raising an army –selective service act begins in may of 1917 required men to register with the...

• Raising an Army–Selective Service Act•Begins in May of 1917•Required men to

register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service

• Raising an Army–400,000 African-Americans

served in the armed forces• Served in segregated

units and were excluded from Marines and Navy•Most African-Americans

were assigned to noncombat duties

• Raising an Army–369th Infantry•All black• Saw more

continuous duty on the front lines than any other American Regiment

• Raising an Army–Women•Army reluctantly

accepted women in the Army corps of Nurses•Most women served as

nurses, secretaries, and telephone operators, with full military rank

• MASS PRODUCTION– Expand Fleet of ships– US GOV took 4 Steps

1. Exempted Shipyard workers from the draft

2. US Chamber Of Commerce joined public relations emphasize importance of shipyard work

• MASS PRODUCTION–Expand Fleet of ships–US GOV took 4 Steps3. Fabrication Technique –

parts built somewhere different than where the ship was assembled

4. Government took over commercial and private ships and converted them for war

• Problem: German U-Boats attacking merchant ships

• Solution: Convoy System (Vice Admiral William S. Sims)– Convoy System: Destroyers

escort merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean in groups

– Use a 230-mile barrier of mines across the North Sea from Scotland to Norway

• FIGHTING IN EUROPE:

–After 2 years of fighting Allied Forces become exhausted

–American troops bring freshness and enthusiasm

• Soldiers came from separated parts of the country.

–Most soldiers never ventured far from the farms or small towns, and when got to Paris were in awe

• Tank• Airplane– At first used for scouting– Dogfights – air combat – pilots sit in

cockpits and shoot each other with pistols

– Next, started to carry mounted machine guns

– Planes loaded bombs

• Observation Balloons -

• WWI led to horrific injuries and hazards– Filth, lice, rats, and polluted

water caused dysentery– Poison Gas– Stench of decaying bodies– Lack of Sleep– Constant bombardments – led to

battle fatigue and “shell shock” – Shell shock is an emotional

collapse

• Trench Foot: caused by standing in cold wet trenches for long periods of time without dry socks or boots – amputate toes or whole foot

• Trench Mouth – painful infection of gums and throat

• American War Hero

–Alvin York

•Was a conscientious objector to the war (Bible says “thou shall not kill)

• Later became known as a war hero

• THE COLLAPSE OF GERMANY

–1918 Germany signs armistice – or truce, that ended the war

–Germans were exhausted

• 22 Million Dead; Half were civilians

• War Cost a total of $338 Billion

• United States Lost 48,000 men in battle; 62,000 dying of disease; more than 200,000 Americans wounded