THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I 1917 - 1918 100 YEARS LATER 2017 - 2018 WW1 A Newspaper in Education Supplement to 100 THE UNITED STATES YEARS WORLD WAR ONE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION INTRODUCTION World War I is central to American and world history but few Americans are aware of its impor- tance. For a variety of reasons, World War I has a ONLINE RESOURCES much fainter imprint on the American conscious- This Education Guide is ness than our other two great wars: the Civil War supplemented with tools and World War II. and lessons for further We have a sharply defined sense of the Civil study, available at the web- War, because of its place in our history and our site for the U.S. World War I ability to walk its battlefields. We have a vivid Centennial Commission. mind’s eye of World War II, because of its moral These resources include clarity and the national triumph it represents, as lessons plans, activities, well as the presence of living veterans in our so- videos, photo galleries, ar- ciety. Both wars have also been frequently and ticles and other tools. The richly depicted in popular film. headings on our online di- IN COLLABORATION WITH: Not so World War I. It is distant in time, it was fought overseas, news cov- rectory of resources corre- erage was less immediate, ambivalence surrounded the reasons for the war spond to the page or section and its aftermath, and U.S. forces fought for a relatively brief period of time. headings of this guide. But in that short period, Americans fought with the same tenacity they did in We also encourage you to World War II, and they died at a rate surpassed only in the Civil War. let us know if you’ve used This educational guide is published in the midst of the centennial of the this guide or any of our on- Learn more, and join the Commemoration at: Great War, on the 100-year anniversary of America’s entry into that war. line resources to teach or The United States World War I Centennial Commission was chartered by commemorate World War I Congress to educate the American people about World War I, commemorate in your community! our nation’s role, and honor the courage and sacrifice of American service- ww1cc.org/edu men and women in the war. It is our hope that this guide will inform and inspire Americans of all gen- erations. CREDITS: Research/copy/layout: Ryan Hegg • Historical Advisors: Robert Dalessandro, Edwin Libby O’Connell, PhD Fountain, Libby O’Connell • Proofing/editing: Kevin Fitzpatrick, Kimberly Gilmore, Camille Kulig, Commissioner Clark Munro, Julie Penhallegon, Lora Vogt • Special thanks: Doug Alexander, Stacie Petersen U.S. World War I Centennial Commission Sketch of WW1 Memorial A NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES THE WASHINGTON SUPPLEMENT TO IN EDUCATION A NEWSPAPER | No veteran should be forgotten. World War 1 was a war that changed the world. And yet, World War 1 is the only major war of the 20th century that does not have a national monument in the nation's capital dedicated to the Americans who wore the uniform. Give to the National World War I Memorial in Washington DC. ww1cc.org/Memorial THURSDAY • APRIL 6, 2017 THURSDAY 2 THE U.S. IN WORLD WAR I: AN OVERVIEW A U.S. gun crew firing during an advance against German positions, 1918 NATIONAL ARCHIVES ON APRIL 6, 1917, the United States of America of- most believed that the pointless carnage proved that the At least 8.5 million soldiers had been killed and over ficially entered World War I. Over the next year and a U.S. had been right to stay out of the war. 20 million wounded. In America’s relatively brief in- half, millions of Americans served overseas and sup- However, in early 1917, a series of events changed volvement, it suffered over 116,000 military deaths and ported the nation’s war effort at home. Their contribu- American attitudes. Earlier in the war, Germany had 200,000 wounded. In addition, more than seven mil- tions helped win the war and shaped both America and prohibited its submarines from sinking civilian and neu- lion civilians died worldwide, and countless others had the world for generations. tral ships, due largely to U.S. protests. In February 1917 been injured, starved, or made homeless. On top of this TIMES THE WASHINGTON SUPPLEMENT TO IN EDUCATION A NEWSPAPER For decades, tensions had been growing between the it resumed unrestricted submarine warfare against all devastation, a global influenza (flu) pandemic in 1918 - nations of Europe. In the summer of 1914, the heir to ships in the war zone. Shortly afterward, an intercepted 1919 struck down