WWI: Part IIA New Kind of Warfare and the
War’s Outcome
America Turns the Tide
What America brings to the war
Enthusiasm
Numbers
The idea of the Convoy System Heavy guard of destroyers
that escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean in groups
Prevented German U-boat attacks
A New Kind of Warfare
Trench Warfare
Trench warfare = fighting from trenches (ditches in the ground) It was an old strategy that had been used
in Africa, Asia, and previously in America (during the Civil War) However, its use during WWI was different
because it was of a much greater scale
Its use would create a stalemate (deadlock) between the Allies and Central Powers because neither one was able to make significant advances
Trench Warfare: The Scene
The Trench: where soldiers lived, surrounded by machine gun fire, flying grenades, and exploding artillery shells
“No Man’s Land” : The area between opposing trenches. 1,000s were shot down here
Trench Warfare: The Scene Opposing forces had machine guns and other weapons pointed at enemy trenches at all times, firing whenever a helmet or rifle appeared over the top
Trench Warfare: The Scene
Life in the trenches was miserable. The soldiers stood in deep mud as rats ran across their feet.
Enemy planes dropped bombs, artillery shells exploded nearby, and clouds of poisonous gas floated nearby
One solider: “No one know what was going to happen next”
A New Kind of War Fare
New Weapons of War
Airplanes
• Both sides used planes to map and to attack trenches from above.
• Planes first dropped brinks and heavy objects on enemy troops.
• Soon they mounted guns and bombs on planes.
• Skilled pilots sought in air battles called dogfights.
• The German Red Baron downed 80 Allied planes, until he was shot down.
New Warfare leads to New Hazards
Hazards
Men were surrounded by filth, lice, rats and polluted waterLack of sleep Inhaling of poisonous gas“Shell Shock”
Emotional collapse from which many never recovered
Term coined during WWITrench foot
Caused by standing in wet, cold trenches for long periods of time
Outcome of the War An allied victory shortly after America joined the war
There was momentary victory after the war ended
However, there were many war tragedies: More than 8.5 million people had been killed
European nations had lost almost an entire generation of young men
The war left some 7 million men permanently disabled
Most of Europe lay in ruins and in back economic shape
Outcomes of the War The Fourteen Points
A plan for peace outlined / created by Woodrow Wilson As WWI drew to a close, the scale of destruction and
massive loss of life was shocking Wilson’s Fourteen Points was his way of trying to
ensure a “just and lasting peace” Some of what the plan called for:
Open diplomacy (negotiations) Freedom of the seas The removal of trade barriers Reduction of military arms Self-determination
The right of the people to decide their own political status
The League of Nations: an organization of nations that would work together to settle disputes and prevent future wars
Outcomes of the War
Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference began on January 12, 1919, with leaders representing 32 nations in attendance
President Wilson led the group of American negotiators
The leaders of the Allies dominated the negotiations Germany and the other Central Power nations,
however, were not invited to participate
Outcomes of the War The Treaty of Versailles
The treaty that officially ended WWI
It was created at the Paris Peace Conference, specifically at Versailles (a town in France), hence its name
Outcomes of the War The Treaty of Versailles:
Some of its terms called for: Germany to pay the Allies reparations
Reparations = payments for damages and expenses caused by the war
This amount far exceeded what the German government could actually afford to pay
The League of Nations
Self-determination
The surrender of Central Power colonies to the Allies