The Great War
Chapter 19
Queen Victoria 1837-1901

Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was her
grandson.
Her descendants ruled Europe

King George V of England was her
grandson.
Her descendants ruled Europe

Czar Nicholas of Russia was her grandsonin-law (married to her granddaughter
Alexandra)
Her descendants ruled Europe
Her descendants ruled Europe
Another granddaughter became Queen of
Romania.
 A great-granddaughter became Queen of
Yugoslavia.
 Another great-granddaughter became
Queen of Greece.


Her great-great grandson is the present
day King of Spain.

Her great granddaughter is the present
day Queen of England.

The Assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie of Austria
p. 445-446
The Catalyst: Assassination
10,000,000 killed.
 6,000,000 crippled for life.


…and the bitterness that led to yet
another conflict.
The Result
Central
Powers
◦Germany
◦Austria
Allies
◦France
◦Britain
◦Russia
Previously a college professor
 Held sturdy moral convictions
 Wanted the U.S. to be a moral leader
among the nations
 Spoken desire for the U.S. to promote
democracy & peace by example &
persuasion

President Woodrow Wilson

Wilson wanted the U.S. to have a NEW
Manifest Destiny of POLITICAL IDEALS
rather than territorial expansion.
Page 447 (Quote)
1913 Speech in Alabama
Noble goals, but the reality was not.





Wilson refused to recognize a military
leader, Victoriano Huerta, in Mexico.
The U.S. supplied arms to challengers.
U.S. sailors enforce arms embargo against
the military leader of Mexico.
The sailors are briefly arrested by a
Mexican commander.
The U.S. decides to punish Mexico with
force of arms.
The Mexican Muddle

Then Pancho Villa gained popularity in
Mexico as the “anti-Gringo.”

After Pancho Villa murdered U.S. miners,
Wilson sent Gen. John J. Pershing to get
him.

He eluded capture, and Wilson turned his
attention toward Europe.
The Mexican Muddle
 Wilson’s
heavy hand
earned the U.S. more
resentment in Latin
America and ridicule at
home.

Wilson had earlier denounced Taft’s “dollar
diplomacy” and Roosevelt’s “big stick” in
favor of his new “moral leadership.”

He ends up sending the U.S. military into
the Caribbean more than once.
Caribbean Conflict

Examples

Haiti – U.S. Marines went in to stop
violence in 1915. We didn’t leave until
1934.

Dominican Republic – U.S. Marines
intervened in this country’s civil war in
1916 and stayed until 1924.
Caribbean Conflict

“It is ironic that Wilson, who set out to
mend fences with America’s southern
neighbors, conducted more peacetime
interventions than any of his
predecessors.” p. 448

There were “sharp differences between
rhetoric and reality.” p. 448

What does this mean?
Austria blamed the Serbian government
for the assassination.
 Ultimatum: Austria demanded that Serbia
submit to its rule.
 Serbia agreed, but Austria declared war
on Serbia on July 28, 1914.

The Web of War
Russia mobilized its military (July 30) to
keep Austria from taking over the Balkan
states.
 The region takes its name from the
Balkan Mountains, which run through the
center of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia.

The Web of War

Austria’s ally GERMANY declared war on
Russia. August 1, 1914
The Tangled Web
Russia and France had a mutual security
pact, promising to protect one another if
attacked.
 Germany demanded to know France’s
intentions in the matter since France’s ally
was at war with Germany.
 The French mobilized their troops because
they were afraid of the German military
buildup. (They share a border.)

The Tangled Web

Germany felt France’s move was one of
aggression and declared war on FRANCE.
August 3, 1914
The Tangled Web
BRITAIN had signed a treaty promising to
protect BELGIUM’S neutrality.
 Germany pushed its way through Belgium
to attack France. August 5, 1914
 Britain intervened to help the Belgians
and entered the war.

The Tangled Web










1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Serbian guy kills Archduke of Austria. 7/23
Austria decl. war on Serbia. 7/28
Russia mobilizes troops. 7/30
Germany decl. war on Russia. 8/1
Russian-French security pact.
France mobilizes troops.
Germany decl. war on France. 8/3
Britain treaty to defend Belgium.
Germans enters Belgium to attack France.
8/5
10. Britain enters war to help Belgium.
Sequence of Events
Why was Austria’s declaration of war on
Serbia a turning point in history?
 What other options were available to
Austria?


Who were the leaders of
◦ Austria, Germany, Serbia, Russia, France, and
England?
What type of government did each
country have?
In the U.S., President Woodrow Wilson
declared U.S. neutrality.
 However, the people of the U.S. were
divided.

German Immigrants
Irish Immigrants
Slippery Slope of Neutrality

Both the Germans and the Irish
immigrants to the U.S. tended to favor
Germany in the conflict.

