causes course consequence world war i. causes of world war i” all wars have two types of...

CAUSES COURSE

CONSEQUENCE

WORLD WAR I

Causes of World War I”

All wars have two types of “Causes”Proximate & Remote

Proximate= Immediate trigger of the warUsually a single event. The one most often

remembered after the war.

Proximate Cause of World War I

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by the Serbian nationalist Gavrillo Princep on June 28, 1914 in the city of Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Causes of the First World WarRemote=Causes which may date back

years, decades, even centuries. Usually there are a number of remote

causes for any war. Ultimately these remote causes are more

important than the proximate cause which actually triggers the war and most often are neither understood or remembered by most people after the war.

Remote Causes of World War I

Nationalism: The increasing sense of competition between the nations of Europe, all of which were convinced of their own national superiority.

Remote Causes of World War I

Imperialism: Driven by nationalist sentiments the western nations competed for the decreasing territory still available for colonies.

MilitarismMilitarism: The increasing emphasis, reliance

upon and glorification of the possession and application of military force to achieve the goals of nationalism and imperialism.

Militarism went far beyond the military forces themselves to include such diverse areas as:

Children’s Toys and ClothingToy SoldiersModel WarshipsBoard GamesToy GunsSailor Suits and Army Uniforms

MusicMilitary MarchesPatriotic SongsOperettasPlays

Literature

Novels Magazine ArticlesPenny Press

ConscriptionIn the 19th Century, every European nation, with

the exception of Great Britain, established some form of mandatory military conscription—what we refer to as “the draft.”

Young men at the age of 18 were subject to military service for a period of 1 to 3 years of training and active duty, depending on the nation the circumstances of the times.

This created large, standing armies of in some instances several million men, ready to fight.

Reserve ForcesWhen conscripted troops were released from

active duty, they remained liable to additional mandatory time in the reserve forces—in some cases for as long as 20 years.

In the event of war, the reservists could be called up on short notice and used to expand the standing army to several times its normal size. With reserves a nation might be able to field an army of 6, 7, or even 8 million men within a matter of a few months of the call up.

War PlanningAs armies grew in size, all nations began to

prepare systematic plans for how to mobilize, deploy and utilize these enormous armies. The Art of War became the Science of War.

A Prussian Officer, Karl von Clausewitz, wrote a book on military strategy that was widely read and its lessons applied throughout Europe.

General Staffs were created to create detailed war plans to prepare for possible future wars.

War PlanningThe Most famous war plan to be devised prior

to World War I was Imperial Germany’s Schleiffen Plan.

Under constant development from the 1880’s to 1914, it was designed to allow Germany to defeat France in the space of 6 weeks, in the event of any war involving Germany with any other enemy—France was assumed to be the ultimate enemy once war began and the one that must be dealt with first.

The Schlieffen Plan

War PlanningThe French had a war plan too.

Plan 17

Military TechnologyThe Industrial and Scientific Revolutions had

brought about radical advances in weaponry.

High Explosives, especially Alfred Nobel’s dynamite and its military counterpart, cordite, increased the effect of artillery fire. It was believed that such powerful weapons would make war “ too horrible” to fight.

Nobel eventually funded the “Peace Prize” when this supposition proved to be false.

Military TechnologyBreech loading, multiple shot rifles increased the

effectiveness of the infantry. A well trained rifleman could fire ten to twelve rounds per minute and hit.

Military TechnologyImproved Artillery: Breech loading, rifled field

artillery and long range cannons and heavy mortars increased both the range and effectiveness of artillery fire against both fixed positions and personnel in the field.

Military TechnologyThe Machine Gun: The Gatling Guns and the Maxim

Guns of the late 19th century were perfected in the early 20th century as heavy caliber, crew serviced weapons. The could sustain fire over long ranges for extended periods of time at the rate of several hundred rounds per minute.

Military TechnologyArmored, Steam Propelled Warships: Regarded as

the essential weapon of any nation seeking first-class status as a military or imperial power, these ships were expensive to build and maintain.

Competition among nations to match or surpass the fleet constructed by Great Britain led eventually to the “Dreadnought Race” of the early 20th century, which many at the time expected would have triggered a Great War sometime after 1916.

