1 World War One: The End of the Great War

2 Total War U.S. joined the war in 1917, 3 years after it started Europe was ravaged, with millions dead and millions’ lives changed forever Total War: Countries devoted all their resources to the war effort Government told factories what to produce for the war and every home was put to work Unemployment went down, women were put in the workplace as well as foreigners in some of Europe Women thought their efforts would help get more rights after the war

3 War at Home All countries used rallies, parades, posters, & pamphlets (propaganda) to persuade citizens to support the war effort. Propaganda- Material put out to get the public to support a cause (i.e. WAR) Some propaganda was put out to get citizens to join the fight while other material tried to get people to home Many had posters promoting rationing Rationing: people at home could only buy small amounts of certain items that were needed for the war effort Bread, meat, & tires were just a few of the rationed items

4 Russia Drops Out In 1917 Russia was going through shortages of food, fuel, & weapons 5.5 million Russians were killed, wounded, or captured Their leader, Czar Nicholas II, was forced to abdicate (give up) the throne The new govt. wanted to keep fighting, but the soldiers refused Russia signed the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk in March 1918, ending the war with Germany The treaty was tough on Russia, forcing them to give up territory throughout eastern Europe

5 Germany’s Final Push With Russia out of the way, Germany could no concentrate on the Western Front (France) The Germans launched a massive attack in France in March 1918 By May 1918, Germany had reached the Marne River again, just 40 miles from Paris In July of 1918, Germany launched their last offensive: The Second Battle of the Marne However, by this time the German army and supplies were exhausted and the U.S. provided over 2 million troops to the war effort The Germans were unsuccessful

6 Central Powers Weakening By the fall of 1918, Germany was in a lot of trouble. There were food riots & strikes taking place not only in Germany, but in other Central Powers countries Members of the Central Powers began surrendering This included the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria In early November, the Allies reached a peace agreement with Austria-Hungary.

7 End of the Great War When soldiers and the public turned against the Kaiser, the Germans surrendered The Armistice or truce officially ended the war on the 11 th hour of the 11 th day of the 11 th month of We celebrate this day in the US as Veteran’s Day. The Kaiser or leader abandoned the throne & Germany became a republic. Germany had to leave all occupied territory & all heavy artillery, tanks, & U-boats had to be surrendered. Germany had to accept the occupation of some of its territory by Allied troops.

8 Establishing Peace Between the two sides more than 8 million soldiers were killed in WWI. More than 20 million soldiers were wounded. WWI is the most deadly war of modern times. The economies of the countries in Europe were ruined. It is estimated that the war cost $333 billion.

9 Wilson’s Fourteen Points Even before end of the war, President Woodrow Wilson drew up a series of proposals called the Fourteen Points His plan was for peace for years to come The terms for peace should be not so harsh on the Central Powers that the settlement would provoke another war. He also wanted to eliminate secret treaties, stop imperialism (colonial claims), and introduce self-determination in countries Self-Determination: the right of people to decide for themselves the government they want to live under He also want to create the League of Nations: a congress of nation to settle international disputes, maintain peace & collective security. Others: freedom of ships on seas/lower tariffs

10 The Paris Peace Conference After the war the Paris Peace Conference was held at the palace of Versailles outside of Paris. 32 countries attended but the Central powers were not invited. The “Big Four”: David Lloyd George – Great Britain, George Clemenceau – France, Woodrow Wilson – US, & Vittorio Orlando – Italy. Russia sent no representative, b/c they were civil war The leaders clashed over how to peacefully deal with the Central Powers. Many wanted Germany to accept all blame & pay the Allied Powers for the full cost of the war

11 Treaty of Versailles Treaty of Versailles: Final peace settlement of the war was signed on June 28, 1919 exactly five years after Ferdinand’s assassination Did include some of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, like the League of Nations 32 countries, w/ 5 countries: U.S., France, Britain, Japan, Italy as permanent members of executive council However, Germany was treated very harshly in the treaty Germany lost territory, lost rights to establish military, and was forced to pay war reparations Reparations: Payment to Allies for war costs All of Germany’s territories in Africa & Asia were taken over by the Allies

12 Treaty of Versailles: ↑ or ↓? The Treaty of Versailles did very little to establish peace The U.S. never agreed to the treaty, Wilson didn’t like its terms & Congress felt the League would just pull the U.S. into another war The Treaty also caused bitter feelings from: Germans who felt that they were being ravaged by $ and land hungry Allies Germans who felt that they were being ravaged by $ and land hungry Allies Asians & Africans who didn’t receive any independence after talk about self-determination Asians & Africans who didn’t receive any independence after talk about self-determination Even Allies like Japan & Italy were upset they didn’t get more territory Even Allies like Japan & Italy were upset they didn’t get more territory Russia was abandoned by the allies and forced to give up territory that became Estonia, Finland, Latvia, & Lithuania Russia was abandoned by the allies and forced to give up territory that became Estonia, Finland, Latvia, & Lithuania Many of lands in the Middle East under Ottoman control (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria) were given to France & Britain rather than given independence The Austria-Hungary empire was thought to be too large, so it was divided into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia & Yugoslavia