Other Americans had their roots in Britain
and admired France because of their help
in our War for Independence.
Propaganda
In World War I
The British Blockade of Germany meant
that the U.S. could not trade with
Germany.
 The British (& their Allies) used up all
their money, and the U.S. started to give
them loans to buy war materials to keep
them buying from us.

The Trade Trigger

Is supplying only one side neutral?

In response to the British blockade,
Germany deploys its u-boats.
(unterseeboot)

Germany declared the seas around Britain
to be a warzone and any ship caught
there was subject to attack.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

Typically, before a warship would attack, it
would give a warning to the passengers to
abandon ship.
What happens if a submarine gives a
warning before attacking?
 A submarine loses its element of surprise
and become vulnerable to attack itself.


Germany had taken out ads in the New
York Times warning Americans NOT to
travel on British ships or in the waters
around Britain.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
1,198 passengers and crew perished as
the Lusitania went down, including 128
Americans on May 1, 1915.
 The sinking caused the Germans to lose
support in the United States.
 President Wilson demanded a formal
apology from Germany and reparations
for losses.

Secretary of State W. J. Bryan resigned
in protest, saying the message was “too
strong and might lead to war.”
 Germany said that they had attacked the
Lusitania in self-defense because it was
carrying munitions to the Allies to be used
against Germany.


The cargo manifest shows that the
Lusitania was carrying ammunition,
powder, shrapnel, rifles, etc.
A French passenger liner, the Sussex, was
attacked by a u-boat on March 24, 1916,
killing and injuring many including
Americans.
 After this event, President Wilson warned
the Germans that one more attack would
provoke a break in diplomatic ties
between the U.S. and Germany.


Ironically, President Woodrow Wilson was
elected for a second term in 1916, using
as his slogan, “He kept us out of war.”

Notice it was past tense and not a
promise of what was to come.
Election 1916
Mass produced weapons led to mass
produced death.
 Battle of the Somme – July 1, 1916 –
bloodiest day in modern history.
 Estimated 80,000 British casualties, which
was 20% of its fighting force.

U.S. Involvement
President Wilson warned all involved that
only “peace without victory” could
provide a lasting solution.
 With so many dead already on both sides,
“peace without victory” did not seem an
option.

U.S. Involvement

Under pressure of the British blockade,
Germany declared unrestricted
submarine warfare: they would attack
ANY vessel in the war zone without
warning.

Wilson broke off diplomatic relations with
Germany on Feb. 3, 1917.
U.S. Involvement
British intelligence agents intercepted a
telegram from German Foreign Minister
Arthur Zimmerman to the Mexican
government to enlist their aid in
Germany’s war effort.
Zimmerman promised Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona to Mexico if it agreed to join
the Central Powers.
The U.S. was outraged. (March 1, 1917)
The Zimmerman Telegram
Remember Wilson’s Sussex pledge?
 The Germans sink 4 unarmed American
merchant vessels. (mid-March)
 Wilson asked Congress to declare war on
Germany. Congress did so, and Wilson
signed it on April 6, 1917.

U.S. at War

“The world must be made safe for
democracy.”
U.S. at War

U.S. was not prepared for war.
Preparedness!
Selective Service Act 1917 – required
all men between ages 21-30 to
register for a draft, expanded to ages
18-45 in 1918.
 2.8 million men were drafted. About half
saw action.

Government expands

It took a year for the U.S. to re-tool its
industry and economy for war.
U.S. at War
War Industries Board – Bernard Baruch
– central control over raw materials and
prices
 Food Administration – Herbert Hoover –
consume less meat and bread
 Fuel Administration – Harry Garfield –
save coal
 National War Labor Board – William
Howard Taft – wages rose, 8 hr day more
common, increase in union membership

Government expands
Financing the War – taxes and loans 33
billion in 2 years. Liberty Bonds, increase
corporate and personal income taxes.
 Committee on Public Information –
propaganda agency – hero of U.S.
soldiers and villainy of the Kaiser


Espionage and Sedition Acts – can’t
encourage rebellion in the armed forces or
obstruct the draft; can’t make “disloyal”
or “abusive” remarks about the
government. (What happened to the First
Amendment?)

Schenck v. U.S. (1919 Supreme Court
Case. Right to free speech can be limited
when it represents a “clear and present
danger” to public safety.
“Food Will Win the War.”
 “Lick a Stamp and Lick the Kaiser.”

Recruitment posters
 Bond drive posters
 Food conservation posters

“Patriotic Posters”
U.S. soldiers in WWI were nicknamed
“Doughboys.”
 Patriotic Songs such as “Over There”

The war propaganda and the fervor for
the war effort led to anti-German
sentiment.
 Espionage & Sedition Acts made it a
criminal offense to criticize the war effort.
 Fear & Hysteria
 Wilson continued his theme of moral
leadership.

