14.3 winning the war by 1917, europeans were cracking under the strain of war. the stalemate dragged...
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14.3 Winning the War
By 1917, Europeans were cracking under the strain of war. The stalemate dragged on. The departure of one
country and the entry of another would tip the balance and end the stalemate.
Waging Total War
0Nations started to realize that they needed to put all resources possible into the war effort- Total War
0Both sides committed to recruiting, arming, and transporting armies that numbered in the millions
0Conscriptions (draft) were put into place in all countries but Britain
0Rationed food and gasoline, forbade strikes
Britain’s Blockade
0Britain’s navy formed a blockade in the North Sea to stop transport of goods to Germany.
0Germans retaliated by using U-Boats to sink all ships carrying goods to Britain
0Sunk the Lusitania, killing 1200 British passengers and 128 Americans
Propaganda War
0Total war meant controlling public opinion
0Aim was to keep casualty figures and discouraging information from reaching the public.
0Propaganda- spreading of ideas to promote a cause or damage an opposing cause.
Women in the War
0Women took over jobs of men and kept the economy going
0Other women joined the armed forces
0Nurses worked at aid stations, sometimes near the front lines
0Women win the right to vote shortly after WWI in Britain, Germany, and U.S.
Morale Collapses
0Long casualty lists, food shortages, and the failures of generals to win promised victories led to calls for peace
0France- units mutinied0 Italy- Units retreated0Russia- Soldiers left the front to join a full-scale
revolution back home
U.S. Declares War
0U.S. declares war on Germany as Russia exits the war.
0Reasons:0 Cultural history with Britain/France (democracy)0 Germany announces it will resume unrestricted
submarine warfare.0 Zimmerman Telegram- British intercept a message from
Germany to Mexico that states Germany would help reconquer lands lost in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in exchange for Mexican support against the U.S.
U.S. Declares War
0 “War to end all wars” “Make the world safe for democracy”
0 By 1918, 2 million Americans had joined the Allies on the Western Front
0 14 Points- list of terms for resolving WWI and future wars
0 14 Points favored self-determination- right of people to choose their own form of government
Victory at Last
0 Allies are strengthened by the arrival of the U.S.
0 Generals tell the Kaiser the war would be impossible to win
0 Kaiser William II stepped down and fled into exile in Netherlands
0 New German government sought an armistice (agreement to stop fighting) and on Nov. 11, 1918, the Great War finally came to an end.