Americans on the European Front

Chapter 19 Section 3

By April 1917, the United States only had 100,000 soldiers, 15,500 Marines, and 132,000 Coast Guard

In June 1917, Wilson sent General John J. Pershing and 14,500 troops to Europe

Congress only sent naval support, supplies, arms, and $3 billion dollars in loans

Pershing pushed for 3 million soldiers by 1918Congress passed the Selective Service Act of 1917 –

authorizing a draft for young menBy 1918 24 million people signed up for draft and 3

million were pickedVolunteers and Guardsman made up the rest of American

Expeditionary Force (AEF) -

Preparing for War

Training for War

In November 1917, followers of Vladimir Lenin called the Bolsheviks in Russia, overthrew the Republican government

Lenin signed a truce with Germany on March 3, 1918 – ended the two-front war Germany was fighting

Germany then sent hundreds of thousands of troops to the West – finally broke deep into Allied lines and focused on capturing Paris

American forces came to the rescue – losing almost half of their troops, they joined the French in pushing back the Germans

The second Battle of Marne – Germans were pushed back and retreated, ending any hope for victory

Turning the Tide of War

Military held training camps – not all the soldiers were trained for long – and then shipped out

In 1917 alone, German U-boats sank more than 400 Allied and neutral ships

Soldiers and merchants then travelled in convoys – unarmed ships (usually merchant or soldier transports) surrounded by destroyers or other armed naval ships

This was highly successful for soldier transportAmerican soldiers surprised Europeans with

their energy and enthusiasm

Preparing for War

Using new weaponry, tanks, Allies were able to break German lines

Over 250,000 American soldiers arrived each monthIn September 1918, 500,000 American soldiers and

100,000 French began to hit the final German linesThe final Allied assault, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, left

the Germans in full retreat by September 26, 1918Planes were in infancy, but were used in large

numbers by 1918Germans zeppelins – floating airships, and bombers

led more than 100 raids on London killing thousands

Counterattack and the Air War

War in the Air

Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire signed separate treaties with the Allies

Austria-Hungary Empire splintered as Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungarians declared independence

German naval commanders pressured generals for peace – signed and armistice – cease-fire, on November 11, 1918

A new influenza virus killed more soldiers and people worldwide than all of the Battles in WWI

Over half of American soldiers and 30 million people worldwide died from this new flu

Ending the War

50,000 Americans died in battle and many more from disease

8 million European soldiers and sailors is only an estimate

Averages 5,000 each day of the warInjured or sick outnumbered the dead in

every major countryOttomans unleashed genocide – organized

killing of an entire people, on Armenians until 1920

Results of the War