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Module 5

Outbreak of World War I

  1. Outbreak of World War I (started 1914, truce in 1918, treaty in 1919)
    1. Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, in 1914 (Sarajevo, Bosnia), assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary—he is caught and convicted, political circles try to resolve the insult to the Austrian crown over a 1 month period but diplomats lose control and the decision goes to the army. Rebels in the Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia, etc) had been testing the limits of Austrian power for years by this point and military leaders hoped to put down the rebellion definitively. Austria and Germany (who were allies) decide to escalate into war. The rest of the nations are dragged in by various alliances to the different countries.
      1. Central Powers (war pact)/Triple Alliance(diplomatic pact): Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy versus Allied Powers (war pact)/Triple Entente (diplomatic pact): England, France, Russia, other nations later dragged in as well
      2. Bitter fighting on both sides, enter a new period of warfare in which technology loomed disastrous, attrition rather than strategic holdings and withdrawals determined victors—who could wipe out the other side and thus claim success (even with masses lost on your own side)
    2. Wilson and US immediately declare their Neutrality in the conflict but reserve economic and political ties
      1. By international law, the US could have continued trading with both sides, but the closest ties were between the US and Allies. Though Wilson protested the British blockade of all shipping to Germany, he also wanted to avoid antagonizing the Allies.
      2. Trade with Germany all but ceased and trade with the Allies increased drastically due to war orders; from $824 mil in 1914 to $3.2 billion by 1916, loans to Allied Powers exceeded $2.5 billion compared to $27 mil to Central Powers by 1917
    3. US gets involved by 1917 when declares America declares war on Germany
      1. pushed by many factors, including German U-boats harassment and “Unrestricted submarine warfare”, Lusitania incident, patriotic rallying, Zimmerman Telegram, Wilson’s desire to be in the war to have a chance to make the peace
      2. no troops sent until July 1918, partly due to Pershing’s influence but also Americna troops were not professional soldiers so they were ill prepared, on top of that they had inexperienced leadership, to meet troop quotas Congress enacted the Selective Service Act draft.
      3. American Expeditionary Force (AEF) led by General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing who believed in total destruction of the enemy’s military power
        1. first engagements are in early June, Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood, first all-American offensive was at Catigny
        2. late Sept 1918, Meuse-Argonne: 7 weeks of intense fighting, US army used more ammunition than the entire Union army had in the four years of the Civil War
        3. though 4-5 million each of British, French, and German soldiers died, Americans had a huge loss in period of only 6-7 months (more than in entire Vietnam War which lasted 10-14 years) Battle Deaths 53,402 Other Deaths 63,114 (Influenza primarily) Wounded 204,002
      4. Fighting ends November 11, 1918 at 11AM. To commemorate the truce and those who died, November 11 is a national holiday for the former members of the Allies. In Europe, this is called Armistice Day; the US calls it Veteran’s Day.
      5. Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the war and peace settlements, signed on June 28, 1919.
  2. Political Consequences of WWI
    1. Before pursue ideas of peace, Wilson devises Fourteen Points, in brief :
      1. #1 Open Diplomacy (no secret agreements between countries, a serious issue which had been a root cause of various nations’ involvement in WWI and contradictory alliances—i.e. Russia had agreements with both Serbia and Austria, which one do they uphold? In the end, Russia chose Serbia but then broke their treaty with Austria, thus causing them to enter the war)
      2. #2 Freedom of the Seas (no warfare within open seas or restrictions of water routes for non-belligerent nations)
      3. #3 Free Trade (non-belligerent nations have the right to trade openly with any countries, without penalty or prejudice)
      4. #4 Reduction of Arms (Disarmament, mandates against stockpiling weapons of war; gray area in terms of weapons for defensive purposes)
      5. #5 Adjustment of Colonial Claims (colonial territories reapportioned to the victors—notably many of these territories held in Africa and Southeast Asia which will later come back to haunt both France and America during Vietnam, some colonies were returned to self-government)
      6. #s 6-13 Self-Determination (nations returned to native governments, nationalism shall determine borders and bureaucratic organization; sounds great but unchecked self-determination led to bloody conflict in the Balkans and former principalities released from control by the Austro-Hungarian Empire)
      7. #14 League of Nations (organization of countries who sought to create a diplomatic forum to resolve international and national conflicts, idea was to avert war through the court of public and political opinion and arbitration of dissenters)
    2. Aftermath of Treaty of Versailles
      1. Destruction of four empires: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman (Turkey), and Russian (independent states are created from each of these, reference the self-determination point above)
      2. Imposed harsh economic reparations to be paid by the Central Powers, thus the treaty was more about revenge than peace. As these countries who lost were already suffering massive economic problems and widespread devastation to their terrain and agriculture as a result, Wilson said that a punitive treaty would create a situation ripe for dictators and economic depression—the peace negotiators in Versailles, France (who was considered the most injured of all the nations involved in the war) ignored his advice but he would later be proved right when totalitarianism arose in the form of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis in Germany (late 1920s and 1930s) and Joseph Stalin and the Communists in Russia (starts with Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, communists take over by the 1920s).
      3. League of Nations—while many nations do join this group, US Congress later rejects it because of a conflict over collective security and threat to American isolationist feeling, a humiliating experience for Wilson and serious retreat of American influence in global politics
    3. The US emerges from WWI as a victor with Superpower status, primarily because America was the most economically and politically viable nation after WWI/1920 whereas Europe was struggling with debt, destruction, and deprivation.
    4. Post-WWI, the US was in a unique position to realize its economic potential. However, the Roaring Twenties would give way to the demoralization of the Great Depression and cause further American withdrawal from international politics until the advent of WWII. In this case, preserving/rebuilding America’s interests domestically in the 1930s and maintaining American isolationism would come at the price of Europe’s descent into political terrorism and genocide as well as the widespread destruction of its free nations and peoples. When the US finally comes to the aid of its former Allies in Europe (and only after American soil itself had been attacked, i.e. Pearl Harbor), millions had died and suffered at the hands of the dictators built, in large part, by the punitive terms of the last war’s treaty, the depressed economic circumstances of Europe, and American diplomatic indifference.

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