Military TechnologyAircraft: Although men had dreamed of flight for

thousands of years, the first balloon flights had begun less than 150 years before the outbreak of the first world war. During the American Civil War, balloons had been used for military observation by the Union Army.

A Prussian noble, Graf von Zeppelin, serving asa military observer, brought the idea of powered Balloon flight back to Germany and by 1901 Launched his first Airship.

Military TechnologyThe Zeppelin Airship, a lighter-than-air craft,

first flown in commercial service was quickly adopted by the German Military. Other nations followed quickly.

Military TechnologyIn 1903, the Wright brothers made their first “heavier

than air’ flight. By 1908, The U.S. Army purchased a Wright Flyer for military evaluation. By 1914, every nation in Europe had some sort of military aircraft, although none of them were actually sure if they had any real value over the battlefield.

The Alliance SystemAn outgrowth of the increasing importance of

militarism in 19th century Europe was the construction of military alliances to counter-balance the growing strength of any nations potential enemies.

Otto von Bismarck began the process in 1871, as he sought to counter the likelihood of an eventual French attack against Germany in “revanche” for the Franco-Prussian War.

The Alliance SystemBismarck formed an alliance among the 3 great

empires of central and eastern Europe.GermanyAustria-HungaryRussiaThe Drei-Kaiser Bund or 3 Emperor League was

a defensive alliance. Each was pledged to defend the other two if they were attacked.

This despite the fact that Austria and Russia regarded Germany and each other as a potential threats.

Alliance SystemDespite Bismarck’s protests, the German Kaiser

eventually ordered that the alliance with Russia be abandoned.

Bismarck, next sought to find a new ally to replace them.

A country which bordered on France, and was itself looking for allies to increase its world standing, filled the bill—Italy.

These 3 nations: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance.

Alliance SystemFollowing their defeat in the Franco-Prussian

War, France quickly began to plot its revenge. Recognizing what Bismarck was up to, the French began shopping for allies as well.

In 1894, they concluded an Alliance with Imperial Russia. The most liberal republic in Europe was now an ally of the most autocratic monarchy in the western world.

Alliance SystemBy 1904 the French had maneuvered the British,

their traditional enemy, into the Entente Cordiale, a kind of gentlemen’s agreement between the two countries to work together to defend against growing German power.

Great Britain had previously arrived at a naval agreement with the Empire of Japan, in which the Japanese pledged to safeguard British Interests in the Pacific against possible German threats and allowing the British to more ships back into their home waters.

France, Great Britain and Russia formed the Triple Entente.

Alliance System

Anti-War SentimentsIronically, an additional remote cause of World War I

was a widely held belief that a major war, involving all the powers of Europe, was an impossibility in the 20th century.

No major war had been fought since 1815.All minor wars had been limited, brief and decisive.

Total damages and casualties had been limited as well.

The aspects of militarism already cited would ensure that future wars, if fought at all would be even more quickly resolved.

Some believed that technology had made all wars unwinnable.

Anti-War SentimentAn international peace movement was developing

calling for international diplomatic negotiations to resolve differences between nations.

The Berlin Congresses of 1878 and 1884 had helped prevent wars between European Powers in the Balkans and in Africa.

The Russo-Japanese War had ended in a Peace Settlement negotiated by President Theodore Roosevelt who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A series of International meetings in Switzerland led to the Geneva Conventions establishing “rules” to limit warfare.

Countdown to DisasterJune 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated.July 6: Germany offers the “blank-check” to Austria

guaranteeing military support in the event Austria punishes Serbia and Russia threatens intervention.

July 23: Austria presents “ultimatum” to Serbia demanding Serbian cooperation in finding and punishing all responsible for the assassination. Serbs agree to some of the demands and also petition Russia to act as their Protector.

July 28: Austria rejects Serbian offer and declares war.

July 29: Austrians shell Belgrade, capital of Serbia.

Countdown to DisasterJuly 30: Russia and Austria-Hungary mobilize

against each other.July 31: Germany demands Russia demobilize

and France declare neutrality in the matter within 12 hours. The Kaiser and the Tsar exchange the “Willie-Nickie” telegrams trying to defuse the situation without success.

