The End of WWIThe Road to the Treaty of Versailles

New Technology Needed solution to classic trench warfare

Solutions:

1. Poisonous gas causing vomiting, blindness, suffocation

2. Tanks

3. Airplanes for observation, then small bombs, then machine guns

The Americans and Victory

Winning the war at sea: convoys Convoy: merchant & troop transports gathered intro groups protected

by warships

Russia leaves the war in March 1917 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Germany gains territory but leaves remaining

Russian lands

German offensive falters: March 1917 near Paris

Battle of Argonne Forest: Largest attack in American history 600,000 American troops; 40,000 tons of supplies; 4,000 artillery

pieces Massive casualties on both sides but open hole in German lines

Revolution in Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turks surrender, naval mutiny in Kiel = people in Berlin rise in rebellion and force German emperor to step down

11th hour on the the 11th day of the 11th Month, 1918 Germany signs armistice to end war

WWI Ends! Now What? January 1919: peace conference began in near Paris to

resolve issues arising from WWI

Principle figures in the negotiation: The “Big Four”

British Prime Minister David Lloyd George

Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando

French Premier Georges Clemenceau

United States President Woodrow Wilson

Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles

Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points

Wilson believed that WWI would be the last great international conflict

Proposed 14 Points to Congress in January 1918 First 5 points proposed to eliminate the general causes of war

through: Free trade Disarmament Freedom of the seas Impartial adjustment of colonial claims Open diplomacy instead of secret treaties

Next 8 Points addressed the right to self-determination and required Central Powers to evacuate all of the countries invaded during the war

14th Point: League of Nations Member nations would preserve peace and prevent future

wars

Negotiations All involved countries wanted different things:

France Germany must PAY!!!

Britain Germany must pay BUT not so much that they turn to

Communism (Rise of Communism in Russia had the rest of Europe nervous!)

United States 14 Points

Italy Mostly left out of negotiations. Wanted territorial gains in

Adriatic coast promised to Italy from the Secret Treaty of London.

Germany Not allowed to participate. Only invited to sign the Treaty (or

else!)

The Treaty of Versailles1. Germany forced to:

1. Reduce Army and Navy (+ no submarines)

2. Destroy air force

3. Give land to Belgium, Poland, France, and Denmark

4. Give up all colonies

5. Pay Reparations

6. Accept all blame for the war

2. League of Nations formed

3. New Countries Created: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland (land lost from Russia) AND Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Hungary (land lost from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Europe Before and After the Treaty of Versailles

Wilson goes back to the United States…

Disappointed about 14 Points BUT happy because League of Nations adopted

US Congress rejects the adoption of the League of Nations

Wilson travels the country trying to gain support for the League