Transcript 10th American History - Waverly

Exploring American History
Unit VII- The Beginning of Modern America
Chapter 23 Section 3
Americans in World War I
Americans in World War I
The Big Idea
American troops helped the Allies achieve victory
in World War I.
Main Ideas
• American soldiers started to arrive in Europe in 1917.
• The Americans helped the Allies win the war.
• Germany agreed to an armistice after suffering heavy
losses.
America Joins the Ranks- 4:17
Main Idea 1:
American soldiers started to arrive in Europe in 1917.

Americans joined the fight in Europe in
1917 as a force separate from the other Allied
units.

U.S. troops were known as the American
Expeditionary Force

Led by General John J. Pershing

Thoroughly trained for combat before reaching
front lines

Included regular army and National Guard troops,
volunteers, and draftees
The Doughboys: Training the Troops (03:13)
American Expeditionary Force (AEF)- 1 min.
Arriving in Europe
•
The American Army, National Guard, and volunteer and draft
soldiers overseas formed the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF),
led by General John J. Pershing.
•
The first U.S. troops arrived in France in 1917 through a convoy
system, in which troop-transport ships were surrounded by destroyers
or cruisers for protection, limiting the number of ships sunk and
troops lost.
•
When America arrived, Germany occupied all of Belgium and part of
France, and Russia struggled against famine and civil war.
•
If Russia fell, Germans would bring all their troops west, and the
Allies needed the Americans to fight immediately.
•
General Pershing, however, wanted American troops to train and to
fight separately from European regiments.
•
Pershing sent his troops to training camps in eastern France instead of
to the battlefields.
The Convoy Crosses the Atlantic (03:37)
American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
May 1918
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Doughboys-The name may have come from the large
brass buttons on the uniforms of Union soldiers in
the Civil War; they were said to resemble doughboys,
a flour dumpling cooked in soup. Or the pipe clay
dough used to clean their belts. Or perhaps men
covered in clay dust. Or the way they cooked their
rations.
2nd and 3rd Divisions fight at Belleau Wood and
Chateau-Thierry. Argonne Forest.
85,000 American help save Paris
General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing has an army
of 1/2 million on the Southern Front.
Oct. 1918- Battle of Sedan- American Victory.
British and French Lines begin to advance.
German mistake- Americans were late but made a
difference.
U.S. lost 50,280 men, and 25,000 to disease. 42,000
Black troop fought in French units.
Russia, England and France lost over 4 million total.
1 million other countries.
Armistice- November 11, 1918- 11th hour, 11th day of
the 11th month.
Russia Leaves the War
Revolution in Russia

November 1917: a group of Russians known as the Bolsheviks
overthrew the Russian government.

Bolsheviks were Communists– people who favor the equal
distribution of wealth and the end of all forms of private property.
New Government

Led by Vladimir Lenin

Knew the war had reached a desperate point
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Around 8 million Russians had already been killed.

Soldiers were deserting.

Food riots raged in cities.
March 1918: Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the
Central Powers, taking itself out of World War I.
Vladimir Lenin in Russia: The Architect of Socialism [03:01]
American Soldiers Arrive
Recall- What were U.S. Troops known
as?
Explain – What condition led to the
Russian pullout?
Main Idea 2:
The Americans helped the Allies win the war.
 With
Russia gone, Germany planned to smash the
stalemate.
 American
soldiers arrived on the front.
 Germans
made an advance, but were unprepared for
the fresh, well-trained American forces and were
driven back.
 July
1918– German forces launch final offensive

Attempted to cross the Marne River

Terrible losses forced them to stop.
 American
troops helped force a major turning
point in the war.
Winning the War
Recall- Which side had an advantage
after the Russian pullout?
Identify Cause and Effect – How did the
Germans respond to the Russian
pullout?
Winning the War
Recall- When did Greece join the Allied
Powers?
Evaluate – Why do you suppose the
Allied victories happened in the same
geographic location?
Main Idea 3:
Germany agreed to an armistice after suffering heavy losses.
 Allies
drove toward victory after the failed
German advance.
 More
than 1 million U.S. troops in France
 Began
winning victories against German
forces
 By
November 1918, American soldiers were
making rapid advance toward Germany.
Winning the War
Identify- What led to the death of
German civilians near the end of the
war?
Evaluate – Should the Kaiser have fled
to the Netherlands? Explain.
Germany Defeated
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At home and on the battlefield, Germans were tired of war.

Food shortages

Riots and strikes
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Shortage of soldiers
Germany’s allies were also eager to end the war.

Austria-Hungary reached a peace accord with the Allies on November
3, 1918.

Seeing his country was beaten, German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II
fled to Holland.

Germany agreed to an armistice, or truce, on November 11, 1918.
Black Troops: a Segregated Force (01:14)
Armistice
Recall- What did the “Harlem
Hellfighters” do that no other American
force achieved?
Make Generalizations – What quality of
the 369 Infantry caused France to
award them the Croix de Guerre?
World War I: Journalists Tell the Official Story (03:04)