tens of millions more. the throne of Austria-Hungary was assassinated, setting German telegram revealed a plan offering Mexico ter- Against this backdrop of loss and suffering, the na- off a sequence of events that eventually drew most of ritory it had lost to the U.S. during the Mexican-Ameri- tions of the world came together in Paris to negotiate Europe into full-scale war. The Central Powers (led by can War (1846-48) in exchange for its support. the post-war peace treaties. People around the globe Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) These events finally brought the U.S. into the war on hoped that the peace conference would lead to a new fought the Allies (led by France, Great Britain and Rus- the side of the Allies on April 6, 1917. In the months era of justice and cooperation. Unfortunately, the re- sia) as the conflict spread from Europe to the Middle that followed, over four million Americans of all back- sulting Treaty of Versailles and its related agreements East and then to other parts of the world. grounds entered military service and prepared to go failed to capture this spirit, and in fact planted the seeds The United States remained neutral at the beginning overseas. The U.S. government took an active role in of World War II and other future conflicts. of the war. Individual Americans supported one side mobilizing American industry and society in support of World War I marked the end of the old European or- or the other, although the majority were sympathetic the war effort. In France, General John “Black Jack” der and the beginning of an era that would be dominat- to the Allies. Many contributed to relief efforts; others Pershing led the effort to organize millions of incoming ed by other forces, including the eventual rise of the volunteered as ambulance drivers or nurses, or even as American troops into an effective fighting force. Mean- United States as a global power. The mobilization of pilots and soldiers. However, most agreed with Pres- while, German successes on other battlefronts allowed the U.S. economy and society and the service and sacri- ident Woodrow Wilson’s commitment to keeping the them to focus their efforts on the Western Front. fice of millions of Americans helped bring an end to the U.S. out of the fighting. In the spring of 1918, the Germans launched a major war, and laid the foundation for the emergence of the Overseas, the war continued through 1915 and 1916. series of attacks, finally breaking the stalemate and ad- U.S. as a world superpower later in the 20th Century. | On the Western Front (in France and Belgium) the vancing all along the Western Front. U.S. forces were fighting bogged down into trench warfare, with com- thrown into action, and helped turn back the German • APRIL 6, 2017 THURSDAY batants on both sides living and dying below ground assault. Over the summer and into the fall of 1918, the WHAT’S IN A NAME (AND NUMBER)? in squalid, filthy conditions. Most of the other battle- Americans played a leading role as the Allies finally For a generation, World War I was known simply as The fronts also remained deadlocked. The opposing armies pushed back the Germans on the Western Front. The World War, or The Great War. It was also sometimes called threw millions of men at each other in massive battles, Allies also advanced on other battlefronts. One by one, “The War to End All Wars”. However, in the late 1930s, it and technological advances provided new ways of in- the Central Powers surrendered, until Germany stood came to be known as World War I, or The First World War, flicting death and damage, but neither side was able to alone. Finally, on the morning of November 11, 1918, to distinguish it from the new emerging global conflict gain the upper hand. Some Americans felt that their Germany signed an armistice that brought the fighting (World War II). country had a duty to step in to stop the slaughter, but to an end. 3 LEARN MORE! HOW THE WAR BEGAN ww1cc.org/edu ON JUNE 28, 1914, a young Bosnian Serb named countries, with its own colonial empire and a growing Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdi- navy. Many Germans believed that their young nation EUROPE’S ARMIES in 1914 nand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, in Saraje- was destined to re-energize western civilization, which Germany 4,500,000 vo, Bosnia. The assassination set off a chain of events created friction with the more established powers. that led to the start of World War I. Italy had also come together as a nation relatively Austria-Hungary 3,000,000 TRIPLE EUROPE IN THE 19TH CENTURY recently.