August 1: Germany and France mobilize. Kaiser Wilhelm tries to stop the planned attack on France, through Belgium, and is told it cannot be stopped. Germany then declares War on Russia.

Countdown to DisasterAugust 2: Germany sends ultimatum to Belgium

demanding that they remain neutral while German forces transit through the country en route to France.

August 3: British state that they will fight to defend Belgian neutrality as required by Treaty of 1831. German’s dismiss the treaty as a “scrape of paper.” Belgium rejects German demands. Germany declares war on France.

August 4: German troops enter Belgium, British demand that Germans retreat and when their demand goes unanswered, Britain declares war on Germany.

The War of Mobility

The War of MobilityAugust-September 1914

In the opening days of the war, every country sought to carry out their war plans.

German forces entered Belgium to swing around the heavily fortified frontier with France.

British troops, most of their army were ferried across the English Channel to reinforce the Belgians.

The French Army drove into the “lost” provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to regain what had been taken in 1870.

Austria overran Serbia.Even the Russian steamroller began moving into

East Prussia.


No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. General H. von Moltke

The Belgians put up a much more determined resistance than the Germans thought possible.

Aided by the British they slowed the German advance.

Cities were defended by civilians, who in turn where shot as terrorists by the Germans and the cities shelled into ruins.

The Belgian and British forces were driven back towards France and the German advance slowed to a crawl.


French forces were driven back out of Alsace and Lorraine.

By August 25, the German Army had taken control of most of Belgium and had entered France at several points but they were still far short of Paris.

The Russian Army had mobilized far more quickly than anyone, including the Russians thought possible, their forces entered East Prussia and the German General Staff diverted troops from the advance into France to defeat the Russian invaders. The Russians were defeated but the advance into France was further weakened.

War of MobilityAugust-September 1914

On September 4, a French observation plane flying above the advancing German army detected that it was turning and in doing so exposing its flank to a French counterattack.

This led to the First Battle of the Marne. French and British troops stopped the German

advance 20 miles from Paris. General Petain, commander of the Paris garrison moved every soldier in the city up to reinforce the allied attack. The troops were moved by buses and taxicabs. After the war the taxi companies were paid their metered fares plus a tip!

Battle of the MarneSeptember 1914

The War of Position September 1914-March 1918The German advance on Paris was stopped on the

Marne.Their troops were too exhausted to renew the

attack.The British and the French were also worn out after

a month of constant retreat under fire.Both sides stalled and began to “dig in.” The war

of movement ended, the war of position began. The positions began as little more than “fox holes” facing each other.

Soon they became elaborate systems of trenches running for 400 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps.

Trench Warfare

The TrenchesThe System of trenches that rapidly developed led

to a complex series of defensive positions on both sides facing each other over a barren wasteland of blasted earth called “No Man’s Land.”

For most of the next 4 years, both sides would attempt, without success, to carry the battle beyond this area into the rear area’s of the enemy.

Here the absolute effectiveness of the machine gun as a defensive weapon overcame every attempt to employ infantry to achieve the “breakout.”

The TrenchesBehind the system of trenches were the rear

areas, where headquarters (HQ’s) were located, surrounded by supply dumps, artillery batteries, hospitals and cemeteries.

Moving forward, the reserve trenches formed the ultimate fall back positions to defend the HQ’s as well as a position into which troops be cycled back for some rest after service on the front lines.

The reserve trenches were linked by communications trenches with the support trench. Here the immediate reserves were maintained, ready to move forward if necessary. Here an enemy breakthrough would be held.

The TrenchesMore communication trenches linked the

suppport trenches to the “front-lines.” Here troops faced their opponents across “no man’s land” who existed in a parallel world of trenches.

It has been estimated that altogether, the Allies and the Central Powers dug more than 10,000 miles of trenches along the 400 mile Western Front.

The TrenchesIn the “front line” soldiers dug “bunkers” into the

reverse face of the trench to provide them with shelter from both the weather and enemy shell fire. On the front face they built “firing steps” and sand bag revetments to allow them to take aim across the field of fire. Machine gun posts were also constructed.

Barbed wire, invented in the U.S. to keep cattle from straying on the open range, now was used to create entanglements in front of the trenches.

