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Front Line Trenches Soldiers in the First World War did not spend the whole of the time in the trenches. The British Army worked on a 16 day timetable. Each soldier usually spent eight days in the front line and four days in the reserve trench. Another four days were spent in a rest camp that was built a few miles away from the fighting. However, when the army was short of men, soldiers had to spend far longer periods at the front. It was not uncommon for soldiers to be in the front line trenches for over thirty days at a time. On one occasion, the 13th Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment spent fifty-one consecutive days in the line.

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Communication Trenches The trench system on the Western Front consisted of front-line, support and reserve trenches. The three rows of trenches covered between 200 and 500 yards of ground. Communication trenches were dug at an angle to those facing the enemy. These trenches used to transport men, equipment and food supplies.

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Awful Conditions

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Lice Men in the trenches suffered from lice. One soldier writing after the war described them as "pale fawn in colour, and they left blotchy red bite marks all over the body." They also created a sour; stale smell. Various methods were used to remove the lice. A lighted candle was fairly effective but the skill of burning the lice without burning your clothes was only learnt with practice. One soldier described how this worked: "The things lay in the seams of trousers, in the deep furrows of long thick woolly pants, and seemed impregnable in their deep entrenchments. A lighted candle applied where they were thickest made them pop like Chinese crackers. After a session of this, my face would be covered with small blood spots from extra big fellows which had popped too vigorously."

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Trench Feet Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench foot. This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in water logged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war. For example, during the winter of over 20,000 men in the British Army were treated for trench foot. The only remedy for trench foot was for the soldiers to dry their feet and change their socks several times a day.

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Trench Foot in COLOR!!!

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Amputations Over 1.65 million men in the British Army were wounded during World War I. Of these, around 240,000 British soldiers suffered total or partial leg or arm amputations as a result of war wounds. Most of these men were fitted with artificial limbs.

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Poison Gas

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Mustard Gas Mustard Gas (Yperite) was first used by the German Army in September It was one of the most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war. It was almost odourless and took twelve hours to take effect. Yperite was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks.

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Letters from the Trenches Twelve and a half million letters were sent to the Western Front every week. In 1914 the Postal Section of the Royal Engineers had a staff of 250 men. By 1918 the Army Postal Service employed 4,000 soldiers. Letters only took two or three days to arrive from Britain. Even soldiers in the front line trenches received daily deliveries of letters. Soldiers were also encouraged to write letters to friends and family in Britain. Most men decided it would be better to conceal the horrors of the trench warfare. As a result of the Defence of the Realm Act that was passed in 1914, all letters that the men wrote should have been read and censored by junior officers.

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 There was no desire or need to enter war  Outbreak of war had devastating effects on American economy Deep recession spurred by drain of hard specie Loss of overseas markets for trade  By 1915, Britain and France looked to U.S. to supply them with munitions and foodstuffs giving industrial and agricultural sectors of the economy a boost

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 One-third of U.S. population were hyphenated Americans  Vigorous propaganda campaigns by both sides  Economic ties between U.S. and Allies Trade with Germany ended but trade with Allies increased Value of American trade shot up from $824 million in 1914 to $3.2 billion in : loans to Allies exceeded $2.5 billion compared to loans to the Central Powers of only $27 million Nation enjoyed great economic boom  U.S. became neutral in name only

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 U.S. neutrality severely tested after Britain and France imposed naval blockades against Germany  Germans utilized U-Boats New weapon, submarine, they utilized to terrorize shipping traffic across Atlantic  Bombed ships crossing Atlantic whether they were civilian or military Germans claimed that ships might be carrying munitions of war for Britain or France and must be stopped  By September, 1915, U-boats had sunk 90 ships, including British luxury liner The Lusitania Killed 1,200 people, 130 were Americans Wilson still didn’t want to go to war, issued warning to Germans to cease submarine warfare  March, 1916, Germans attacked French passenger liner The Sussex, killing 4 Americans Wilson issued Sussex Ultimatum where he warned Germans to stop submarine warfare or U.S. would break all diplomatic relations with Germany  Wilson begins preparedness campaign

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 British liner torpedoed by a German U-Boat. 1,200 passengers were killed, including 128 U.S. civilians.

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 March 2, 1917, Wilson received word that British agent had intercepted and decoded letter from German Foreign Secretary Zimmerman to German ambassador Letter contained promise from German government to Mexican president that if his country assisted Germany in war against U.S., Mexico would be given back the territory lost in the Mexican-American War after Germany’s victory  The combination of the sinking of four unarmed American merchant vessels along with the telegram, which directly threatened the U.S., were enough for Wilson to ask Congress for declaration of war

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 January 16, 1917  Telegram sent to Mexico by Germany  Intercepted by British and given to America  Promised Mexico would get back states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if it formed alliance with Germany  Caused Wilson to finally ask Congress for declaration of war

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Dark Green – land that Mexico had currently controlled in Medium Green – land that was promised to Mexico by Germany in the Zimmerman Note. Light Green –land that Mexico had once controlled, before the Mexican- American War.

