Americans at War: WORLD WAR I

Congress declared war in April 1917

More than a year passed before American troops made a significant contribution to the war

ALLIED POWERS: Britain, France, United States, Russia

CENTRAL POWERS: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

Review

While the U.S. was preparing its army, Allies in Europe were growing very desperate

February-April 1917: German submarines sank 844 Allied vessels

Britain’s top naval official predicted Germany would win the war unless the flow of supplies from America increased

Joining the Fight

To maintain the flow of products needed to sustain the war effort, Allied naval leaders developed a CONVOY system

◦ A convoy is a large group of merchant vessels sailing together

Protect Allied Shipping

Light and fast Allied destroyers accompanied the convoys

The first convoys reached Britain in May

Because of the convoy system, Allied ship losses fell to a fraction of what they had been

Meanwhile, American forces were preparing to go overseas

The U.S. Army chose John J. Pershing to command the American Expeditionary Force, which was what American troops were known as in Europe

American Expeditionary Force

Pershing (pictured to the left) insisted that American soldiers fight in separate units under American command

They were rarely integrated with British or French units

President Wilson believed that in order to look victorious, the Americans had to prove themselves on their own in battle

The first American troops reached Europe in June 1917

The unit was not ready for combat…This unit was known as the “First Division”

◦ They were trying to boost up the spirits of the French, who were down from all the fighting

Even though the First Division was not very skilled at fighting, they still brought hope to the Allied nations by finally showing up to fight

1917: Allies were waiting for more American troops, but they were growing increasingly desperate

On the Western Front, Great Britain was very bogged down

Austria-Hungary and Germany had major victories in the meantime

Setbacks and Advances

The new government in Russia was struggling to keep up the war effort

Russian army was exhausted

Under the new leader, Vladimir Lenin, a new form of government started: COMMUNISM◦ Communism is an economic and political system

based on the idea that social classes and the right to private property should be eliminated

Russia Makes Peace

Lenin and Communist Russia

Lenin’s first order of business as a communist leader: pull Russia out of the war

In March 1918, Russia and Germany signed a peace agreement… called the “Treaty of Brest-Litovsk”◦ Transferred 30 percent of Russia’s territory to

Germany

This peace in the east was a huge setback to the Allies

Could Germany knock out the Allies before the bulk of American forces reached Europe?

On March 21, 1918, the German army unleashed a series of attacks called a “peace offensive”

They wanted to defeat the Allies quickly and bring peace

Germany Attacks

Pershing traveled to France to pledge that American troops would now fight under the French

This helped raise the French spirits

The Germans eventually broke through the Allied lines in Belgium and France and eventually reached a town just 50 miles from Paris

While millions of Parisians were fleeing, American troops had arrived to help the Allies

Answer the questions on your reading worksheet

READING: Turning the Tide of the war