Some troops would move out past the wire to occupy “listening posts” to provide extra warning of an enemy attack.

The TrenchesIn order to gain intelligence regarding the

strength of the enemy facing them both sides would conduct “trench raids”.

Small units would cross no man’s land at night, maneuver around the listening posts, cut their way through the wire and slip into the enemies front line.

Armed with knives, blackjacks, entrenching shovels, pistols and shotguns, they would attempt to take prisoners and grab documents before returning, under fire to their own lines.

The TrenchesWhen sufficient intelligence had been gathered, the

General Staff would prepare and mount an “Offensive”

The object would be to overwhelm the enemy in the front-line, drive through the secondary and reserve lines, and push through the rear areas until the enemy surrendered.

When an Offensive was launched, the opposing forces would launch a “Counter-Offensive” to blunt the enemy attack and perhaps breakthrough in the ensuing chaos.

From 1915 until 1918 both sides replayed this same pattern repeatedly without success.

War of Attrition1915-1918

The repeated attempts of Both Allies and Central Powers to breach their enemies defensive lines led to a continuing stalemate and a War of Attrition, the constant increase in casualties as frontal assaults against fixed positions failed over and over again.

1915 French Champagne Offensives Spring and Fall

German Offensive at Ypres (1st use of gas)

1916 German Verdun Offensive (bleed them white)

Br. Somme Offensive (massed artillery)1917 Fr. Nivelle Offensive


1917 Br. Arras Offensive Br. Messines Offensive ( Use of Mines) Br. Cambrai Offensive ( 1st Use of

Tanks) Br. Passchendaele Offensive German Withdrawal to Hindenburg LineAll of these offensives resulted in casualties that

ran into the hundreds of thousands for gains or losses of territory measured sometimes in yards.

Both sides were slowly loosing all of their available manpower.


By 1917 French forces began to refuse orders to attack. This mutiny led to court martial's and executions of French soldiers.

The British instituted conscription in 1916 when voluntary enlistments failed to meet demands for replacements on the western front. This in turn led to an Irish rebellion at Easter which the British put down by force of arms and the hanging of Irish “traitors.”

German troops, though still occupying most of the territory taken in 1914 were running short of food, ammunition and reinforcements.

Both sides feared that they were in danger of collapse.

Other Fronts1914-1918

Japan declared war on Germany in 1914, in support of its British ally and promptly drove the Germans out of their Pacific Island possessions in the Caroline and Marshall and Mariana Islands and seized the German treaty port of Tsingtao in China.

British , French, Belgian and German colonial forces battled from 1914-1918 in both West and East Africa.

In 1915, the British launched an invasion of the Dardanelles at Gallipoli. The plan was to capture Constantinople then attack Vienna and Berlin from the southeast. It failed.

Other Fronts1914-1918

Following a failed Turkish attempt to capture the Suez canal in January of 1915, the British launched an invasion of Mesopotamia which failed to achieve its goal of capturing Baghdad. A trench war developed on the banks of the Tigris.

A British intelligence officer in Cairo, T.E. Lawrence conceived a plan to unite the tribes of Arabia in revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Lawrence of Arabia promised the Arabs independence after the war.

The resulting revolt led to a full scale British Invasion which ultimately ended in the capture of Jerusalem in December of 1917 by General Allenby.

Other Fronts`1914-1918

Italy, having withdrawn from the Triple Alliance in 1914, joined the Entente in 1915. Italian forces went on the offensive against Austrian troops in the Alps separating the two countries. The opposing armies fought a war “above the clouds” in subzero temperatures.

Other troops fought along the boundaries of the Empire east of Venice.

In October of 1917, the battle of Caporetto saw Austrian forces break the stalemate and drive towards Venice and the Po River Valley, the industrial heartland of Italy.

The War at Sea1914-1918

As expected, the British Navy, already mobilized by the First Lord of Admiralty, Winston Churchill, quickly seized control of the English Channel and the North Sea.

German warships at sea at the outbreak of the war were hunted down and destroyed in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific, although they inflicted some damage to the British in the process.

The German High Seas Fleet remained safely quartered in its Baltic Sea base at Kiel. The British Home Fleet was stationed at Scapa Flow north of Scotland, waiting for the German Fleet to sail so that it could be destroyed.


