Minority involvement in WWI and the Russian Revolution

Group 5: Sean, Madison, Austin, and Rahaf

Women in WWI• In the Spring of 1917, U.S. prepared to enter war in Europe• A draft was issued for this war• Women had to get involved because life still had to go on while the men were at war. Women had to keep “the home fires burning”• There was definitely a shortage of men at home and their jobs needed to be done.• Until WWI, U.S. wasn’t serious about woman power• WWI played a significant part in developing women’s political rights

• Nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine corps. They wore a uniform blouse with insignia.

• • “The first American women enlisted into the regular armed forces were 13,000 women admitted into active duty in the Navy and Marines during World War I, and a much smaller number admitted into the Coast Guard The Yeoman (F) recruits and women Marines primarily served in clerical positions. They received the same benefits and responsibilities as men, including identical pay (US$28.75 per month), and were treated as veterans after the war. These women were quickly demobilized when hostilities ceased, and aside from the Nurse Corps the soldiery became once again exclusively male.”

• “The U.S. Army recruited and trained 233 female bilingual telephone operators to work at switchboards near the front in France”

• • “Sent 50 skilled female stenographers to France to work with the Quartermaster Corps.”

• • “The U.S. Navy enlisted 11,880 women as Yeomen (F) to serve stateside in shore billets and release sailors for sea duty.”

• “Nursing became almost the only area of female contribution that involved being at the front and experiencing the war.”

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYm30Fb2908&safe=active&IP=10.84.8.2&CAT=RRATED&USER=DCS\all_students\13muyskens_sean&CE=0

Colonial Involvement• Great Britain’s control of the sea caused

Germany to be cut off from their colonies, but there were to few to be of any importance. They were actually a drain on Germany’s economy.

• France had many strong colonies that were a major source of wealth, unlike Germany, who only had colonies for prestige.

• • “In August 1914, as the German Army advanced through France and Belgium, more Allied troops were desperately needed for the Western Front. The Indian Army, 161,000 strong, seemed an obvious source of trained men, and the Lahore and Meerut infantry divisions were selected for service in Europe.”

• They had an important role in many battles, but suffered major losses in life and moral

• “The average Indian battalion had 764 men when it landed; by early November the 47th Sikhs had only 385 men fit for duty. The fighting came as a shock to soldiers more used to colonial warfare. One man wrote home 'this is not war; it is the ending of the world'.”

• “Many men saw it as their duty to bring honour to their clan or caste, by fighting bravely on the battlefield. Some communities liked to imagine themselves as warriors. A Sikh soldier, Indar Singh, fighting on the Somme in September 1916, wrote home: 'It is quite impossible that I should return alive. [But] don't be grieved at my death, because I shall die arms in hand, wearing the warrior's clothes. This is the most happy death that anyone can die'.”

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfvDsUPEDak

African American Involvement

• • “There were many African American men willing to serve in the nation’s military, but even as it became apparent that the United States would enter the war in Europe, blacks were still being turned away from military service.”

• • “War Department planners quickly realized that the standing Army of 126,000 men would not be enough to ensure victory overseas.”

• • “On 18 May 1917 Congress passed the Selective Service Act requiring all male citizens between the ages of 21 and 31 to register for the draft. Even before the act was passed, African American males from all over the country eagerly joined the war effort. They viewed the conflict as an opportunity to prove their loyalty, patriotism, and worthiness for equal treatment in the United States.”

• • “Although comprising just ten percent of the entire United States population, blacks supplied thirteen percent of inductees.”

• • “While still discriminatory, the Army was far more progressive in race relations than the other branches of the military. Blacks could not serve in the Marines, and could only serve limited and menial positions in the Navy and the Coast Guard. By the end of World War I, African Americans served in cavalry, infantry, signal, medical, engineer, and artillery units, as well as serving as chaplains, surveyors, truck drivers, chemists, and intelligence officers.”

• • “Although African Americans were earning higher positions in the Army, that did not necessarily mean they were getting equal treatment. Black draftees were treated with extreme hostility when they arrived for training. White men refused to salute black officers and black officers were often barred from the officer’s clubs and quarters. The War Department rarely interceded, and discrimination was usually overlooked or sometimes condoned. Because many Southern civilians protested having blacks from other states inhabit nearby training camps, the War Department stipulated that no more than one-fourth of the trainees in any Army camp in the U.S. could be African American.”

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuLCLPvt758&feature=related

The Russian Revolution(s) of 1917

• The Russian Revolution was comprised of to successful revolutions during 1917: the February and October Revolutions.

Causes of the February Revolution

• Repression of the Russian people under the autocratic rule of the Czars

• Within the current system a majority of the people were poor and hungry

• World War One highlighted the corruption and the inefficiencies of the Russian Government

• Previous attempts at revolution over the years

Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxcVJPMVH78

Effects of the February Revolution

• Removed the imperial government from power

• Power was given to the Petrograd Soviet and Provisional Government

Causes of the October Revolution

• People where unhappy with the Provisional Government (weak)

• Bolshevik influence grows• Lenin leads the organization of

Soviets after returning from exile

Effects of the October Revolution

• New government was established and controlled by the Bolsheviks

• Withdrew from WWI by signing of the Brest-Litvosk with Germany

• Russia forfeited the Baltic state, Finland Poland and the Ukraine

• Economic ruin

War on the Eastern Front• The war in the east was fought along a front hundreds of miles

long. After the Russians invaded German East Prussia and Austrian Galicia in 1914, the Central Powers pushed them back during the next three years.

• The Russian’s military leaders were often old and lazy, and gained their power through social status or wealth. They often clashed on how to fight the war and lacked communication skills. The intelligence system was poor for the Russian armies and resulted in limited contact between forces.

