World War 1 - America Joins the War - PDF

Okay, here is the information extracted and converted into a markdown format: ### Chapter Fourteen - America Joins the War Europe had been catapulted into war in 1914 with little to no time to consider the implications or consider the consequences. America, on the other hand, debated the matter fo...

Okay, here is the information extracted and converted into a markdown format: ### Chapter Fourteen - America Joins the War Europe had been catapulted into war in 1914 with little to no time to consider the implications or consider the consequences. America, on the other hand, debated the matter for two and a half years before entering the fray. At the outbreak of the war, Woodrow Wilson had implored every American to be neutral in both thought and deed, and in the beginning, they did just that. They adopted a policy of neutrality and isolation that lasted until April 1917. There were many political and social reasons why America wanted to remain neutral or, at least, not actively get involved in the fighting. Woodrow Wilson had won reelection in November 1916 with the campaign slogan, "He Kept Us Out of the War." Besides having ideological reasons for staying out of the conflict, German- and Austrian-born Americans also still remained loyal to their homelands, and the influential Irish-Americans staunchly opposed fighting alongside what they perceived to be the oppressive British Empire. Woodrow Wilson, a student of modern history, was well aware that the causes of war were not black and white and that the situation in Europe was complicated. He did not believe that it would be to America's advantage to take sides, and as long as America's interests were not threatened and trade could continue unhindered, Wilson saw no reason to get involved in what was, to his way of thinking and that of his supporters, essentially a European problem. America's neutrality extended to a policy of "fairness," meaning that, on paper, American banks could lend money to either side, and trade with both the Allies and Germans was permitted. And in September, the first American Red Cross Mercy Ship was sent to Europe with medical staff and supplies. Appearing neutral and actually being neutral, however, were not the same thing, and Britain's blockade of German ports made trade with Germany almost impossible. While America may have stayed off the battlefield initially, they did not remain totally unaffected or uninvolved, and they suffered their first casualties on May 7, 1915, when 128 American men, women, and children drowned after a German U-boat torpedoed the British liner Lusitania. When this happened, former President Theodore Roosevelt condemned Wilson and his policy of neutrality, calling on America to enter the war on the side of the Allies. But his call to action was unsuccessful. Some Americans, however, could no longer ignore the scale of destruction and devastation taking place on the battlefields of Europe and enlisted to fight in France more than a year before America joined the war. On August 31, 1916, Henry Butters became the first American casualty of the First World War when he was killed at the Somme while fighting for the Allies. At the beginning of 1917, a chain of events occurred that forced America's hand and brought them into the war. On January 9, 1917, after being battered at the Somme, Germany, fearing they would not be able to win the war by conventional means, announced that they were resuming unrestricted submarine warfare. This was not a direct threat against America but rather an attempt to defeat Britain by cutting off their Atlantic supply lines; however, indirectly, it did threaten the safety of American citizens, especially sailors. As a result, Washington severed diplomatic ties with Berlin. Then in March 1917, a German telegraph, intercepted and decoded by British intelligence, was sent from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the Mexican president, suggesting a military alliance between the two countries. In exchange for support in the war, Mexico would win back Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico if Germany won. When this telegram was made public, there was widespread outrage among the public and politicians alike. As the war moved closer to their doorstep, America could no longer afford to remain uninvolved, and they ended their policy of isolation and neutrality. On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson made a request before a joint session of Congress to declare war on Germany. On April 4, the Senate voted to declare war, and two days later, the House agreed. On April 6, 1917, after years of staying out of the conflict, America found itself officially at war with Germany, and within a matter of weeks, the first US troops, commanded by General John J. Pershing, were sent to France. At the outbreak of the First World War, America did not have a large standing army, but with the declaration of war, there was a burst of pro-war enthusiasm, and within a few months, an enormous American army had been mobilized. Soon the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) arrived on the Western Front at the rate of 10,000 men per day, and the war-weary Allied troops enthusiastically welcomed these reinforcements. The fresh troops greatly strengthened the Allied strategic positions and boosted morale. Ultimately, almost two million American soldiers crossed the Atlantic to fight alongside the Allies on the battlefields of Europe. But it wasn't just boots on the ground that the Allies gained when America joined the war. America also made a major contribution in terms of much-needed raw materials, arms, and supplies. Prior to America entering the war, the Allies were buying supplies at a cost of over 75 billion dollars a week, but after April 1917, they no longer had to pay this exorbitant amount, and this quite possibly saved Britain and France from bankruptcy. American ships also helped bolster the strength of the naval blockade of Germany. ### Chapter Fifteen - The Final Days of the War and the Treaty of Versailles The Hundred Days Offensive, fought from August 8 to November 11, 1918, was the final offensive of the First World War. The Battle of Amiens marked the beginning of the end of the war. The attack, led by the British 4th Army with men from 10 Allied divisions and more than 500 tanks, broke through the German lines, and by the end of the day, a gap 15 miles (24 km) long had opened up in the German line south of the Somme. The panic sown by the tank attack and the collapse of German morale led General Erich von Ludendorff to refer to the battle as "the black day of the German Army." The Allies managed to gain 12 miles (19 km) throughout the first three days, and their advance was only slowed because the troops outran their supporting artillery and supply lines. On August 10, the Germans began to pull back toward the Hindenburg Line, a German defensive line from Arras to Laffaux near Soissons on the Aisne. On August 21, Haig