In 1915 and 1916, the Germans launched occasional raids against the east coast of Britain, shelling military facilities and civilian seaside resorts. This enraged the British who responded by sending a fleet of Battle-cruisers to draw the Germans out of Kiel.

In 1915, a few battle-cruisers engaged in a clash off the Dogger Bank. It decided nothing, but led the Germans to modify the design of their gun turrets.

In 1916, two major fleets collided at the Battle of Jutland, the only great dreadnought fight of WWI.

Dogger Bank and Jutland

The War at SeaJutland

In the battle which raged over the course of one day, May 31, 1916, both navies achieved an accuracy rate of only 3%. 97 of every 100 shells, fell into the sea.

German fire did manage to damage and destroy more British ships because of a design flaw, the lack of flash doors between turret and magazine in British ships which the Germans had provided for after Dogger Bank. 14 British ships and 6100 men were lost.

The German’s lost 11 ships and 2500 men. This led the German commander to retreat under cover of darkness. The German fleet would never sail into battle again.


British supremacy before and after Jutland was based on their overwhelming superiority in surface vessels. The Germans had to find a means of overcoming this advantage without risking their costly dreadnoughts. The solution proved to be one of the most important innovations in naval history:

The U Boat or UnterseebootLike the airplane, the submarine was regarded as a

useless toy by the military experts of the time. It was too small, too slow, had too limited a range and, it did not cost enough!

But, it could slip under the British blockade and it could attack British vessels without much risk and be lost at little cost, other than the lives of its crew.

U Boats at War

U boats at WarUnder the Geneva Conventions rules of naval

warfare, submarines, like surface cruisers, could scout for the fleets and attack enemy commerce. But, like cruisers, they had to identify themselves, remove all passengers and crew members, search the vessel and then either claim it as a prize or sink it.

When the German’s played by these rules in 1914, the British promptly equipped their merchant ships with guns and sank any U boat that surfaced near them.

The Germans protested and then announced a new policy of unrestricted warfare—attack without warning using torpedoes.

U boats at warThe Germans were promptly accused of more

“hunnish” behavior. But the British began to loose large number of ships in the seas off of Britain and Ireland which was about as far as a U boat could safely travel.

The Germans began mass producing U boats and improving their range and weaponry. The U boat attacks began to impact on the British economy.

But U boats began taking the lives of men, women and children and not all of them were British.

In May of 1915, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off of Ireland with over 1200 dead, including 128 Americans, mostly women and children.

U Boats at WarFollowing the sinking of the Lusitania and

another liner the Sussex, President Wilson who had proclaimed neutrality for the U.S. in 1914, threatened to declare war on Germany if they did not abandon the policy of unrestricted U boat warfare. The Germans, not wishing to face another enemy, agreed and from 1915 until 1917 their use of the U boat was restricted to purely military vessels.

President Woodrow Wilson was re-elected to a second term in 1917 based on the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War.”

Woodrow Wilson 1913-1919

The U.S. Enters the War1917

The desperate position of both the Allies and Central Powers by 1917 led to desperate measures by both sides.

The Allies launched a series of offensives, all of which failed.

The Germans planned to knock Russia out of the war by fomenting a revolution led by V.I. Lenin, a Bolshevik leader exiled to Switzerland.

They also planned to unleash a major offensive on the Western Front—The Friedenkampf or Peace Offensive which they hoped would break the stalemate on the western front, capture Paris and lead to a peace settlement.

The U.S. enters the War1917

In order to gain victory, the Germans were determined to weaken the allied armies on the western front by every means possible including the reduction of supplies reaching the front from Britain and from overseas.

Since the Battle of Jutland had determined that the surface of the Atlantic Ocean was controlled by Britain, Germany’s only chance was to deploy fleets of submarines to sink every transport sailing for British and French ports that they could.

This meant not only British and French ships, but neutral shipping as well and this, in turn, meant American vessels would be targets.


The U.S. had become a primary source of raw materials, munitions and food supplies for the allies. American banks had loaned billions of dollars to the allied governments to finance the war. The Germans felt justified in attacking American ships if it was necessary.

