Transcript Nuetrality to WW1.ppt

From Neutrality to War
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One day after school, you see two groups of
schoolmates involved in a fight. Both sides
yell to you to join in and help their side.
What are the advantages & disadvantages of
getting involved?
If you do get involved, how do you decide
which group to join?
The Roots of War
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Late 1800s and early 1900s, Europe was unsettled with
tension
1) Nationalism - intense pride in one’s own nation
 Italy/Germany unified as a country instead of a kingdom
2) Militarism - glorification of armed strength and the
ideals of war (military build-up)
To acquire and protect colonies (remember money drives
most countries decisions)
Large armies, navies competing for military strength
(Whose is bigger?, 300%)
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3) Entangled Alliances - intricate web of alliances arose to
deter acts of aggression.
1882 - Triple Alliance: Austro-Hungarian empire, Germany,
Italy
1907 - Triple Entente: France, Great Britain, Russia
Europe in 1914 = Powder Keg of tensions
Great economic, imperial powers, armed with massive ,
modern armies and inclined to support the idea of war for
a national glory, were tied to one another in a series of
binding military treaties
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U.S. was carrying an attitude of neutrality
Washington’s Farewell Address
 No entangling alliances
 More worried about our own Hemisphere
Grandnephew
and heir,
Archduke
Francis
Ferdinand of
Austria
Vienna, 1914
Emperor
Francis
Joseph of
AustriaHungary
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Austria-Hungary annexed BosniaHerzegovina
Serbia, small nation to the south, wanted a
“Slavic nation”
Determined to make the world notice them
June 28, 1914
 Archduke Franz Ferdinand & wife
(Sophia) were sent on a good-will tour to
“calm the people” of the empire
Black Hand - 7 assassins set out to kill the
Archduke
 During a parade through the city of
Sarajevo, Archduke dodged first attempts
to kill him
 Assassinated by 19 year old Gavrilo
Princip, a Serbian Nationalist.
The War Begins
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Austria-Hungary Empire (allied with Germany) angered, issued an
ultimatum
 Suppress all anti-Austria-Hungary activities or face war
Russia (allied with Serbia) gives their own ultimatum…
 What is the ultimatum…
Jul 28, 1914
 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
System of alliances (Triple Alliance & Entente) plunged Europe into
war
Germany demands Russia to stop mobilization and France to remain
neutral … Russia refuses and France honors alliance
Germany marches through Belgium, ignoring 1839 treaty
guaranteeing Belgium’s neutral status
France, Russia, Great Britain declare war on Germany
WWI officially begins August 4, 1914
The U.S. Declares Neutrality
Same day the Great War begins, Wilson declares U.S. neutrality
 Slippery slope…think of the population of America in 1914
 Many Americans could trace their heritage to Europe! They were
immigrants!
 Think of where they were from…New Immigrants…Southern &
Eastern Europe
 Wilson asked all Americans to remain neutral
 “The [United States] must be impartial in thought as well as in action.”
 Americans could not resist taking sides…think of our history
 Britain because of heritage & ancestry
 France because of their help in Revolutionary War
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Quick Victory Eludes the
Warring Nations
All nations thought the
war would end quickly
 By end of 1914,
thousands of casualties
 War turned into a
Bloody Stalemate
 Boredom!
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See larger
schematic in the
back.
The Horror of Trench Warfare
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Modern Weaponry: machine
guns, mechanized cannons,
mustard gas
Bloody, long-lasting battles
No land gained
475 miles of trenches built to
protect from modern weaponry
Long bombardment, followed
by infantry attacks: “No Man’s
Land”
Treacherous mud, very wet,
rats
Trench foot = amputation
“The bottom of the
trench was springy
like a mattress b/c of
all the bodies
underneath … “
Erich Maria Remarque
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Americans were horrified by the war
US citizens joined the French
Foreign Legion
U.S. “officially” remained neutral
 Wilson began growing unhappy
with British blockade of German
ports.
 Violation of international law
Wilson begins to supply food,
weapons, and war supplies to the
Allies and continues for several
years.
Banks made billions of dollars in
selling of stocks, bonds, and other
financial items
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Protesting the blockades of their
ports, Germany responds…
 U-boat = Unterseeboot
 Germany had superior
submarines
 February 1915, Germany begins
policy of unrestricted submarine
warfare
 Any boat entering/leaving Europe
not supporting the Triple Alliance
was fired upon
 Passenger boats?
 Cargo Ships?
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How would you feel getting on a boat that
had the following disclaimer?:
The Sinking of the Lusitania
May 1, 1915: NY to London
Germany had warned passengers
in newspapers
 Warning for submarines in area,
ignored by ship’s captain
 790-foot ship, sank in 18 minutes
 2,000 passengers: 1,200 died
 128 Americans, 125 children
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Secret cargo: 4,200 cases of gun cartridges
Wilson still campaigns for U.S. Neutrality
 American public outraged
 They condemned sinking of an unarmed France ship
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1916 Election want Germany’s actions to stop
Wilson committed to keeping US out of war
Wilson wins reelection in a close call
 “He kept us out of war” slogan
Death Knell of US neutrality,
“Straw that broke the camel’s
back”
 Intercepted telegram sent by
German foreign secretary Arthur
von Zimmermann to the German
ambassador in Mexico.
 Restart unrestricted submarine
warfare to get Allied forces to
surrender and Mexico should ally
itself with Germany!
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• Promise
of “general financial
support”
• Mexico would regain territory
• British presented telegram to
Wilson on February 25, 1917
• March 1: Published in
newspapers – outrages
Americans…….
“There is no question about
going to war. Germany is
already at war with us.”
-former Pres. T. Roosevelt
U.S. Declares War on Germany
 April 2, 1917
 Wilson asked Congress for
declaration of war against
Germany
 “The world must be made safe for
democracy … We are but one of
the champions of the rights of
mankind”
 3 A.M, April 6, 1917
- U.S. enters War
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Mobilizing for War
Ill-equipped for war
Wilson initiated the draft
Only 200,000 soldiers
9 million registered
U.S. industry & agriculture
increased production of
food, fuel, ships, weapons
Intense propaganda
campaigns
The Effects of Propaganda
 Undemocratic practices
 Espionage Act of 1917
 2,000 Americans were
prosecuted
We Don’t
need
Liberty
Cabbage
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Leaving for Europe
Idealism & Excitement
“… adventure & heroism”
High-spirits
However, they soon
encountered the horror and
fear of war
I will not parcel
out American
boys…
American Troops in Europe
 Fresh U.S. troops bolstered
the broken down Allied forces
 2 million by wars end
 American Expeditionary
Force (AEF) – joined on
Western front.
General John “Black Jack” Pershing
Not well-trained, inexperienced
Disliked by many Allied generals
Battle of Argonne Forest Sept-Nov 1918
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The End of WWI
Spring/Fall 1918 - American troops
helped in decisive battles
 Battle of Argonne Forest
1 million troops battled Germans
over 200-mile front in France
Germans overthrow Kaiser Wilhelm
“All’s Quiet on the Western Front”
 11th hour-11th day-11th month
10 million soldiers killed
20 million soldiers wounded
 U.S. - 300,000 wounded
 U.S. - 107,000 killed
continued
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