The Great WarWorld War I

Elias Schaefer, Courtney Haring, Phillip Norman, Suzanne Hesse

Key Leaders and Their Roles

Woodrow Wilson:• President during entire war• Wanted to remain neutral• Kept his promise even when the British liner Lusitania was sunk by German submarines even when around 124 Americans were killed.

• “There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight.”

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• Before Wilson’s reelection the public believed, “he kept us out of war.”

• Forced to join when German submarine warfare began and when the Zimmerman telegraph was sent in 1917.

• On April 6 Wilson declared war.• He said it was a, “war to end war.”• Wilson then proposed his “Fourteen Points” a peace settlement and an attempt for a better world.

“We wish her only to accept a place of equality among the peoples of the

world--the new world in which we now live--instead of a place of mastery.”

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John J. Pershing: • Supreme Allied Commander• Arrived in England June 7, 1917.• At Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood, U.S. helped stop German advance.

• Led the American Expeditionary Force during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which broke German lines and ended war.

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•Returned to the U.S. as a hero.

•The success of the troops credited to Pershing.

•By the end of the war he commanded 1.8 million men.“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor

troops, while on the contrary an incapable

leader can demoralize the best of troops.”

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US Involvement in 1917

•When the war began in 1914, the Isolationist Foreign Policy kept America Neutral until 1917.

•It was difficult to remain neutral due to several long term causes such as…

•Nationalism-An atmosphere of competition created a absolute pride in one’s country and tension between others.

•Imperialism-European nations built empires to extend their political and economic control. As Germany industrialized Europe and Germany competed for colonies.

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• Militarism- Militaries grew in size as nationalism and imperialism increased. Each nation needed a stronger military in order to beat out other countries and gain new territory.

• Alliance System- Two major allies increased tension and once one country was in war, the alliance system forced the rest of the allies to join the war also.

Triple Entente (Allies)

France

Britain

Russia

Triple Alliance

Germany

Austria-Hungary

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Ottoman Empire

Short Term Cause of US Involvement

The Zimmermann Note

•The note was a coded telegram dispatched by Arthur Zimmermann of The German Empire to the German Ambassador of Washington.

•The note was also sent to Mexico and requested an alliance against America and a promise of the land back to Mexico they lost in the Mexican-American War. Germany purposed unrestricted submarine warfare against the United States.

•It was intercepted and decoded by the British and led to the United States entrance in the war on April 6.

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Battle of St. Mihiel

• September 12-15 1918• American Expeditionary Force and 48,000 French

Troops under the command of John J. Pershing pursued the City of Metz.

• They caught Germany retreating which made the battle more successful because Germany had misplaced most artillery.

• Due to the outdistancing of artillery and food supplies, Metz was not captured but proved the United States “Stature improved” according to Britain and France.

Significance• Illustrated the critical role of artillery• First US solo offensive in WWI

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Battle of Meuse-Argonne

• Planned by Marshall Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg line and force German Forces to surrender.

• “Grand offensive” (Hundred Day Offense) by Allies on the Western Front.

• Involved troops from France, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

• Allies advanced through Argonne Forest to attack leading to a victory.

• Main US effort took place in Verdun Sector Sept. 26 – Nov. 11

Significance• Biggest Operation and victory of the American Expeditionary

Forces• Deadliest Battle

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Public View on the War

• Before: Americans saw no need to join a war that was 3,000 miles away across the Atlantic Ocean. Because the war was not hurting or threatening American lives or property. But that didn’t mean Americans had an opinion about the “Great War.”

Public View (continued)

During: Due to the immensity of World War 1 the entire economy had to be

redirected in order to raise money for the war. Therefore Congress gave

Wilson direct control over the economy. After: Many Americans looked forward to returning to their everyday lives what

President Warren G. Harding called “normalcy.” PN

Divided Loyalties in AmericaBefore the United States entered

World War 1 they saw no need to get involved in European affairs. But the

didn’t mean Americans had an opinion about the “Great War.”

Socialists: Viewed the war as a capitalist and imperialistic struggle between Germany and England. To

control markets and colonies in China, Africa, and the Middle East.

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Divided Loyalties (cont.)Pacifists: Viewed the war as evil and

the U.S. should set an example of peace to the world. (ex: William

Jennings Bryan & Jeannette Rankin)

In general Americans felt close to Great Britain due to similar ancestry, language, democratic institutions, and

legal systems. And so the United States had strong economic ties with the Allies before, during, and after

the war. PN

Cost in Money and Lives

Between 1914-1918…U.S- $22,625,253,000Germany- $37,775,000,000Britain- $35,334,012,000France- $24,265,583,000

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About 65 million people fought around the world

• 8 million killed in battle• 2 million died of disease• 21.2 million wounded• 7.8 million were prisoners of war or went missing in action.

• 6.6 million civilians were killed

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4,734,991 American soldiers participated…

• 116, 516 were killed• 204, 002 were wounded• 320, 518 total casualties

• Over 100,000 soldiers held prisoner.

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Financial Costs After War

• Disabled soldiers had to be cared for

• Rebuilding homes and industries• Cemeteries and war memorials built and cared for

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WWI compared to WWII and the Iraq war

WWI WWII Iraq

casualties: 320,518 497,000 70,000

costs: 196.5 bil. 2,091.3 bil. 1.3 tril.

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Negative Effects

• World War I Caused tension between nations. This will generally happen in any war, and this war was no exception.

• Again, like any war many lives were lost. America lost few compared to other nations but still lost a great number of soldiers.

War Conditions

• Soldiers had to fight in terrible conditions. They had to fight in trenches, which would fill with water and bodies of fallen soldiers. This caused all kinds of diseases to spread in the trenches. Many soldiers died in world war one, but not just from gunfire. There was a great deal of men who died just from the poor conditions in the trenches alone.

Bibliography

• www.history-world.org

• www.lib.byu.edu

• www.worldwar1.com

• www.threeworldwars.com

• www.paralumun.org

• William Matthews and Dixon Wecter, Our Soldiers Speak 1775-1918. Brown and Co., 1943

• Adele Comandini, I Saw Them Die: The Diary and Recollections of Shirley Millard. Brace & Co., 1936.