The Final Offensive

The razor and the noose

We’ve had Enough!

• By the beginning of 1918 people had had enough of the war.

• Most families had lost someone in the fighting• Everyone was affected by shortages of food,

clothes and fuel• In January, there was a strike of 100,000

workers on the Clyde; by July there were widespread strikes throughout the country

• To make matters worse, Spanish Flu, which had already spread through Europe, reached Britain and killed 151,446 people within a year

Lets summarise this

People had had enough of the

fighting because =

Most people had lost someoneimportant to

them

Shortages of food,clothes and fuel. Also thousandsOf people were

striking

Spanish Flu was killing thousands

Of people

Lets look at these in some more detail

The Razor• Using the U-boats, the

German navy thought they could really hurt Britain by stopping or limiting supplies coming in and out of Britain.

• In February 1917, Germany started an unrestricted submarine warfare campaign which would stop all ships coming from or going to Britain.

• This campaign quickly affected Britain. Foods such as tea, sugar, meat and potatoes were in short supply.

What did Britain do about it?

• The danger was so great, the British government was forced into action

• In December 1916 David Lloyd George became Prime Minister and he took steps to stop food disappearing.

….Contd

Rationing

People were limited to the amount of bread, meat and sugar they could eat a week.

The idea was to make sure everyone got their fare share.

Convoys

David Lloyd George insisted that a convoy system should be used to protect British ships

The Noose• The British retaliated by blocking German ports

do supplies and food could not come in to or leave Germany.

• Essentials became in short supply – by 1917 each man was only getting ¼ of a loaf per day and a tiny amount of butter.

• To make matters worse, the harvest of 1916 failed and the winter of 1916-1917 became known as the ‘turnip winter’ as the German people were forced to eat animal fodder to survive.

Solution?• To overcome the shortages, the Germans began

to produce ERSATZ.• These were substitute foods• They often tasted horrible and were very

unhealthy.• For example, ersatz coffee was made from

acorns.• Millions of Germans were undernourished.• This lack of good healthy food during the war

meant that the Germans were more open to disease; and when Spanish Flu struck Germany at the end of the war, perhaps as many as 1 million people died because they could not fight it.

At the Front

• The men on the Front Line were also becoming disheartened.

• By the end of 1917, 150,000 men had died at the Battle of Passchendaele

• All that had been gained was 5 miles of land around Ypres

• Soldiers were beginning to hate the Generals

• They also began to question what they were actually fighting for.

Welcome News!!!

• In April, 1917 news came that the USA had declared war on Germany.

• Many hoped that when large numbers of fresh, well-equipped American troops reached Europe, they would make all the difference

What did Germany need to do?

• They had to attack before:

• The starving forced the army to give up.

• Thousands of Americans arrived

• On 21st March 1918 Germany attacked.

• They made good progress and nearly won

• However, after 5 months German troops were exhausted.

• The Allies hit back and the Americans arrived.

• They began to fight back – using tanks!

The Final Battle• On 26th September 1918, the Allies captured the

Hindenburg Line (the strongest of all German trenches).

• They took 400,000 prisoners.

• The German army had collapsed.

• At home in Germany, thousands of ordinary people also began to give up. They were too hungry and too many were dying from Spanish Flu. People began rioting.

The End is Here!

• The German government wrote to the American President, Woodrow Wilson, and asked for an armistice.

• On 11th November 1918, in a railway carriage in the French forest of Compiegne, the German government agreed to the Allies’ demands.

• At 11.00am all fighting stopped.• The Great War was over.

Punishment of the Guilty• In January of 1919 the important leaders during the war met

in Europe to have a Peace Conference.

• The main men were:• President Wilson of America

• Lloyd George of Britain

• Prime Minister Clemenceau of France

• They all had very different ideas of how Germany should be treated.

Who were the “Big Three”?

Georges Clemenceau

Prime Minister of France. He

was a fiery politician

nicknamed ‘The Tiger’.

David Lloyd George

British Prime Minister.

Lloyd George was an

experienced politician.

Woodrow WilsonThe American President. He

had brought the US into the war

in 1917. He came to the

conference with a 14 Point

Programme.

