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