Winning the War 1917

Total WarSociety

Cracking under the strain of warNo longer praising deeds of the few

Total WarNations realize society must be committedConscription: The Draft

PropagandaSpreading of ideas to promote or damageMust control public opinion

Collapsing Morale

ProblemsDeath toll, food shortages, military failures

Revolution in Russia: 1917Signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: 1918

Ended Russian participation in war

Impact of Russian WithdrawalBenefit Central Powers

Concentrate on Western Front

Woodrow Wilson

United StatesSubmarine Warfare: Lusitania (British Liner

with 128 Americans) 1915Resolution: U-boats surface to show attacks

Zimmerman NoteGermany asks for Mexico’s supportRetake lands in Texas, Arizona

Declaring War: April 1917Time needed to recruit, train, and supplyWoodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points

Campaign to VictoryFinal Showdown: 1918

Germans launch final pushExhausts Germany

German UprisingsFrustrations for German peopleWilliam II flees to the Netherlands

New German GovernmentSought an ArmisticeNovember 11, 1918 at 11:00 AM

Making Peace

Cost of WarHuman and Material Costs

8.5 Million lives lostPandemic of Influenza

Financial BurdensMust rebuild and pay off debtAllies want Central Powers to pay

Political TurmoilGovernments collapseRadicals want new governments

Versailles

Big Four

Paris Peace ConferenceBig Four

US President Woodrow Wilson

British Prime Minister David Lloyd George

French Georges Clemenceau

Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando

IssuesPayments for war damage

Land agreements

League of Nations

Woodrow Wilson

David George

Georges Clemenceau

Treaty of VersaillesJune 28, 1919

Peacemakers summon German leadersOrdered to sign treaty

German Assumptions “Full Blame”$30 Billion: $400 Billion Today!Give up land

German FeelingsResent treatyArmistice was a cease fire, not surrender

DissatisfactionMandate System

Western powers help modernize coloniesBecame European colonies

Unfulfilled GoalsGermany, Italy, Russia, JapanUnhappy with treaty

Hope for Global PeaceLeague of Nations established: Collective SecurityPolitical/social turmoil would shape future world