The Attitudes of the Big Three toward Germany and Peace

German power must be destroyed so that France can feel safe from attack.

Clemenceau wanted Germany to be treated harshly

Germany must remain a strong country. They must take a full part in building peace and security throughout Europe.

Peace must be fair. It must not be in the spirit of revenge.

Germany should not be punished.

All 3 leaders had to take account of what their people wanted.

What did the Big Three want?The leaders of France, Britain and America met in Paris and

drew up The Treaty of Versailles.The Big Three:

Clemenceau PM of France:“Teach Germany a Lesson.”

“Make Germany pay!”

“Stop her from threatening France ever again!”

Lloyd George PM ofBritain:

“Germany should be made to pay for the damage of the war – but a harsh Treaty might cause problems in the future.”

President Wilson of the USA:“There must be peace in Europe.”

“There must not be a war in the future for the USA to be involved in.”

Germany was not allowed to participate. She Germany was not allowed to participate. She was told she must accept the terms of the was told she must accept the terms of the treaty or there would be terrible treaty or there would be terrible consequencesconsequences..

Key Point….

Public Opinion

• The public in Britain and France were not ready to forgive Germany!

• The British and French had suffered too much: too many people had died, or been injured.

• People believed that Germany had been responsible for starting the war - people especially in France wanted revenge.

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918

The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris The Versailles Palace was considered the most appropriate venue simply because of its size - many hundreds of people were involved in the process and the final signing ceremony in the Hall of Mirrors could accommodate hundreds of dignitaries. 

Many wanted Germany, now led by Friedrich Ebert, smashed - others, like Lloyd George, were privately more cautious.

Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles• The treaty was signed on

June 28th 1919 after months of argument and negotiation amongst the so-called "Big Three" as to what the treaty should contain.

• Now that the Kaiser had abdicated many Germans believed the Allies no longer had a quarrel with the German people

• Based on Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’ offered in 1917

• They were wrong• Sign or face invasion

Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, June 28 1919

Outrageous!

• Germans were horrified and shocked when they saw the treaty

• Some said they would rather fight on• Terms were humiliating• Called it a Diktat – a dictated peace• Felt angry but the government knew

Germany could not fight on – unbearable suffering

The terms of the Treaty

The most important sections of the treaty dealt with:

War Guilt

War Guilt

Reparations

Territory Military

Terms

• WAR GUILT – Article 235: Germany had to accept responsibility for causing the war.

• TERRITORIES – Parts of Germany were given to other countries. New countries were formed eg. Poland. Germany also lost its overseas possessions

• REPARATIONS (compensation) – Germany had to pay £6.6 billion to help repair the damage caused by the war.

• MILITARY – The German army was not allowed to exceed 100,000. Germany was not permitted to have a large navy or airforce.

B R A T

Task

• Collect a Treaty of Versailles worksheet.

• Cut out the pictures and the text

• Arrange the correct pictures with the text and stick them into your jotter.

• Ext: Collect textbook p.88-89. Use details to construct in-depth spider diagram of the terms of the Treaty

The League of Nations – Rebuilding the World!

• President Wilson believed that an international organisation was needed.

• This organisation would allow countries to talk to each other and to prevent fighting.

• He called this the League of Nations.• President Wilson thought that the League should

keep the peace.• He also thought the main way to do this was by

all the countries who were part of it to have no weapons, artillery or forces. This was called disarmament.

……Contd League

• In joining, every member promised to support the League and all that it was trying to achieve.

Should any country resort to war…it shall be the duty of the council…to recommend what force shall be used to protect the Covenant of the League.

Source A. Article 16, League Covenant

Problems• America said no!

- The American government did not want to be involved in the arguments of other nations – they rejected the Treaty of Versailles

• Russia and Germany were not allowed to join!

- Russia was not trusted by Britain and France did not want to deal with Germany.

• Any decisions made by the Council had to be agreed by everyone (unanimous)

- difficult to get in crises. If any country did not vote supporting the League then the League could not do anything

• The League had no army!- some people though it was useless. If a country decided to go to war then how

was the League supposed to take action

Problems for the League

America said NO!

Russia and Germany not allowed to join League

All decisions had to be agreed by everyone (unanimous)

No army