wwi: victory! or, victory?. in the trenches trench conditions: dirty, cold, damp, lice, mice, foul...

WWI: Victory! Or, Victory?

In The Trenches

• Trench conditions: Dirty, cold, damp, lice, mice, foul water, rancid food, no sleep, constant gunfire– Caused foot & mouth infections,

dysentery outbreaks, “shell shock”

New weapons

• Airplane• Submarine• Machine gun• Tanks• Poison gas

Practice makes perfect

• US practiced mobilizing for emergency. Here in Toledo– 1916: Preparedness parade. People

volunteered for community orgs.– 1917: Volunteers patrolled TOL

bridges

War Ends

• Nov. 3, 1918: AH & GER surrender.

• 11/11 - Armistice ends war.

• 22M dead. 20M wounded. 10M displaced.

Home-Front Problems

• Spanish Flu: Oct. 1918, 1 in 4 Americans contracts flu. – Cities shut down– Corpses unburied– 500K Americans dead in 3 mo.– 30M worldwide dead

A Plan For Peace

• Wilson dreams of world where war is impossible.

• Introduces 14 Points. 6 big parts:– 1. No secret treaties– 2. Freedom of the seas.

• 3. Eliminate tariffs among nations. If we rely on each other we won’t fight!

• 4. Reduce army & navy sizes• 5. Colonial governments should

listen to people

• 6. A “League of Nations” would be “congress” for countries to work out troubles. – Germany shouldn’t be punished;

it should be helped

Problems with 14 Points

• France & England wanted to make Germany pay!

• Allies refused to let GER be part of peace conference!

• Wilson gives up all but “League of Nations”

Treaty of Versailles

• Forces GER to pay $33B to Allies• Forces GER to accept “war guilt”• Forces GER to get rid of military• Takes land from Russians.• Carves up Ottoman Empire into

new colonies

Final Insult

• U.S. Senate has to ratify treaty to make us part of League of Nations

• Republicans refuse to even bring treaty to a vote. Say “America 1st!”

• Wilson forces it, Republicans defeat treaty. League dies before it even starts

Results

• U.S. refuses to have anything to do with rest of the world

• GER is upset w/UK, FRA, US. Wants revenge

• All economies in trouble• Horrors of war turn off Western nations• ‘Lost generation:” 52M killed, 25M wnd