Wilson’s goal was for a lasting peace, a
“war to end all wars.”
 He proposed his Fourteen Points to bring
about this peace.
 They included freedom of the seas, open
diplomacy (no secrets), self-government
for the people of Central Europe, and a
League of Nations.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points
American Expeditionary Force marched
through Paris on July 4, 1917.
 It was not too soon for the Europeans.

The Bolshevik’s had overthrown the Czar
in Russia and established a communist
government there.
 Their leader, Vladimir Iliych Lenin
negotiated a peace deal with Germany in
early 1918.


With the Russians out of the war, the
Germans were able to move all their men
and war machines to the Western Front to
fight the remaining Allies.

Also, French troops, sick of the war, had
mutinied in the spring of 1917.

The British and French were on the verge
of collapse.

The million-man U.S. force arrived under
General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing and
became the critical factor in the Allied
Victory.
The German commander Erich von
Ludendorff launched a full offensive
against the British and French, knowing
the Americans were coming.
 The Germans made a great advance but
were unable to break the British who were
reinforced by recent American arrivals.

The Brits and Americans stopped the
Germans at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau
Wood.
 Then they began to push the Germans
back.


The Allies launched a massive offensive in
the Argonne Forest on Sept 26, 1918. In
less than 6 weeks, the Kaiser raced into
exile and the Germans asked for peace.
The Armistice was signed on 11-11-1918,
ending the war.
 We used to celebrate that day as
Armistice Day; now it is Veteran’s Day.

York was a country boy, a Christian from
Tennessee.
 His church didn’t believe in fighting, but
the government wouldn’t let him register
as a conscientious objector.
 He submitted to the army and was sent to
Europe in the 82nd Division.

Heroes: Sergeant Alvin York
He was a “crack shot” and could “turkey
shoot” the Germans.
 In the battle of the Argonne Forest, he
found a German encampment. They
surrendered, but a machine gun nest
opened fire on York and his buddies.

Heroes: Sergeant Alvin York
York patiently waited and picked off each
German as he popped his head up to
check out what was going on, killing 25 of
them and causing the others to surrender.
 He received the Congressional Medal of
Honor and went back to Tennessee after
the war and built a Bible school.

Heroes: Sergeant Alvin York

Aces were pilots who had shot down at
least 5 enemy planes. (Germans required
10 “kills” to be labeled an ace.)
Air Aces

Manfred von Richthofen – the “Red
Baron,” a German, was the most
successful ace in the war, having scored
80 kills.
Air Aces
Rene Fonck – a French ace with 75 “kills.”
 Edward “Mick” Mannock” – a Britich ace
with 73 kills.
 Eddie Rickenbacker – an American ace
with 26 “kills.”

Air Aces
The Germans, at this point, found Wilson’s
Fourteen Points to be fairly attractive, but
the other European leaders were having
none of it.
 Wilson went to Europe himself to help
negotiate the peace because he wanted to
implement his Fourteen Points.

Treaty of Versailles

Wilson made a crucial mistake: he failed
to take any Republican senators with him
to Europe. They were in control of the
Senate and he would need their help to
get the Treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate
as the Constitution requires.
Treaty of Versailles

The Big Four:
◦
◦
◦
◦
President Woodrow Wilson – U.S.
Premier Georges Clemenceau – France
Premier Vittorio Orlando – Italy
Prime Minister David Lloyd George – G.B.
Treaty of Versailles

France wanted revenge on Germany and
the territory of Alsace-Lorraine which she
and Germany had fought over for
decades.
Treaty of Versailles

Italy, having first been among the Central
Powers, later changed sides and wanted
some of the “spoils of war.”
Treaty of Versailles
Britain wanted to make Germany pay its
war debt to the United States, which was
very large at this point.
 The British were out for revenge as well.

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles was signed on June
28, 1919.
◦ Germans had to sign a “war-guilt” clause
admitting all fault for the war.
◦ They had to pay whatever the Allies demanded,
which were huge reparation payments, not
just the war damages, but what it cost the
British and French to fight the war as well.
Treaty of Versailles

Two of Wilson’s Fourteen Points made it
into the treaty.
◦ Self-determination for European peoples
◦ Formation of the League of Nations
Treaty of Versailles
Quite a few new nations were created:
Latvia, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, etc.
 Germany’s boundaries were changed, and
some Germans found themselves living
under foreign governments.
 All of this became fodder for the rise of
Hitler and the Nazis a dozen or so years
later.

Treaty of Versailles
The U.S. Senate chose not to ratify the
Treaty of Versailles.
 Wilson refused to compromise on any of
the treaty provisions and doomed it to
failure.
 The U.S. did not join the League of
Nations.
 The U.S. Congress finally formally ended
the official state of war with Germany in
1921, after Wilson left office.

Treaty of Versailles