The Germans also were convinced that should the Americans choose to join the fight, they would be of little use. Their army was small, and apparently, inept. In 1916, they had been unable to stop the Mexican revolutionary, Pancho Villa, from raiding U.S. towns and had failed to track him down in Mexico during the ensuing “Intervention.”


The American public was divided on the issue of the war. German-Americans had donated several million dollars for war relief in Germany. Irish-Americans increasingly regarded Britain as a greater tyranny than the Kaiser’s Germany.

The Germans decided to announce the revocation of the “Sussex Pledge” in February, 1917. Germany would resume unrestricted submarine warfare against all shipping in the war zone, regardless of any claim of neutrality.

President Wilson’s immediate response was to arm all U.S. merchant vessels but did not declare war.


To further divert American attention from the war in Europe, the German Foreign Office sent a top-secret message, The Zimmerman Telegram, to their ambassador in Mexico City. This was an offer for Mexico to declare war on the U.S., tie up U.S. forces along the border and, when Germany emerged victorious in Europe, receive back the lands of the Southwest taken from Mexico in 1848!

The telegram was intercepted by the British Secret Service, decoded and “leaked” to American newspapers, enraging American public opinion against the Germans.


In March, German submarines sank several U.S. merchant ships in what proved to be a very successful campaign to reduce shipments to the allies.

President Wilson responded by diplomatic protest and the withdrawal of the American ambassador from Berlin. Teddy Roosevelt blasted Wilson as being “too proud to fight.”

The U-boat attacks continued and Wilson severed diplomatic ties with Germany. The German Ambassador was expelled. Evidence was found linking the Germans to acts of sabotage at American explosive factories. Public opinion was increasingly favoring a declaration of war.


On April 2, 1917, President Wilson went before Congress and asked that the vote a declaration of War against Germany. On April 6, the Congress voted to declare war. It quickly authorized the establishment of a Selective Service system to impose conscription on the male population 18 and older, the 1st military draft in the U.S. since the Civil War.

Wilson quickly developed a policy of “Peace without Victory” based on “14 Points” which would ensure basic rights for all nations, enforced by the “League of Nations”, an international body designed to guarantee that this would be the “War to end all Wars.”


Wilson called for the creation of a multi-million man army, at a time when the standing force was 100,000. He named General John J. Pershing, “Black Jack,” as commander of the A.E.F. ( American Expeditionary Force) and ordered him to move to France with a token force by July, 1917—they arrived on Bastille Day and Col. William R. Stanton, Pershing’s Chief of Staff proclaimed “Lafayette, we are here!”

The U.S. Navy, began convoying supply and troop ships across the Atlantic in co-operation with the Royal Navy. Together they began to lay mines to stop the U-boats.


The U.S. economy quickly geared up for even more war production. Both industrial and agricultural production and profits soared.

Liberty Bonds and increased income taxes raised the funds needed to “win the war.”

Americans voluntarily reduced consumption of meat, grain, gasoline and coal to support the “war effort.”

The U.S. government began to extend massive loans to the Allies to stave off their economic collapse. American troops would provide an immense loan of blood to prevent military collapse.

The Collapse1918

Although American forces arrived in small numbers in 1917, a few divisions by the fall of 1917, their arrival gave the allies hope.

The much vaunted Friedenkampf failed to achieve the necessary breakthrough of the allied lines.

The Mexican government declined to accept the German proposal for an alliance against the U.S.

The naval forces of the U.S. and Britain gradually wore down the “German Submarine Menace”

Only in Russia, had the Germans succeeded in establishing a Bolshevik Government pledged to peace with Germany.

The Collapse1918

In early 1918,`the German General Staff , led by Field Marshalls Paul von Hindenburg and Eric von Ludendorff began preparations for a last-ditch effort to win the war in the west. Tens of thousands of troops were transferred from the Russian Front to the Western Front. Young boys and old men were pressed into military service as well.

The Ludendorff Offensive, sometimes called the “Gambler’s Throw” was seen as the last roll of the dice to end the war by capturing Paris before the Americans were fully ready to fight.

Would fortune favor the bold?

The Collapse1918

From March 21 to April 29, 1918, the German army made enormous gains first at St. Quentin and then at Lys. The British were driven back as much as 40 miles creating a huge salient in the allied lines. The Germans were not able to achieve a total breakthrough however.

