Chapter 13 Section 3 Notes A Global Conflict

War Affects the World For a time it seemed that the war would forever stay a stalemate Allies believed that by taking Dardanelles (Ottoman Empire) they could create a direct supply line to Russia This will be known as the Gallipoli Campaign This will be an un successful campaign. Will result in stalemated trench warfare and eventually the Allies evacuated leaking roughly 250,000 casualties

Japan will overrun German out posts in China and will take Germany’s Pacific island colonies The Allies will take 3 out of 4 German occupied territories in Africa In 1917 the focus of the war will shift to the seas Then in January of 1917 Germany will announce that their submarines will sink all ships found in waters surrounding Great Britain

This will come to be known as unrestricted submarine warfare On May 7, 1915 a German U boat sunk a British passenger ship known as the Lusitania This attack will leave 1,198 people dead with 128 being U.S. citizens Germany claimed the ship was carrying ammunition (this was true but we didn’t care)

American public will be outraged and President Woodrow Wilson sent a strong message of protest to Germany Germany will reluctantly agree to stop attacking passenger and neutral ships This will not last long and the Germans will reverse their actions. They knew this would bring the U.S into the war so their goal was to starve out Great Britain into defeat before U.S. troops could mobilize

The Germans will sink 3 more American ships Then the U.S. military intercepts a secret message to Mexico from Germany encouraging them to retake lands lost to the U.S in the war If they did this Germany would ally themselves with Mexico and support their war effort This will become the “last straw” for Americans So on April 2, 1917 The United States will formally declare war on Germany and join the allies in the war

War Affects the Home Front By the time the U.S joins the war, fighting had been going n for 3 years Europe lost more men in WW1 so far than last 3 centuries combined WW1 will become to be fought under the parameters of “Total War” Meaning that all efforts and resources were put towards fighting the war

In each country the government took complete control of the economy and shifted it to pay for and support the war Governments took over companies and factories So many goods were used to fight the war that rationing had to become a common practice (only buy small amounts of items that are needed for war)

Governments will spread anti war activity News was censored about the war Governments used propaganda (one sided information used to keep up support for war) Women will replace men in factories, farms, and even sports

The Allies Win the War In March 1917 Czar Nicholas II forced to step down and a new govt. put into place Then by 1917 up to 5.5 million Russian soldiers killed in war. In disgust Russia will quit fighting in the war A revolution occurs in Russia and Vladimir Lenin comes to power One of his first acts was offering Germany a truce

March 1918 Germany and Russia will sign the treaty of Brest-Litovsk which ended the war between them This allowed Germany to send all its forces to fight on the Western Front March 1918 Germans will launch one final all out assault on the Allies in France The Germans will slowly but surely push their way through France until Paris was only 40 miles away

By this time the Germans were tired, weak, and low on supplies The Allies with the help of 140,000 fresh American troops will launch a counter attack which creates the 2nd Battle of the Marne The Allies will win decisively and with the support of 2 million additional American troop, we will push into Germany easily

With defeat being inevitable the people residing the countries belonging to the Central Powers will rebel and force its leaders to step down On November 9, 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II will step down and declare Germany a republic A Representative of the New German Republic will meet the French Commander Marshal Foch in a railway car near Paris The two leaders signed an armistice to stop fighting and end the war

The Legacy of the War Created new technology (both wartime and civil) Showed that a world wide war could be fought More death than ever. Roughly 8.5 million dead with 21 million wounded Drained the treasuries of Europe Bitterness and resentment after the war on all sides