Chapter 6 Section 3 A Bloody Conflict 1

Chapter 6, Section 3 A Bloody Conflict

• 1 st Battle of Marne (Sept 1914) = Allies stop the German advance on Paris • Battle of Ypres (May 1915) = poison gas used for the first time • Battle of Verdun (Feb-July 1916) = longest battle in the war • Battle of Somme (July-Nov 1916) = tanks used for the first time

• When the U. S. entered the war in 1917, European countries had already been fighting for 3 years • The Allies (France, Britain) were in desperate need of help • American soldiers were originally meant to be reinforcements for the Allied forces

• The U. S. also had to find a way to get soldiers and supplies to Europe • The oceans were dangerous due to German U-Boats • The U. S. started the convoy system, where supply ships are escorted by military ships

• American General John J. Pershing felt that the Allied forces had been too defensive & wanted them to go on the offensive, led by the U. S (not French). • He led American soldiers on a series of offensive attacks in 1917 • Americans had a series of victories over Germany along the Western Front (in France), including the Second Battle of the Marne

General John J. Pershing “the coolest man under fire I ever saw”

• While the American army had reinforced the Allied forces, Germany was not getting reinforcements • On November 3, 1918, Austria. Hungary surrendered to the Allies • The German soldiers began to mutiny against their leaders--they were exhausted and wanted out of the war

• On November 11, 1918 (at 11 am), Germany also surrendered to the Allies • The Germans agreed to a cease-fire and then signed an armistice • Armistice = truce • November 11 is known as Veteran’s Day today (it was known as Armistice Day back then)

• In January 1919, the 4 major world leaders (U. S. , Britain, France, and Italy) met in France to discuss a treaty • They met at the palace at Versailles (to negotiate the Treaty of Versailles)

• President Wilson had been developing a plan for peace during the war (Wilson’s Fourteen Points) • Wilson’s Fourteen Points included 5 ways to prevent another war, 8 boundary changes in Europe, but the 14 th Point was Wilson’s favorite: the creation of the League of Nations • League of Nations = a group where nations could meet together and discuss their problems without having to declare war

• Wilson’s 5 Points for preventing another war were: (1) No secret treaties (2) Freedom of the seas for all (3) Lower international tariffs (4) Reduce arms to the lowest point possible (5) Consider the interests of colonial peoples

• Wilson underestimated how angry Britain and France were with Germany • Wilson compromised most of the Fourteen Points in order to include the League of Nations • The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919

• The Treaty of Versailles created 9 new nations in Europe from German, Austro. Hungarian, and Russian territory (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary, E. Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) • 5 new colonies in the Middle East were also created out of the Ottoman Empire (and controlled by France & Britain): Syria, Iraq, Trans-Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine

• The Treaty of Versailles also gave the Alsace-Lorraine territory to France • The Rhineland (West Germany) was demilitarized and controlled by France • Germany was not allowed to maintain an army or have a draft • Germany was forced to admit guilt for all of WWI (war guilt clause) • Germany had to pay $33 billion to the Allies

• When Wilson returned home from the Versailles conference, he faced many critics of the new Treaty • Most critics said that the League of Nations threatened the U. S. foreign policy of isolationism • As a result, the U. S. Congress never ratified the Treaty of Versailles (the U. S. signed a separate treaty with Germany in 1921)