On May 27, Ludendorff launched an attack on the French portion of the lines at The Aisne and drove the French back towards Paris, coming to within 37 miles of the city and allowing the city to be shelled by long range artillery.

On June 4, the Germans launched an attack against the 2nd American Division, brought up to reinforce the French. American Marines stopped the Germans at Chateau-Thierry.

The Collapse1918

All further German attempts to advance were turned back, and every week brought more American divisions into the line of battle.

On July, 18, 1918, Marshall Ferdinand Foch, the Supreme Allied Commander, launched a counteroffensive built around 9 American Divisions. From this date on, the tide of victory turned to favor the allies, who, despite heavy casualties, continuously drove the German forces back from Paris and North towards Germany.

By September 29, Marshall Ludendorff was convinced that Germany’s only hope was to seek an armistice.

The Collapse1918

In short order the government of Germany resigned and a new government appealed to President Wilson for an armistice based on the 14 Points. As negotiations dragged on over several weeks, the German army continued to be driven back through France and Belgium by the Allied forces.

On October 27, Ludendorff resigned his position as field commander. On October 28, the German fleet still based in Kiel mutinied when ordered to put to sea and forces through out northern Germany quickly joined them.

By November 8, a revolution in Bavaria led to the decision to force the Kaiser to abdicate on November 9 and to establish a German Republic. Wilhelm II sought asylum in the Netherlands.

The Collapse1918

On November 8, Matthias Erzberger, a leader of the German Reichstag, met with Marshall Foch in a railway dining car at Compiegne just behind the front lines. He was given the terms for an armistice approved by the allied leaders and was told that they were non-negotiable:

Germany withdraws from all occupied territories.

German troops withdraw from all areas in central and eastern Europe where they were supporting Austria, from Turkey and from occupied Russia.

Germany surrenders her submarine and surface fleet.

The Allies occupy the Rhineland of Germany.

Armistice 11/11/11/1918

The terms of the Armistice, took effect at 11:00 AM on November 11, 1918. The guns of the Western Front fell silent for the first time since 1914.

German troops withdrew from France and Belgium. When they crossed the Rhine into Germany, they continued to march an additional 30 miles into the Fatherland and then, most of them simply laid down their arms and went home.

Allied armies marched `into Germany as the Germans retreated. The French reclaimed Alsace-Lorraine. British and American troops occupied the Rhineland itself.

At the same time the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires collapsed.

World War IThe Cost

Although the exact numbers are unknown, it is estimated that 10,000,000 men were killed and 20,000,000 were wounded during WW I.The financial price of the war is estimated at a

direct cost of $180,500,000,000 and an indirect cost of $151,612,500,000 for a total of $332,112,500,000. In today’s currency this would be as much as 300 trillion dollars.

4 Empires were obliterated: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman and Russian.

1 new great power emerged: the United States of America.

World War IThe Consequences

America’s entry into the war, with the rapid development of its enormous industrial and military resources and the expansion of its economic power left the nation ideally situated to lead the quest for a just and lasting peace.

Woodrow Wilson, having promoted the 14 Points both at home and in Europe, was regarded by both victor and vanquished alike as the most likely “savior” of western civilization. Wilson agreed to join the leaders of Great Britain, France and Italy at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 to bring about a just and lasting peace. He would become the 1st President to travel to Europe while in office.

Paris Peace Conference1919

Wilson was greeted by cheering crowds in Paris, London and Rome. Even newspapers in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey proclaimed that Wilson would protect them from the vicious allies. Even Wilson came to believe that he could do no wrong.

From January to June, delegates of the Allies and Associated Powers hammered out the future of post war Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The map of the world was redrawn. The fate of the Central Powers was determined. Delegates of the defeated nations were denied admission to the Conference. This was not a negotiation it was a Diktat.


Despite Wilson’s best intentions, Peace without Victory would become a Victor’s Peace.

Wilson’s primary partners had a different views as to the nature of the peace:

David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain realized that his chances for re-election hinged convincing the British public that he was not “soft on the Huns.” He proposed that the war costs of Britain be reimbursed by the Germans.