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“The world must be made safe for democracy…” “This will be a war to end wars…”

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 Selective Service Act: authorized draft of young men for military service in Europe. First day: 9.6 million Americans registered for the draft  Committee on Public Information: educated public about causes and nature of the war. Had to convince Americans that the war effort was a just cause Earned widespread support for American war effort

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 Committee on Public Information formed Given task of informing Americans of the war through propaganda  Encouraged Americans to buy war bonds and support war effort  Food Administration headed by Herbert Hoover encouraged Americans to sacrifice “Meatless Mondays” and victory gardens  Americans stopped eating German food, playing German music  War Industries Board controlled production, wages, and prices of manufactured goods  Selective Service Act (1917) authorized conscription of American males into military service

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 Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918: allowed postal authorities to ban treasonable or seditious newspapers, magazines, or printed materials from the mail; enacted severe penalties for anyone engaged in disloyal or treasonable activities  Prejudice Against German Americans Hamburgers= “liberty steaks” Dachshunds= “liberty pups”  New opportunities for women: worked in jobs left by men going to war  African Americans follow opportunity North Great Migration: movement of 1.2 million African Americans from rural South to industrial North in order to escape racism and get a chance at economic advancement

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 March 1918: Soviet Union signs a treaty with the Central Powers and withdraw from the war- Brest-Litovsk Treaty  This allowed more German soldiers to fight on Western Front; launched attack that was stopped by newly arrived American forces  By May, 1918, over one million American troops were stationed in France, along the Western Front. (American Expeditionary Force)  Approximately half of these men were stationed in the front lines.  With American assistance, and a discouraged Germany, the Allied Forces were able to launch a series of offensives that sent the Germans retreating.

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Armistice Day being celebrated in New Zealand… And in Canada. “The eleventh hour… of the eleventh day… of the eleventh month…” of 1918.

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 Delivered to Congress on January 8, 1919 in preparation for his postwar vision  Believed that Great War would be “the war to end all wars” and that America had to “make the world safe for democracy.”  Points provided for: The abolishment of secret treaties Freedom of the seas Economic freedom Reduction of arms End of colonialization Self-determination Formation of international organization for collective security  This most important point to Wilson but would prove the hardest for him with Americans at war’s end

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 Wilson writes his Fourteen Points  Lenin, now in power in Russia, claimed that the entire war was “an imperialistic land grab” (fought for the purpose of gaining new territory) He exposed secret treaties Russia had made with the Allies in which they agreed to divide among themselves the empires of their enemies.  Wilson, on the other hand, wanted to promote a “peace without victory”

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 War was not about acquisitions and imperialism, but about peace and freedom (ideals) “Only a tranquil Europe can be a stable Europe. There must be a peace without victory. Victory would mean peace forced upon the loser, a victor’s terms imposed upon the vanquished. It would be accepted in humiliation and would leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter memory upon which terms of peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon quicksand.”  He answered Lenin’s charges about the purpose of the conflict by outlining America’s war aims in Fourteen Points

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 Rest of the Allies disagreed with Wilson They blamed Germany for starting the war and felt that they had suffered more than the U.S.  They insisted Germany make reparations or payment for war damages  Wanted to weaken Germany so that it would never threaten Europe again  Allies create the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.

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 League of Nations was made part of the treaty along with Article X Called for members to stand at the ready if another member nation’s sovereignty was being threatened Proved problem for Wilson when he returned to America  Problems with the peace In the new map that emerged from the conference, national self- determination was violated constantly.  Ex: Iraq was still a mandate of Britain (territory overseen by another nation) In Middle East, breakup of the Ottoman Empire led to new states in which ethnic groups were clustered together randomly Germany gets broken up so that ethnic Germans now live within borders of Poland and Czechoslovakia  Causes Hitler to invade these areas to reunite all ethnic Germans at start of WWII

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 Irreconcilables: wanted to remain isolationist, something that could not be done if they signed the treaty and became a part of the League of Nations  Reservationists: were opposed to the treaty as it was written because the language was too vague, felt that it could lead the U.S. into a war without the consent of Congress, which was unconstitutional  When treaty went to Senate for vote, no one was willing to compromise: “At a moment that demanded compromise, Wilson and his opponents refused to put aside personal and political differences for the good of the country. The tragedy of the failed votes was that without full American support, the League of Nations proved unable to maintain peace among nations.”

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 Germans have strong desire for revenge  Lenin’s Soviet Russia threatened revolution throughout the industrial world  In U.S. horrors of war and widespread fear of communists and radicals cause Americans to question political and economic role in the world

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 Presidential Election of 1920 Wilson felt election of Democrat James M. Cox would prove that Americans supported the League of Nations and his vision of the role U.S. should play in the world Election of Warren G. Harding would be final rejection of the league  Harding rejected “Wilsonian idealism”  Tired of progressive reforms and foreign crusades  Called for a “return to normalcy” “I’m Normal!!!!”

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 By 1920 the U.S. was an economic giant Richest, most industrialized country in the world U.S. was now largest creditor nation in the world  Other countries owed the U.S. more money than the U.S. owed them  The victorious United States came out of the war strong, confident, and prosperous