America and WWIPart D

WWI U.S. Army Recruiting Poster

1. When the United States joined the Allied side in WWI in April 1917, it was the first time for what?

• The first time the United States had entered a general European war

2. In April 1917, the United States was not prepared for what?• A large war• At the time, the U.S. Army was relatively small, around

200,000 troops

3. What did the United States enact in May 1917?• The Selective Service Act, a law to carry out a

military draft

4. By the end of 1918, how many American men had registered for the draft?• About 24 million men• Please note: These were registrations, not

enlistments

5. Out of this 24 million, how many were called up?• About 3 million

6. About how many American troops actually deployed for duty in Europe before the fighting ended in November 1918?• About 2 million American troops

7. Of these 2 million American troops who deployed to Europe, about how many of them experienced actual combat (fighting)?• About 75% of them…or 1.5 million troops

8. About how many U.S. servicemen died in WWI?• About 116,000

9. About how many U.S. servicemen were wounded in WWI?• About 204,000

10. About how many African-Americans served in the U.S. military in WWI?• About 400,000, with more than half serving in France• Many of these men returned home from military duty

with new perspectives on how American life should be• Returning African-American servicemen from WWI

(1917-1918) and WWII (1941-1945) helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

11. The vast amount of American servicemen and war material had to be transported to where, and how?• Most went to France, and to get there, had to cross

the Atlantic Ocean in ships that were endangered by German U-Boats

12. With naval escorts, many American transport ships traveled in what?• Convoys (groups of ships escorted by American and/or

British warships)

13. When American troops began arriving and fighting in France (alongside British and French troops), what was the state of the Allied war effort on the Western Front?• The Allied troops from France and Great Britain

were exhausted and demoralized after 3 years of fighting

• On the other side, Germany too was facing exhaustion

14. The American Expeditionary Force was commanded by what American general?• General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing

15. American troops were nicknamed what?• Doughboys (possibly because of their white

belts)

16. What were some of the features of warfare on the Western Front when U.S. troops arrived in 1917-1918?• Intricate trench systems on both sides• Massive artillery bombardments on both sides• Deadly machine gun fire on both sides• The use of poisonous gas by both sides• The use of armed aircraft by both sides• The use of massive infantry assaults by both sides• Massive casualties on both sides

German Infantry, WWI

WWI French Troops in a trench

WWI Machine Gunner wearing Gas Mask

WWI Aircraft, British versus German

British poster about German Airship raids

British Propaganda Poster Showing a German Airship Being Destroyed

British Naval ForcesThe Battle of Jutland, 1916

American “Doughboy”WWI Soldier, circa 1918

17. What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk do in early 1918?• It pulled Russia out of the war• The Bolsheviks, under Lenin and Trotsky, gave up a great

deal of Russian territory in order to make peace with Germany

18. What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk allow Germany to do?• Move many troops from the Eastern Front to the Western

Front…troops that would be used against U.S. troops

19. In May 1918, U.S. troops helped stop a German advance towards Paris at what battle?• Cantigny

20. At what did battle in June 1918 did American troops again help stop a German advance on Paris?• Chateau-Thierry

21. By September 1918, American troops had tipped the balance of the war to which side?• The Allied side

22. Which Central Powers country surrendered to the Allies on November 3, 1918?• Austria-Hungary

23. Also, on November 3, 1918, what did some German sailors begin to do?• Mutiny against German governmental authority

24. On November 9, 1918, in the German capital city of Berlin, what types of leaders declared Germany to be a new republic?• Socialist Revolutionaries…though the socialist

revolution in Germany did not last long

25. Who abdicated in Germany?• Kaiser Wilhelm II (The German Emperor)

26. To avoid outright conquest, Germany agreed to what?• An Armistice…an agreement to end the fighting

27. When did the fighting end?• On November 11, 1918…The eleventh hour of the

eleventh day of the eleventh month

28. When the armistice went into effect on November 11, 1918, Germany was essentially a what?• A defeated nation in which the government had

essentially collapsed

29. About how many people died as a result of WWI?• About 22 million• In terms of death, it was a rehearsal for World War

Two (1939-1945).

30. After the fighting ended on November 11, 1918, what was still left to be done?• The Allied nations and the Central Powers

nations had to negotiate a formal peace treaty that would formally end WWI