new international organization was created with the intent of overseeing international conflicts and coming to peaceful resolutions. - League of Nations → international organization that could mediate disputes between countries. - The League of Nations, unfortunately, lacked the ability to be able to enforce the decisions that it came to, hence, it was not an effective solution to international disputes.
Results - World War I ushered in a new era of warfare with new technologies and strategies. Wars became significantly more deadly as a result. - The United States, even with its small contribution in terms of time, had a great impact on the aftermath of the war. - The United States, though it came up with many of the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles, would ultimately choose to not ratify it because of the war-guilt clause. - Germany would be plunged into a state of economic depression because of the war-guilt clause.