1. The War’s End & Aftermath
World War I 12.4
The War’s End & Aftermath

2. Allied Offensive Summer 1917
Launched without the aid of US soldiers on the western front
Failed miserably
Morale decreases
US troops needed badly

3. Russian Revolution March 1917
Russian workers walked out of factories and protested
Workers demanded:
-A Change in the Government
-An end to the war
Czar Nicholas II was overthrown

4. Russian Revolution Nov. 1917 Bolsheviks seize power
= Group of Russian Socialists
Vladimir Lenin – Bolshevik Leader
Opposed WWI and removed Russia from it
March 1918 signs treaty with Central Powers

5. German Offensive For Victory
March 21, 1918
1 million Germans attack
Deepest advance since 1914.
Late May 1918
Allies pushed back to Marne River outside Paris
US General Pershing agrees to allow US troops to fight under French Leader Marshal Foch

6. German Offensive For Victory
Big Bertha –
German guns capable of firing 2,100 pound shells almost nine miles
Very effective weapon for the Germans during this offensive

8. German Offensive For Victory
Paris is saved –
US forces able to turn the tide
US & French troops stop the Germans at Chateau-Thierry on June 3rd & 4th
German advance halted

9. German Offensive For Victory
German Assault at Reims –
July 15, 1918
Final German assault
Allied lines held and Ferdinand Foch counterattacked 3 days later
Allies pushed the Germans back

10. Allied Offensive for Victory
Summer 1918 –
Foch ordered an entire Allied offensive of the western front
Able to push deep into German territory for 3 months
Led by fresh American troops

11. American Contribution
Led attack at Saint-Mihiel
Pushed through German lines along the Meuse River through the Argonne Forest

12. American Contribution
Goal – Take French rail center Sedan
= Battle of Argonne Forest
Suffered 120,000 casualties
By Nov they occupied Sedan
German plane shot down during the Battle of Argonne Forest

13. Germany Surrenders
Repeated shelling of Germany during the offensive took its toll
German morale suffered
Mutinies began to occur throughout the German army and navy
Colorized photograph, which depicts from left to right: German Admiral Ernst Vanselow, German Count Alfred von Oberndorff ( ) of the Foreign Ministry, German army general Detlof von Winterfeldt, British Royal Navy Captain J.P.R. Marriott, Matthias Erzberger, head of the German delegation Center party member of the Reichstag ( ), who was later murdered by Freikorps rightists for his role in the Armistice, British Admiral George Hope, British First Sea Lord Sir Rosslyn Wemyss ( ), French field marshall Ferdinand Foch ( ), and French general Maxime Weygand ( ). according to
This image appears to be a painting, not a colourized photograph. (It might have also been published as a sepia postcard.) The probably that it is not a photograph is also indicated by the inaccurate depiction of furniture, in Maréchal Foch's 'dining car', which had a fixed-to-the-floor table and French chairs (as seen in photographs of the event). The probable inaccuracy of the depiction might be the reason for its anonymity.

14. Germany Surrenders Oct. 1918 –
German chancellor asks Wilson for an armistice
Nov. 9, 1918 –
Kaiser Wilhelm II gives up throne
Nov. 10, 1918 –
Germans arrive at Allied headquarters to hear the terms of the armistice
Soldiers celebrating the Armistice

15. Armistice Terms
Germans must evacuate Alsace-Lorraine, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg
Germans must surrender massive amounts of military equipment
Peace Conference set for January of 1919 in Paris