Throughout the late 19th century, new innovation in technology and America's decision to become involved in Imperialistic ventures after the Spanish-American War, catapulted the U.S. into increased involvement with European powers. The Atlantic Ocean had historically shielded America from European problems, but our ever expanding trade meant that U.S. interests would become entwined with the global economy. Steam powered warships and submarines could threaten American security. President Woodrow Wilson attempted to keep the U.S. out of WWI that began in 1914. In 1917, after increased attacks by German U-boats on U.S. ships, President Wilson believed that war was necessary against Germany.
In August of 1914, war erupted in Europe when Austria invaded Serbia. Austria treated Serbia much like a colony and the Serbians wanted to be completely independent from Austria. When a Bosnian nationalist assassinated the Archduke of Ferdinand and his wife, Austria declared war on Serbia. This single event led to alliances declaring war on one another and set the path for one of the deadliest wars in world history.
The two sides were divided into the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The main player in the Central Powers was Germany which chose to fight a two front war: The Western Front, which was fought primarily in France, and the Eastern Front, fought primarily in Russia.
Allied PowersSerbia
Italy France Belgium England (Great Britain) Canada Australia Russia United States (1917) |
Central PowersGermany
Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Turkey Ottoman Empire |
The Western Front was the line of fighting in Northern France and Belgium. When the Americans eventually decided to join the war it would fight on the Western Front.
Trench Warfare
WWI would be an industrial war that involved total mobilization of all resources from each nation in order to win the war. New inventions would make the war very bloody. Of the nearly 70 million soldiers that fought in WWI, more than half would be killed, wounded, or captured. Machine guns, submarines, aerial bombing, poison gas, flame throwers, land mines, armored tanks, long-range artillery, and the use of barbed wire were all newly invented tools for destruction yet to be tested on a battlefield until WWI. In August of 1914, Germany moved swiftly into Belgium killing civilians and burning towns before leaving and entering France. On August 22, 1914 the Germans killed 27,000 French soldiers in one days fighting. It was going to be a long bloody war. The fighting soon bogged down into a nightmarish style of fighting known as trench warfare.
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Each built a series of trenches, some from 8 feet to 12 deep, that zig zagged across the countryside. In the sides of the trenches they built bomb shelters and places to store extra ammunition. The sides were reenforced with wood planks. In order to keep the men from having to walk in mud, boardwalks were laid in the bottom of the trenches. Barbed wire was strung in front of the trenches to keep enemy soldiers from easily entering the trench. Machine gun nests were fortified and lanes of fire were created to maximize casualties on the enemy. Troops spent weeks in the trenches fighting off disease, trench foot (when your feet are constantly wet), rats, lice, and boredom. Often when a soldier made the mistake of allowing any part of his body to show above the top of the trench, he was usually met with a snipers bullet.
The area between the trenches was void of life and very dangerous. The soldiers called it "no-man's land."
When an attack was sounded, a whistle would blow and the men would go "over the top," and charge across no-man's land. Enemy artillery would open up at first and then machine guns and snipers would began to fire at the attacking enemy. If the attacking troops made it to the enemy trenches the real work began. They carried an assortment of weapons for close quarters combat in the narrow trenches. The enemy would either repel the attack or if they were defeated and lost the trench, they would fall back a hundred yards or so to another trench was ready for use. This sort of leap frog style fighting went back and forth until it did not appear that anyone was going to win.
Trench Weapons
Trench warfare was a war of attrition, it wasn't as much about how much ground you gained, but more about wearing the enemy down and making the price for war too high. Soldiers ate, slept, lived, and died in their trenches. Trench warfare destroyed any notion of an honorable style of war.
Lusitania
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The German government announced that the waters around Great Britain were a "war zone" and that any ship found to be in those waters would be considered enemy ships and could be attacked German submarines called U-boats. The Germans quit using an old honor system of naval warfare used before WWI. Used to, before sinking a ship, a commander would allow the crew to get on life boats before the ship was destroyed. With the use of U-boats, the Germans no longer warned their targets. In 1915 alone, 227 British ships were sank. The U.S. believed the use of submarine warfare against a neutral country was a violation of the rules of war and it would hold Germany accountable for any ships it sank from the U.S. On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank the Lusitania, an unarmed British luxury liner. Of the 1,198 persons on board who died, 128 were American. Angered by the loss, the U.S. demanded that Germans stop unrestricted submarine warfare, but it did little good.
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The Germans claimed that the Lusitania was armed (which it was not) and that it was carrying weapons and ammo on board (which it was).