• The war in the east began with the Russian invasion of East Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. The first effort quickly turned to a defeat following the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914. The second incursion was completely successful, with the Russians controlling almost all of Galicia by the end of 1914. Under the command of Nikolai Ivanov and Aleksei Brusilov, the Russians won the Battle of Galicia in September.

• This early Russian success in 1914 on the Austro-Russian border was a reason for concern to the Central Powers and caused considerable German forces to be transferred to the East to take pressure off the Austrians, leading to the creation of the new German Ninth Army

• By June 1916 there were 140 Russian infantry divisions against 105 Austro-German infantry divisions and 40 Russian cavalry divisions against 22 Austro-German. The mobilization of industry and increase of imports enabled the Russian army to resume the offensive. A large attack on the southwestern front started in June. The attack, aimed against the part of the front held by Austro-Hungarians, was initially a spectacular success. The Russian army advanced, capturing several hundred thousand prisoners and several hundred guns. The arrival of important enemy reinforcements from the west, the defeat of the Romanians, and failure of Russia's western allies to shake German defenses, brought the Russian advance to an end in September.

• The Russian casualties in the First World War are difficult to estimate, due to the poor quality of available statistics. Some official Russian sources list 775,400 battlefield fatalities. More recent Russian estimates give 900,000 battlefield deaths and 400,000 dead from combat wounds, or a total of 1,300,000 dead. This is about equal to the casualties suffered by France and Austria-Hungary and about one-third less than those suffered by Germany.

Battle of Tannenberg

• First clash between Germans and Russians on the eastern front in East Prussia. Russian Second Army becomes completely surrounded by German forces and is annihilated. Proves to be one of the greatest German victories of the war.

• Russian forces in East Prussia far outnumbered German forces, but failures in communication and intelligence caused the Russians to maneuver into the German’s trap. German casualties: 12,000 Russian casualties: 142,000

• “The sight of thousands of Russians driven into two huge lakes or swamps to drown was ghastly, and the shrieks and cries of the dying men and horses he will never forget.” (Ghastliest scene of the whole war.)

The Battle of Zamosc- Komarow

• Russian army repels Austrian attack and nearly all of Austrian Galicia falls into Russian hands. August 26-31, 1914.

• The Russian army at first struggled to defeat the Austrians, but the overwhelming number of Russian soldiers compared to Austrian soldiers caused Austria to retreat from Galicia.

• One of the few Russian victories on the Eastern Front.

The Brusilov Offensive• Russia’s most successful military operation of the war pushed the Austrian

forces back along a wide front, but both Russia and Austria were left weakened by the end of the offensive.

• Russian leaders decided to reorganize as a result of of the repeated losses and the civil unrest in Russia. One military leader in particular (Brusilov) came up with a tactic which would catch the Austrians by surprise. Instead of using artillery to batter the enemy trenches, the four armies under Brusilov would all attack at once without the warning brought about by standard artillery barrages.

• When the Russians attacked, the Austrians were taken completely by surprise. The Austrian commander was not even with his troops as he was on a hunting trip. The Russian armies scored immediate success and were able to recapture Bukovina and seize parts of Galicia, which they had lost two years prior.

Scorched Earth• As the Russians retreated from the eastern front, the Russian high

command ordered for the troops to burn dwellings, destroy crops, cut down trees, and force thousands of people to evacuate.

• The tactic was used to prevent the Germans from using the land and towns to sustain their army, yet the Russians were very inconsistent in their efforts. The Russians would often leave entire towns barely damaged, and evacuate all of the inhabitants. This would provide the Germans with sufficient, and convenient shelter for their troops.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk • The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk (now

Brest, Belarus) between Russia and the Central Powers marking Russia's exit from World War I.

• By 1917, Russia and Germany stuck in a stalemate on the Eastern Front of World War I. At the time, the Russian economy neared collapse under the strain of the war effort. The large war casualties and food shortages in the major urban centers brought about civil unrest

• Germany knew that they could push into Russia as Russia was left weak by the revolutions and the conflict on the eastern front, but they wanted to transfer the troops in the east to the western front in order to defeat France.

• The Germans demanded the "independence" of Poland and Lithuania, which they already occupied, while the Bolsheviks demanded a settlement under which the revolutionary government that succeeded the Russian Empire would give neither territory nor money.

• In all, the treaty took away territory that included a quarter of the Russian Empire's population, a quarter of its industry and nine-tenths of its coal mines. Almost all of this territory consisted of nations that Russia had absorbed by conquest during the prior several centuries and correspondingly non-Russian speaking population groups. The treaty also helped to establish, at least for the time being, the independence of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The treaty became obsolete as the world war ended before the end of the year.

• As a consequence of making a separate peace, Soviet Russia was denied the spoils of war enjoyed by the other Allied powers.

Works Cited• "Women's Roles in the World Wars." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Oct. 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_roles_in_the_World_Wars>.• "Women In World War 1." Women In World War 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. <http://women-in-

war2.tripod.com/>.• Bryan, Jami. "Fighting for Respect: African-American Soldiers in WWI." Fighting for Respect: African-

American Soldiers in WWI. Military History Online, 2003. Web. 04 Oct. 2012. <http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwi/articles/fightingforrespect.aspx>.

• MPTnational. "For Love of Liberty - World War I." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuLCLPvt758>.

• The Grolier Library of World War One. Ed. Ellen Dupont. Danbury: Grolier PC, 1997. Print. Grolier Library of World War One 6.

• Howard, Michael. The First World War. New York: Oxford Univ., 2002. Print.• Omissi, David. "India and the Western Front." BBC News. BBC, 2002. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/india_wwone_01.shtml>.• Mosley, Philip E.. "Russian Revolution of 1917." Emayzine.com Dr E's Social Science Webzine. Dr. Eric

Mayer, n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012. http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/russianrev.html.