World War One A Two Front War Germanys Schlieffen Plan failed, and Germany quickly found itself fighting a two-front war: against Britain and France in the west and against Russia in the east The Western Front Both sides dug interlocking trenches (deep expansive ditches) for shelter Conditions were unbearable hot in summer, cold in winter, wet and muddy when it rained - leading to the rampant spread of disease and trench foot Trench Warfare Trench Foot No Mans Land The area between the Entente Powers trenches and the German trenches came to be called no mans land everything there had been destroyed and no one could survive there for long because there was no shelter from enemy fire No mans land was riddled with corpses, land mines, unexploded ordinance, and barbed wire Stalemate The wars Western Front quickly became a stalemate Germans attacked at Battle of Verdun: over 500,000 combined casualties in 11 months, before the German attack failed British attacked at Battle of the Somme: over 1 million casualties in 5 months, including 60,000 British soldiers killed or wounded in just one day, before the British attack failed. The Eastern Front Russia invaded Germany in August 1914, but were pushed back; all remaining fighting in the east during the war took place in Russia Russia was not industrialized and struggled to keep its troops supplied, but it had nearly limitless numbers of poorly trained peasants to send into combat The Ottomans The Ottomans closed the entrance to the Black Sea (a vital supply route for British aid to Russia) In 1915 a mix of British and colonial troops tried to capture the entrance at the Battle of Gallipoli, but were forced to retreat after 10 months and 200,000 casualties The Ottomans, however, lost much (including Iraq) when Arabs under their rule took advantage and rebelled (with British aid). Other Participants Italy left the Triple Alliance and joined the Entente Powers (Britain, France, & Russia) in 1915 after promises of new territory at wars end Japan joined the Entente Powers and seized German outposts in China and the Pacific after promises of being given a free hand in China Colonial Fighting Fighting also took place between the various colonies in Africa, but colonial recruiting efforts received mixed results many refused to fight for the powers which oppressed them, while others saw it as an opportunity to achieve citizenship or to earn independence The War Drags On By 1917, troops and civilians on both sides were demoralized Germany was drafting 15 year olds Britain was nearly bankrupt French troops had begun to mutiny and Italian troops had started deserting Russia Exits the War Revolution in Russia March 1917: bread riots in St. Petersburg grew into a full scale revolution Thousands of Russian troops left the front to return home to take part in the revolution Early in 1918, new Russian leader Vladimir Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, surrendering huge amounts of territory, and pulled Russia out of the war Russias withdrawal closed the Eastern Front and allowed Germany to mass all of its troops on the Western Front Submarine Warfare German U-boats conducted unrestricted submarine warfare, sinking any Entente Powers ships without warning U.S. insisted that Americans had a right to safe sea travel, even on British ships May 1915: Germans sank the passenger ship Lusitania, killing 1200 civilians, including 128 Americans this led U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to openly denounce Germany The Zimmermann Note Early 1917: British agents intercepted a message from German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann to the Mexican government Germany offered to help Mexico retake the American Southwest if they would begin a war that would keep the U.S. from being able to help the Entente Powers in Europe Britain publicized the note; many Americans reacted angrily and called for declaring war on Germany The U.S. Enters the War April 1917: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany The U.S. sent 2 million troops, plus fresh financial aid to Europe in 1918 Wilsons Fourteen Points January 1918: Wilson proposed Fourteen Points or terms for ending the war: 1.No more secret alliances 2.Freedom of the seas for all nations 3.The removal of barriers to international trade 4.Demilitarization by all nations 5.An end to colonization 6.Allow Russia to stabilize itself without interference 7.Germany must pull out of Belgium Wilsons Fourteen Points 8.All captured French territory, including that from the 1871 war, must be returned 9.All captured Italian territory must be returned 10.Austria must be freed of German influence 11.All the Balkan states should become free, independent nations 12.The Ottoman Empire should be reduced to just Turkey 13.An independent Poland should be created between Germany and Russia 14.A League of Nations should be formed to resolve future disputes between nations The War Ends March 1918: Germany launched an offensive which stalled out by July and used up Germanys last remaining resources July 1918: Entente Powers launched a counter-offensive; by September, German military leaders advised the Kaiser that the war was lost November 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm stepped down as leader of Germany after rioting by German civilians over food shortages 11 AM, November 11, 1918: All fighting stopped after Germany reached an agreement with the Entente Powers to end the war Costs of the War 8.5 million dead 17 million wounded Widespread famine due to loss of farm production Influenza pandemic swept around the world in 1918, spread by returning soldiers, killing another 20 million Much of Europe was in ruins and all of the European governments were deeply in debt Government had collapsed in Russia, Germany, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire The Peace Conference The terms of peace would be determined by The Big Three after Germanys unconditional surrender Woodrow Wilson (U.S.): wanted a lasting peace based on his Fourteen Points David Lloyd George (Britain): wanted to punish Germany and force them to make financial reparations for costs of war Georges Clemenceau (France): wanted to leave Germany so weak that they could never again threaten France The Treaty of Versailles June 1919: Allies presented Germany with the terms: Germany was to accept all public blame for the war Germany was to make reparations ($30 billion in 1919 or about $350 billion in todays dollars) Limited size of German military Germany was to return territory to France that was taken in 1871 Germany was stripped of its colonies Germany signed the treaty because they had no choice, but they were furious over the terms Nationalism Wins Out Eastern Europe was broken into many small states: Latvia, Lithuania, & Estonia were broken off of Russia Poland was recreated from Russian, German, & Austrian territory Austrian Empire was broken into independent nations of Austria, Hungary, & Czechoslovakia Balkan region was rearranged into Yugoslavia, Romania, & Bulgaria Reorganized Colonies German colonies were divided up and Ottoman territories in the Middle East were taken as new colonies by Great Britain and France Colonized peoples who had sent troops to help the Allies had hoped to be given self-government in return they werent, and felt betrayed as a result Some Still Unhappy Italy was angry because they did not gain any of the territory that the Entente Powers had secretly promised to give them Japan angered over Entente Powers refusal to allow them free reign in China Russia was angry over their exclusion from the treaty process and their loss of territory The League of Nations Wilsons League of Nations, with more than 40 member nations, was created to settle international disputes U.S. did NOT join (also never ratified the Treaty of Versailles), because U.S. became isolationist (wanted to stay out of foreign problems) after the war.