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President Woodrow Wilson and Congress began to prepare for war which they felt would eventually come to the U.S. In 1916, Congress passed the National Defense Act, which expanded the U.S. Army tripling it in size to over 200,000 soldiers. In order to quiet those people that believed that war preparedness would only make munitions factories rich, Wilson and Congress imposed a higher tax on their profits.
The Zimmermann Telegram
On February 3 after increased attacks by German submarines on U.S. civilian ships, the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with Germany. On February 25, President Wilson learned that the German government sent an official, Arthur Zimmermann, to the Mexican government, urging the Mexicans to invade the U.S. In exchange, Germany would give Mexico the American southwest. This infuriated the American people when it went public. On April 6, Congress and President Wilson signed a war resolution.
The U.S. Army and the country itself began mobilizing for war in April of 1917. The War Industries Board (WIB), was established, with authority to ration war materials and construct new factories. President Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover to head the Food Administration that was in charge of making sure plenty of crops were grown to feed Americans plus extra to send to the Allied Powers who were in desperate need of food for their soldiers. The U.S. government sold liberty bonds to raise money for the war. Americans could buy war bonds and then cash them in after the war for more than they had paid for them. With men of military age enlisting in record numbers, factories needed labor to build the materials used in war. Agents in the North advertised in the South for African-American labor. More than 400,000 southern blacks migrated north find good paying war industry jobs, called the Great Migration, it continued through the 1920s long after the end of the war.
Loss of civil liberties
Civil Liberties - individual rights and freedoms, usually regarding action or speech, most protected by 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. Once America had declared war on Germany, anything German related was looked at with an eye disloyalty. Even German Americans were sometimes taunted and harassed even though they had nothing to do with Germany. Wilson was afraid of any opposition he might encounter within the U.S. so he sought to silence them. Congress created the Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917. The Espionage Act called for twenty years in prison for anyone who helped the enemy; encouraged insubordination (disobeying orders), disloyalty, or refusal of duty in the armed services, or interfered with the war effort in other ways. More than 1,000 people would be convicted under the Espionage Act. Former Socialist Party leader and presidential candidate, Eugene V. Debs was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. The Sedition Act broadened the Espionage Act to those who tried to slow the sale of war bonds or slow production, it even outlawed speaking out against the American government in the form of saying, writing, or printing anything counter to the American view point. People were convicted for handing out pamphlets against the war.
The Bolshevik Revolution
Vladimir Lenin
Russia suffered from the war through mismanagement by its leader, Czar Nicholas II. The economy of Russia was ruined and people were starving. The czar gave up his throne to a war time provisional government dedicated to ending the war. The Americans were happy to hear the change believing that Russia was headed toward a democratic government, but had its hoped dashed when German agents helped exiled revolutionary, Vladimir Lenin return to Russia. They correctly hoped that Lenin would cause turmoil, which he did by leading the Bolsheviks, a group of Communist revolutionaries into power. Lenin's first move as the new Bolshevik Communist leader of Russia was to establish a dictatorship (one absolute ruler) and called for a quick end to the war. Lenin banned political parties and all organized religions. He eliminated all civil liberties, killed the free press, and imprisoned anyone who was 100% with him. He had his communist army capture and hang the richest of Russian society and imprisoned anyone who resisted the communists. Civil War erupted in Russia, but it was completely out of the war which allowed Germany to focus all of its resources on fighting the Allied Powers on the Western Front.
Fourteen Points
President Wilson was determined to ensure that WWI would be last war. In September 1917 he organized a group of 150 experts in politics, history, geography, and foreign policy, to draft a peace plan for after the war. His plan would be an unselfish one that did not favor the U.S. in geographical terms. One point emphasized the endorsement of of open diplomacy instead of secret treaties, recognition of neutral nations' right to have maritime commerce, the removal of international trade barriers, the reduction of armaments, and the transformation of colonial empires. Wilson wanted the countries of Europe after the war to participate in self determination so that different nationalities and ethnic groups could develop their own nations. His most important point was the creation a league of nations to preserve global peace.
Americans on the Western Front
On June 2, the first American soldiers arrived in France to go into the trenches. The American commander of all U.S. forces (called the American Expeditionary Forces), Gen. John J. Pershing (from Missouri) insisted that American units fight independently from British and French troops who wanted the U.S. soldiers to be under their command as fresh replacements within their own units. They argued that the Americans did not know how to fight a trench war. Pershing would not allow that to happen and instead kept all the U.S. soldiers intact. During the battle of Belleau Wood, a French officer tried to get U.S. soldiers to retreat during a battle, but the commander of the U.S. marines there replied, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here."
