World War I Ending the Great War

Part 5

World War I: Ending the Great War How did the Great War end? What wa s the process Europeans use to end the war in Europe? What happens at the Paris Peace Conference? What was established in the Treaty of Versailles? What was the overall impact of the Treaty?

Section 1: Ending the Great War Section 2: Do we punish the losers? Section 3: Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles Section 4: Territorial Changes Section 5: Overall Impact of Treaty

Assessment (Learning Target 8)

You will be creating a stance on the Treaty of Versailles, by writing a speech as a leader of the League of Nations. You will either support or criticize the treaty and defend your decision citing at least 3 specific pieces of evidence from within the treaty. Evidence to consider:

- Acceptance of Guilt - Wilson’s 14 Points - Paris Peace Conference - Countries involved - Territorial Changes- European Empires and their colonies - Military Restrictions - Reparations - International Organizations

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Section 1:

Read through the packet about 3 Major Turning Points in WWI: Ending the Great War. Answer the following questions:

a. Review: Why did WWI start? b. Why did the U.S. get involved? c. What difference did the U.S. make in the war? d. Summarize how WWI ended.

1 3 Major Turning Points in WWI: Ending the Great War

1)US Enters WWI: A.Why would the US join in Europe’s Great War? - Unofficial support to Allies: Shortly after war erupted in Europe, President Wilson called on Americans to be "neutral in thought as well as deed." The United States, however, quickly began to lean toward Britain and France. Convinced that wartime trade was necessary to fuel the growth of American trade, President Wilson refused to impose an embargo on trade with the belligerents. During the early years of the war, trade with the Allies tripled. This volume of trade quickly exhausted the Allies' cash reserves, forcing them to ask the United States for credit. In October 1915, President Wilson permitted loans to belligerents, a decision that greatly favored Britain and France. By 1917, American loans to the Allies had soared to $2.25 billion; loans to Germany stood at a paltry $27 million.

- March 01, 1917: Zimmermann Telegram published in United States (History.com) The Zimmermann Telegram, was a message from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador to Mexico proposing a Mexican-German alliance in the case of war between the United States and Germany, is published on the front pages of newspapers across America. In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in January 1917, Zimmermann instructed the ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, to offer significant financial aid to Mexico if it agreed to enter any future U.S-German conflict as a German ally. If victorious in the conflict, Germany also promised to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson learned of the telegram’s contents on February 26; the next day he proposed to Congress that the U.S. should start arming its ships against possible German attacks. He also authorized the State Department to make public the Zimmermann Telegram. On March 1, the news broke. Germany had already aroused Wilson’s ire—and that of the American public—with its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare and its continued attacks against American ships. Some of those in the United States who still held out for neutrality at first claimed the telegram was a fake. This notion was dispelled two days later, when Zimmermann himself confirmed its authenticity. Public opinion in the United States now swung firmly toward American entrance into World War I. On April 2, Wilson went before Congress to deliver a message of war. The United States formally entered the conflict four days later. - Unrestricted Submarine Warfare impacts America:

B. What was the United States role? Within a year, however, the United States raised a five million-man army. By the war's end, the American armed forces were a decisive factor in blunting a German offensive and ending the bloody stalemate. Initially, President Wilson hoped to limit America's contribution to supplies, financial credits, and moral support. But by early 1917, the allied forces were on the brink of collapse. Ten divisions of the French army had begun to mutiny. In March 1917, the Bolsheviks, who had seized power in Russia in November,

