End of War DO NOT WRITE ON!
On April 6 1917 the United States declared war on Germany. In that same month, the Allies had lost 800,000 tons of
shipping in April alone. Then they organized convoys or large specifically equipped fleets designed to guard merchant
ships. These convoys were created to minimize the unrestricted submarine warfare attacks.
As the war waged on, Russia found itself still in the midst of the Russian Revolution. They
had Lenin come to power in Russia in March 1918. Germany and Russia then signed the treaty of Brest Litovsk ending
the war between them on the Eastern Front. On the Western front the Allies were seeing a difference made. The
American Soldiers made the difference in the war on the Western Front. The American Soldiers aided in bringing the war
to a close. The Battle of Argonne Forest was the final battle on the Western Front. It was led by the American
Expeditionary Force under General Pershing who opened a hole in German Lines. Alvin York would win a Congressional
Medal of Honor for the Battle of Argonne Forest where he attacked the Germans when members of his group were
unable to proceed. He went after the Germans and killed 17 through sniper fire and then 7 by pistol. He was successful
in taking 132 prisoners on his own. On November 11, 1918 an armistice or an agreement to stop fighting would be
called.
It was at this point Woodrow Wilson would propose his Fourteen Points in hopes of obtaining PEACE!
Points 1-14
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Ending secret treaties
Agreeing to freedom of seas
Removing trade barriers
Reducing size of armies, armaments, etc.
Adjusting colonial claims with fairness toward colonial people
Return Russian territory and self-determination for Russia
Restoration of Belgium
Evacuation of all French territory & the return of Alsace-Lorraine
Readjustment of Italian boundaries
Independence of national groups of Austria-Hungary
Restoration of the Balkan nations, free access to the sea for Serbia
Protection for minorities in Turkey and the free passage of all ships through the Dardanelles
Independence for Poland, including access to the sea
The League of Nations a general association of nations to protect “mutual guarantee of political independence and
territorial integrity to great and small states alike” (Congress would vote for us NOT to join the League of Nations in
fear it would weaken our independence.)
The Big Four that negotiated peace were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Wilson from U.S.
Georges Clemenceau from France
David Lloyd George from Great Britain
Vittorio Orland from Italy
They negotiated peace and the result was the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles had 7 parts.
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1. Germany lost 13% of its land
2. France regained Alsace Lorraine and rights to the Saar Basin for 15 years
3. Poland was made an independent nation along with the Polish Corridor (strip of German land cutting off E. Prussia
from rest of Germany)
4. German army restricted in size. Germany could not manufacture war materials; German submarines and airplanes
were also banned, and Germans were forbidden to place any troops in the Rhineland.
5. German territories in Africa and Pacific were given as mandates to Britain, France and Japan. (Mandate territory
administered on behalf of League of Nations until fit for independence).
6. “War-guilt” clause-Germany to pay Allies $31 billion over the next 30 years because sole blame was to rest on them.
7. Reparations money paid for suffering caused by war
New Countries created or recognized at the end of World War I
Iraq
Czechoslovakia
Transjordan
Lithuania
Hungary
Poland
Lebanon
Yugoslavia
Palestine
Estonia
Syria
Latvia
Austria
Finland
Did the U.S. Congress pass the Treaty of Versailles? NO
WHY? Wilson wanted delegates that he could control at the peace conference but he refused to compromise. Also the
treaty would make us connected to the world. If Congress passed the treaty it would commit the US to the League of
Nations, which would take our country’s independence away.
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