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In October 1918, as a newly-promoted corporal, Alvin York was one of a group of seventeen soldiers assigned to infiltrate German lines and silence a machine gun position. After the American patrol had captured a large group of enemy soldiers, German small arms fire killed six Americans and wounded three. York was the highest ranking of those still able to fight, so he took charge. While his men guarded the prisoners, York attacked the machine gun position, killing several German soldiers with his rifle before running out of ammunition. Six German soldiers charged him with bayonets, and York drew his pistol and killed all of them. The German officer responsible for the machine gun position had emptied his pistol while firing at York but failed to hit him. This officer then offered to surrender and York accepted. York and his men marched back to their unit's command post with more than 130 prisoners. York was immediately promoted to sergeant and was awarded the distinguished service cross, an investigation resulted in the upgrading of the award to the Medal of Honor. York's feat made him a national hero and international celebrity among allied nations.
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The Meuse Argonne Campaign (The Argonne Forest)
American machine gun crew in the Argonne Forest.
The American offensive began on September 26th, 1918 North of Verdun. It began like all World War I battles with a massive artillery attack. The American forces had mixed results in the first stage of the battle that lasted until October 3rd. German resistance was strong, but the sheer numbers of the Americans slowly forced the German back. Meanwhile the French and British troops to the North were having similar success, slow but steady advances. By the end of the second stage of the battle which lasted from October 6th to 26th the American forces had advanced over 10 miles and cleared the Argonne Forest.
In the final stage of the battle which lasted until the Armistice of November 11, 1918 American forces advanced on Metz, while French forces conquered the goal of the campaign Sedan. The Americans suffered 192,000 casualties in the battle including 26,277 killed. The French suffered 70,000 casualties, while the Germans had 126,000 casualties among them 56,000 prisoners. The battle for the Argonne Forest was the longest and most deadly battle for American soldiers in WWI.
In the final stage of the battle which lasted until the Armistice of November 11, 1918 American forces advanced on Metz, while French forces conquered the goal of the campaign Sedan. The Americans suffered 192,000 casualties in the battle including 26,277 killed. The French suffered 70,000 casualties, while the Germans had 126,000 casualties among them 56,000 prisoners. The battle for the Argonne Forest was the longest and most deadly battle for American soldiers in WWI.
Black Troops in WWI
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On 18 May 1917 Congress passed the Selective Service Act requiring all male citizens between the ages of 21 and 31 to register for the draft. Even before the act was passed, African American males from all over the country eagerly joined the war effort. They viewed the conflict as an opportunity to prove their loyalty, patriotism, and worthiness for equal treatment in the United States.
While still discriminatory, the Army was far more progressive in race relations than the other branches of the military. Blacks could not serve in the Marines, and could only serve limited and menial positions in the Navy and the Coast Guard. By the end of World War I, African Americans served in cavalry, infantry, signal, medical, engineer, and artillery units, as well as serving as chaplains, surveyors, truck drivers, chemists, and intelligence officers. |
Troops of the all black 93rd Infantry Division.
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The U.S. Army used two all black infantry units, the 92nd Infantry Division and 93rd Infantry Division. The 93rd was well trained and led by capable officers and fought very well throughout the Argonne Forest assisting French forces. The division would become one of the most decorated of the war. Black soldiers would later return to the U.S. with a renewed sense of independence and which would transform into the beginning stages of the fight for civil rights in the U.S.
America's Ace
Eddie Rickenbacker was America's top fighter ace during WWI with twenty-six confirmed enemy kills. He would earn the Medal of Honor for attacking six enemy planes by himself and winning. He was one of the few American aces that survived the war.
Armistice Day - Realizing that further resistance was futile, Germany decided to surrender and end the war before the Allied Powers drove them into Germany. On November 11, 1918 - the 11th month of the 11th day, at the 11th hour, Germany and its allies surrendered to the Allied Powers, WWI was over, but another chapter was about to begin.
The Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference met from January to June of 1919. It dealt with important and complex issues like creating new nations and redrawing the map of Europe and the Middle East. The peacemakers met daily and debated, argued, and compromised. The results would have a last impact.
The Paris Peace Conference was controlled by the Big Four: the prime ministers of Britain, France, Italy, and the President of the U.S. The four sides argued, France and Britain wanted to make Germany pay harshly for causing the war, Italy was mainly interested in wrestling away land controlled by Austria, and Wilson promoted his 14 points plan.
