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Warm Up. Create a timeline of the major battles of WWI, 1914-1918 Note the results of the battles. Chapter 8 Section 2. Neutrality . As war raged in Europe, the U.S. remained neutral Reflected A merican tradition of isolationism - Washington’s Farewell Address .
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Warm Up • Create a timeline of the major battles of WWI, 1914-1918 • Note the results of the battles
Neutrality • As war raged in Europe, the U.S. remained neutral • Reflected American tradition of isolationism - Washington’s Farewell Address
Leaning Toward the Allies • President Wilson favored the Allied Cause - Sympathetic toward neutral Belgium - Historic and commercial ties to Great Britain and France • British fleet blockaded Germany, preventing American commerce • By 1917, U.S. businesses sold $75 million per week of war goods to British
German Submarine Warfare • Germany suffered under blockade • began to attack ships headed to Great Britain using submarines, or U-Boats • Declared waters around Great Britain a war zone in 1915 • Unrestricted Submarine Warfare- all ships in British waters, including those from neutral nations, were subject to attack
Sinking of the Lusitania • British passenger ship carrying 1,900 passengers - Secretly carried war supplies • Torpedoed by German U-Boat on 5/1/1915 • 1,200 people died, including 128 Americans - Outraged Americans • Germany agreed to only attack supply ships
Sinking of the Sussex • French passenger ship Sussex torpedoed on 3/24/1916 - Killing 80 • President Wilson threatened to end diplomatic relations with Germany • Germany feared U.S. might enter war, • Issued Sussex Pledge, • promised not to sink merchant vessels “without warning and saving human lives”
U.S. Entry into War March 1917 • Revolution in Russia overthrew the Czar & established a more democratic government. • Many Americans believed the U.S. should support democracy and became more supportive of the Allies
U.S. Entry into War March 1917 • Germans sank three American merchant ships • Americans outraged at violation of Neutrality
Entry into War Zimmerman Telegram • Germans made overtures to Mexico • Attack the U.S. in exchange for former Mexican territory in the U.S. • British intercepted telegram it was later published in U.S. newspapers, outraging Americas
U.S. Entry into War • President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany • “Make the world safe for democracy” • April 6,1917, Congress declared War • U.S. entered the war on the side of the Allies
Warm Up: What does a nation need to do to prepare for war?
Raising an Army • Selective Service Act - men between ages 21-30 had to register to be drafted into the armed forces. • Conscientious Objectors - people whose moral or religious beliefs prevented them from fighting
Raising an Army • Pre-war the U.S. army was small • The army was unprepared for the massive influx of soldiers • Soldiers slept in tents until barracks could be built • Recruits spent days learning basics of military - Rules, marching, preparing for inspections • Military was short on rifles so recruits practiced with wooden sticks
Raising an Army • African American soldiers were segregated into separate divisions and camps • Southern whites feared training African American soldiers to use weapons • Few were trained for combat roles
Arriving in Europe • American soldiers who went overseas formed the American Expeditionary forces (AEF) • Led by General John J. Pershing • First arrived in France in June of 1917
Arriving in Europe • Americans used the convoy system to safely transport troops and supplies to Europe • Troop-transport ships were surrounded by cruisers and destroyers for protection from German U-Boats
Arriving in Europe • When American forces arrived in France, the Allies situation was bleak • German forces occupied all of Belgium and parts of northeastern France • Russia was facing famine and civil war • Allies wanted and needed American forces to start fighting on arrival
Arriving in Europe • Pershing had other plans • Wanted his soldiers to fight as American units, not as replacement soldiers in British and French units • Also wanted to give troops additional training
Allied Setbacks Nov. 1917 • Russia undergoes another revolution • Communist government takes over • New government, led by V.I. Lenin withdraws Russia from the war • Germany now free to focus on the Western Front
Allied Setbacks March 1918 • Germany launched a series of offensives against the Allies on the Western Front • Big Berthas - 6,000 artillery pieces firing 2,100 pound shells 75 miles • Germans pushed to within 70 miles of Paris
U.S. Troops in Action • American troops finally saw combat a year after arriving in France Trench warfare • Soldiers dug trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire • Trenches were separated by no man’s land, covered in bared wire
Trench Warfare Life in the trenches • Soldiers stood deep in mud as rats ran over their feet • Enemy planes dropped bombs • Artillery shells exploded nearby • Mustard gas attacks
U.S. Troops in Action • American troops proved to be a major factor in the war • Helped stop the German advance, saved Paris Turning Point • Second Battle of the Marne • Germans launched a massive offensive • Forced to retreat after suffering 150,000 casualties
U.S. Troops in Action • Allied troops began to advance • Began to retake portions of Belgium, northeastern France Battle of the Argonne Forest • Americans suffered 120,000 causalities (dead & wounded)
The Armistice • Lacking the will to keep fighting, the Central Powers began surrendering one by one • 11/11/1918 Armistice with Germany went into effect • Germany surrendered its aircraft, submarines, tanks, heavy artillery and some of its territories
Human Cost • 8.5 million killed during the war • 126,000 Americans