2 accepted Germany's peace terms and withdrew from the war. Then, German and Austrian forces routed the Italian armies. The United States was forced to quickly assume an active role in the conflict. As a preliminary step, American ships relieved the British of responsibility for patrolling the Western Hemisphere, while another portion of the U.S. fleet steamed to the north Atlantic to combat German submarines. To raise troops, President Wilson insisted on a military draft. More than 23 million men registered during World War I, and 2,810,296 draftees served in the armed forces. To select officers, the army launched an ambitious program of psychological testing. In March 1918, the Germans launched a massive offensive on the western front in France's Somme River valley. With German troops barely 50 miles from Paris, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the leader of the French army, assumed command of the allied forces. Foch's troops, aided by 85,000 American soldiers, launched a furious counteroffensive. By the end of October, the counterattack pushed the German army back to the Belgian border. American entry into the war quickly overcame the German military's numerical advantage. All told, 1.5 million American troops arrived in Europe during the last six months of the war. By the end of the conflict, the allies could field 600,000 more men than the Germans. The influx of American forces led the Austro-Hungarian Empire to ask for peace, Turkey and Bulgaria to stop fighting, and Germany to request an armistice.

2) Battle of the Marne/1918 March Offensive The first few days of the attack were such an overwhelming success, that William II declared March 24th to be a national holiday. Many in Germany assumed that the war was all but over. However, the Germans experienced one major problem. Their advance had been a major success. But their troops deliberately carried few things except weapons to assist their mobility. The speed of their advance put their supply lines under huge strain. The supply units of the storm troopers simply could not keep up with them and those leading the attack became short of vital supplies that were stuck well back from their positions. Though the German attack had been spectacular in terms of land conquered, it had also been expensive in terms of men lost. Between March and April, the Germans suffered 230,000 casualties. The German Army simply could not sustain such casualties. At this time, American troops poured into the Western Front. By the end of March, 250,000 American troops had joined the conflict – Ludendorff's worst planned for scenario. However, the impact of the Americans was hindered by the fact that the American General Pershing would not allow his troops to be commanded by either French or British officers.

3) Allies breaching the Hindenburg Line The third turning point occurred in September 1918 when Allied forces breached the Hindenburg Line and forced the German troops to retreat. As the Central Forces experienced growing battlefield shortages and dwindling support on the home front, Germany was left with no option but to call for an armistice and end the war in November 1918.

Sources: - https://www.reference.com/history/were-major-turning-points-wwi-8220d1d85253a1ba -http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/battles-of-world-war-one/the-german-spring-offensive-of-1918/ - http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3476 3 ______

Section 2:

Examine the political cartoon Do We Punish the Losers? Answer the questions listed under the cartoon in your notes. Do we punish the losers?

Who is in this cartoon?

What is this cartoon showing us?

Should the winners punish the losers in war? Why or why not?

How do you think the winners of WWI will handle the treaty?

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4 Section 3:

Paris Peace Conference: - Watch the following Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShRA8HRMR4Q

Read through the following article over the Treaty of Versailles and fill out a graphic organizer as you read:

Who was involved? Overall Impact for country?

Victors of WWI? Losers of WWI?

Leaders of big 3 countries? Ambitions for each leader?

Impact of Treaty on Germany? Impact of League of Nations?

Impact on Austria? Impact on Hungary?

Impact on Bulgaria? Impact on Turkey?

Additional changes from treaty?

6 7 8

9 10

Wilson’s 14 Points:

Burt Randolph Thomas, The Detroit News in Review of Reviews, Vol. 59, No. 6, pp. 570

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14 Section 4: Territorial Changes

Answer the following Questions as you look at the map below. - What changes do you see in Europe? - Who was impacted the most? In a positive or negative way? - Why do you believe that it worked this way?

Map of Europe 1911:

Map of Europe after WWI:

Clemenceau wanted… Lloyd George wanted… Woodrow Wilson wanted…

Clemenceau got… Lloyd George got… Woodrow Wilson got… 16 ______

Section 5: Overall Impact of Treaty

Read pgs. 695-697 (Treaty of Versailles)

1. What all happened to Germany when they were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles? 2. What happened in Eastern Europe? 3. What was the mandate system? Which areas of the world did this impact? How did it impact these areas of the world? ______

When you are done examine the chart on page 697.

1. Why did World War I start? 2. What did World War I accomplish? 3. Do you think the Treaty of Versailles was fair? Why or why not? ______