President Wilson strongly pushed for adoption of his idea of the League of Nations. He believed that a world peace organization would avoid future wars by settling international disputes and stopping aggressors before they started. It allowed member nations to impose economic sanctions, or penalties, against military aggressors. Wilson's critics in the U.S. were opposed to the League of Nations because they believed it would drag them into another European conflict.
Treaty of Versailles
Wilson lost most of his points that he wanted to see done in Europe. France was allowed to take huge chunks of land on Germany's western border, a major industrial section of Europe. Ethnic groups were not allowed to practice self-determination, but some new countries were created out of the meetings of the big four. Austria, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia became new countries in central Europe. In the Baltic region, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia became independent countries. The German and Turkish colonies that were in the Middle and East and Africa were given to the French and British to oversee their development and possible independence in the future. Japan took control of German colonies in east Asia.
France and Britain also wanted Germany to pay reparations, or payments by the defeated that go to the victors. They forced Germany to officially accept responsibility for starting WWI, these two factors angered the Germans so much that it helped with the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s. Under the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans lost 15% of its land, not counting it lost all of its foriegn colonies, which meant that it lost 10% of its population. Without any other choice, the Germans agreed to the terms of surrender, the agreement was called the Treaty of Versailles.
France and Britain also wanted Germany to pay reparations, or payments by the defeated that go to the victors. They forced Germany to officially accept responsibility for starting WWI, these two factors angered the Germans so much that it helped with the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1930s. Under the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans lost 15% of its land, not counting it lost all of its foriegn colonies, which meant that it lost 10% of its population. Without any other choice, the Germans agreed to the terms of surrender, the agreement was called the Treaty of Versailles.
The Spanish Flu
In the Spring of 1918 a new strand of flu began hitting the army camps. It was called the Spanish Flu because Spain was the first to fully report on the flu, but its origins are largely unknown, some believed it began in Kansas at an army base. In the first year of the outbreak it killed as many as 100 million people worldwide, twice as many as had died in WWI. It the U.S. it killed 675,000 people. One fifth of the nation caught the flu. Hospital beds became full and a shortage of coffins became an emergency. During the summer of 1919 the flue largely disappeared, only to reappear in the winter of 1920, but by this time more people were resistant to flu and it wasn't as deadly.
The Spanish Flu in Stoddard County
The Spanish Flu was bad in Stoddard County, but not as bad as it was in the cities. Stoddard County had a population of over 29,000 people in 1920. While entire families were wiped out, it proved more deadly to some than others. Most of those that died as a result of the Spanish Flu, died because of the lower respiratory infections that developed after getting the virus. In the first four worst months of the flu in the county, October 1918 through January 1919, 287 people died, or about 1% of the population. In the first four months of COVID-19, Stoddard County has lost 11 killed. Our population today is almost exactly what it was in 1920.
The 19th Amendment
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In the spring of 1919 Congress again took up the subject of Women's Suffrage. 36 States had to ratify or pass the amendment for it to become law, Tennessee was the 36th state to pass it, thus the 19th Amendment was ratified and women gained the right to vote, 9.5 million to be exact.
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Race Riots - Nearly 400,000 blacks served in WWI, when they returned, many believed that maybe things would be different for them since they had fought for their country, but in the South, and in a lot of places in the North, things were not any different. Hundreds of thousands of blacks had also moved north during WWI to get war industry jobs, in the process many had found a new found sense of independence by being able to make good wages. These two factors led many whites in the South to be resentful, and some took their anger out on the black community. There were riots in Longview, Texas, Washington D.C., and in Chicago where 38 people were killed and over 500 were injured. Over 25 riots erupted in 1919, eighty blacks were lynched, and host of smaller assaults were no doubt carried out. For many African-Americans it was a turning point, one that would eventually lead to the Civil Rights Movement thirty years later.
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After WWI many blamed the riots and chaos on the communists. Some believed that Lenin had followers in the U.S. in order to start a communist revolution. In April of 1919, forty homemade bombs were discovered by the postal service that were addressed to government officials. The U.S. Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer created a new government division to collection information on radicals and communists. Called the American Protective League and led by J. Edgar Hoover, it was used to round up suspected trouble makers and communists. This became known as the First Red Scare and was one of the largest examples of violations of civil liberties in American history. Anyone who did not show patriotism was considered under suspicion of being a commie. One could be jailed just for saying things positive about communism. The Red Scare lasted until the summer of 1920 when it began to die down, but would again spring up in the 1950s.
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J. Edgar Hoover
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