launched a fresh offensive at Albert and successfully pushed back the German $2^{nd}$ Army over a 34-mile (55 km) front. The French then won the Second Battle of Noyon and captured the town of Noyon on August 29 with Bapaume also falling on the same day. With the front line broken, the Allies steadily forced the Germans back toward the Hindenburg Line. On September 29, 1918, the Allies launched their central attack on the Hindenburg Line, and on that same day, Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff informed Kaiser Wilhelm II that the war was lost and negotiations for peace should begin. By October 5, the Allies had broken through the Hindenburg Line, and on October 8, it collapsed, and the German High Command was forced to accept that the war was over as Germany was on the brink of collapse. By October 1918, there were mass desertions from the ranks as exhausted and demoralized German soldiers refused to continue fighting. In November, when the High Seas Fleet was ordered to launch a massive attack on the Royal Navy, they mutinied. In Munich, a group of socialists and anarchists seized power, and soon Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Halle, Osnabrück, and Cologne were all in the hands of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils, and Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate and flee Germany. Even though by September 1918 the defeat of Germany was inevitable, the fighting continued until the bitter end, and sadly the last soldier killed in the First World War was Henry Gunther, an American soldier who died one minute before the armistice came into effect. Just after 5 a.m. on November 11, the armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiegne in France. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, after more than four years of suffering, horror, and untold misery, bugles across Europe sounded the end of a devastating war that had left ten million soldiers dead, and the guns finally fell silent in Europe. At last, the war to end all wars was over. In January 1919, the Paris Peace Conference was convened at Versailles to establish the terms of the peace after the surrender of the Central Powers. Almost thirty nations were present at the Paris Peace Conference, but proceedings were dominated by the "Big Four," namely Britain, France, America, and Italy. Russia was conspicuously absent at the conference. Even though Russia had fought on the side of the Allies until March 1918, when the Bolshevik government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany to end the fighting on the Eastern Front, the Allies believed they had forfeited their place at the peace table. The Allies also refused to recognize the new Bolshevik government, and they were not invited to the Paris Peace Conference. The Central Powers were also excluded even though it was their fate that was being decided. The French and British called for Germany to be subjected to harsh punitive measures. They not only wanted to punish Germany, but they also wanted to cripple the country and prevent Germany from ever again going to war against them. The Treaty of Versailles set out the terms of German surrender and laid out the compromises reached at the conference. These included the formation of the League of Nations, reparations, and the honoring of pre-existing agreements regarding the postwar distribution of territories within Europe. Even though it was only the Allied Powers around the negotiating table, discussions were often fraught with tension as each country came to the conference with their own agenda. Britain and France had fought side-by-side for four years with Italy entering the fray a year later, and as America had only entered in 1917, they were not bound by any pre-existing agreements between the Allied Powers. The first order of business was to carve up German territory, and within the terms of the treaty, the new government of the Weimar Republic had to surrender approximately 10% of its pre-war territory in Europe and all its overseas holdings. The Port of Danzig and the coal-rich Saarland would be administered by the League of Nations. This allowed France to exploit the economic resources of the region until 1935. In the east, Germany lost Upper Silesia, a large section East Prussia and Memel. This came as a shock to the Germans as they had imagined their borders would be returned to pre-war status. And they didn't fare much better in the west as the Saar was placed under the control of the League of Nations for fifteen years, the left bank of the Rhine was permanently demilitarized, an Anschluss (annexation) of Austria was forbidden, and the entire Rhineland was to be occupied for up to fifteen years. Eupen-Malmedy, a small predominantly German-speaking region on the border between Belgium and Germany, was handed over to Belgium. President Wilson objected to many of the territorial redistributions that the Allied Powers wanted to enforce, including Italy's demands on the Adriatic, but to no avail, and the Allied Powers redrew the map of Europe to their liking. Furthermore, the Germans had to accept sole responsibility for the war and pay financial reparations to the Allies to the tune of 132 billion gold Reichmarks (32 billion dollars). This was over and above an initial 5 billion dollar payment and an annual coal reparation of 40 million tons. The treaty also limited the size of the German army and navy. The army could not exceed 100,000 men, and military aircraft, submarines, and tanks, amongst other weapons, were forbidden. The Allies demanded the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet, but it was scuttled before it reached the naval base at Scapa Flow. Ninety percent of the merchant navy also had to be handed over to the Allies. Provisions were also made for the trial of Kaiser Wilhelm II and a number of other high-ranking German officials as war criminals. But this never became possible as Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands refused to extradite him, and eventually, following two decades as a freeman in exile, Kaiser Wilhelm II died at the age of 82. The Germans had not expected to be treated so harshly by the Allies, and they soon resented the punitive conditions imposed on them by the Treaty of Versailles, and unrest grew. It would, however, be a mistake to lay the full blame for the Second World War at the door of the Paris Peace Conference, but there is no doubt that the harsh punitive measures imposed on Germany by the Allies played a significant role in the rise of the Third Reich. Adolf Hitler was cleverly able to exploit the economic, social, and political crises of the fledgling Weimar Republic to create the conditions in which he could rise to chancellor in 1933 and ultimately become führer. By trying to prevent another war, the Allies unintentionally created a breeding ground for intense German nationalism that ultimately unleashed an evil force the likes of which the world had never seen before and few could have imagined.