Paris Peace Conference 1919

Georges Clemenceau, Premier of France, had himself been a German prisoner of war in 1870, and now sought to savage France’s greatest enemy in the

hour of defeat. His nickname was “the tiger.” He held that Germany must be held accountable for the war and its entire cost. It must surrender territory, treasure and its military system. It must never be able to threaten France again.

Paris Peace Conference 1919

Vittorio Orlando, Prime Minister of Italy, was fourth and least important member of the “Big 4.”

Italy had delayed its entry into the war and then suffered the catastrophic defeat of Caporetto. He was regarded as the “beggar at the feast.” Although Wilson tried to include him the proceedings, Lloyd George and Clemenceau treated him with disdain. Italy came to regard itself as a victor treated like one of the vanquished. Orlando eventually said that Wilson, like Christ, was hung between “two thieves.”

The Big Four


Despite his best intentions, Wilson compromised away his 14 Points, one by one, to placate his “partners.”

Ultimately only 1 “point” remained, the creation of the League of Nations which would have the power of redefining the terms of the treaties to maintain a just peace. Wilson came to rely entirely on the League to save what had become a “bad” peace. Ironically, when Wilson brought the treaty home to the U.S. in June, 1919, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty precisely because it required American membership in the League, which the Senate objected to as violating Washington’s warnings on entangling alliances.


Woodrow Wilson refused to negotiate with his own Senate and attempted to take the issue to the American public. The public was tired of the European’s constant bickering and back stabbing, believed Washington had been right and so rejected the President’s appeal. Wilson collapsed from a stroke and remained bed-ridden in the White House for most of the rest of his term. His Vice President refused to take on any Presidential duties for fear of his own impeachment and as a result Wilson’s wife, Edith Galt Wilson, functioned as President. Wilson would die in 1923, a broken man, killed by the failure of the Peace he had sponsored.

Wilson 1918 & 1920

The Treaty of VersaillesFatal Peace

The Paris Peace Conference consisted of 4 separate treaties with the 4 major belligerent powers at wars end. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had fragmented in November 1918 and Hungary had declared its independence, so Hungary was treated with separately from Austria. The Ottoman Empire was collapsing.

Germany now governed as a Republic from a temporary capital at Weimar was the central focus of the process and was subject to a treaty worked out by the allies, but not the Germans, at the Palace of Versailles—hence the Treaty of Versailles.

Treaty of VersaillesFlawed Peace

Germany was determined in the treaty to be entirely and solely responsible for the outbreak and course of WW I. Article 231—The War Guilt Clause—Stated That Germany was responsible and that Germany must pay for the entire cost of the war to every nation which had incurred any war expense. The total amount had not been determined so they were responsible for an indeterminate amount. Failure to pay this amount, however great would result in military action against Germany.


Germany was stripped of virtually all of its military establishment. The Army was to be reduced to a maximum of 100,000 men. They would have only rifles, side-arms and a limited number of machine guns. They would be allowed no artillery or tanks.

The German’s would be allowed no military aircraft of any sort. They would be allowed no Zeppelin airships. They would be allowed no aircraft factories.

The German’s would surrender all naval vessels to the Allies. They would be allowed no capital ship of more than 12,000 tons. They would be allowed no submarines. They would not be allowed to build submarines.

Treat of VersaillesThe Flawed Peace

Germany would be forced to Demilitarize the Rhineland, a strip of Germany 30 miles wide along the Rhine frontier between Germany and France. In this area they could base no troops and raise no fortifications. They would do the same in the Ruhr Valley, their primary center of steel production.

Germany would surrender portions of East Prussia to the newly recreated nation of Poland.

Germany would give up all overseas colonies.Germany would never be allowed to join any

military alliance and would never be allowed to restore its Empire.


Germany was utterly defeated. When the German delegation was called into the Palace of Versailles to sign the treaty, they were aghast. When they questioned the document they were told either sign or the war will be renewed. The Germans had already suffered from the effects of 8 more months of British blockade, which continued on after the Armistice. They had seen their Army and Navy melt away, while British, French and American troops occupied German cities. They had no choice but to sign. They had signed their own death warrants and had signed a guarantee that the Great War would lead to an even Greater one.

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