minority involvement in wwi and the russian revolution group 5: sean, madison, austin, and rahaf
TRANSCRIPT
Minority involvement in WWI and the Russian Revolution
Group 5: Sean, Madison, Austin,
and Rahaf
Women in WWI• In the Spring of 1917, U.S. prepared to enter war in Europe
• A draft was issued for this war
• Women had to get involved because life still had to go on
while the men were at war. Women had to keep “the home fires
burning”
• There was definitely a shortage of men at home and their
jobs needed to be done.
• Until WWI, U.S. wasn’t serious about woman power
• WWI played a significant part in developing women’s political
rights
• Nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine corps.
They wore a uniform blouse with insignia.
• • “The first American women enlisted into the regular armed forces
were 13,000 women admitted into active duty in the Navy and
Marines during World War I, and a much smaller number admitted
into the Coast Guard The Yeoman (F) recruits and women Marines
primarily served in clerical positions. They received the same benefits
and responsibilities as men, including identical pay (US$28.75 per
month), and were treated as veterans after the war. These women
were quickly demobilized when hostilities ceased, and aside from the
Nurse Corps the soldiery became once again exclusively male.”
• “The U.S. Army recruited and trained 233 female bilingual
telephone operators to work at switchboards near the front in
France”
• • “Sent 50 skilled female stenographers to France to work
with the Quartermaster Corps.”
• • “The U.S. Navy enlisted 11,880 women as Yeomen (F) to
serve stateside in shore billets and release sailors for sea
duty.”
• “Nursing became almost the only area of female contribution
that involved being at the front and experiencing the war.”
• http://
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Colonial Involvement
• Great Britain’s control of the sea caused
Germany to be cut off from their colonies, but
there were to few to be of any importance. They
were actually a drain on Germany’s economy.
• France had many strong colonies that were a
major source of wealth, unlike Germany, who
only had colonies for prestige.
• • “In August 1914, as the German Army advanced through France
and Belgium, more Allied troops were desperately needed for the
Western Front. The Indian Army, 161,000 strong, seemed an obvious
source of trained men, and the Lahore and Meerut infantry divisions
were selected for service in Europe.”
• They had an important role in many battles, but suffered major losses
in life and moral
• “The average Indian battalion had 764 men when it landed; by early
November the 47th Sikhs had only 385 men fit for duty. The fighting
came as a shock to soldiers more used to colonial warfare. One man
wrote home 'this is not war; it is the ending of the world'.”
• “Many men saw it as their duty to bring honour to their clan
or caste, by fighting bravely on the battlefield. Some
communities liked to imagine themselves as warriors. A Sikh
soldier, Indar Singh, fighting on the Somme in September
1916, wrote home: 'It is quite impossible that I should return
alive. [But] don't be grieved at my death, because I shall die
arms in hand, wearing the warrior's clothes. This is the most
happy death that anyone can die'.”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfvDsUPEDak
African American Involvement
• • “There were many African American men
willing to serve in the nation’s military, but even
as it became apparent that the United States
would enter the war in Europe, blacks were still
being turned away from military service.”
• • “War Department planners quickly realized
that the standing Army of 126,000 men would not
be enough to ensure victory overseas.”
• • “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.”
• • “Although comprising just ten percent of the entire
United States population, blacks supplied thirteen percent of
inductees.”
• • “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.”
• • “Although African Americans were earning higher positions in
the Army, that did not necessarily mean they were getting equal
treatment. Black draftees were treated with extreme hostility when
they arrived for training. White men refused to salute black officers
and black officers were often barred from the officer’s clubs and
quarters. The War Department rarely interceded, and discrimination
was usually overlooked or sometimes condoned. Because many
Southern civilians protested having blacks from other states inhabit
nearby training camps, the War Department stipulated that no more
than one-fourth of the trainees in any Army camp in the U.S. could
be African American.”
• http://
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t758&feature=related
The Russian Revolution(s) of 1917
• The Russian Revolution was
comprised of to successful
revolutions during 1917: the
February and October Revolutions.
Causes of the February Revolution
• Repression of the Russian people under the
autocratic rule of the Czars
• Within the current system a majority of the
people were poor and hungry
• World War One highlighted the corruption and
the inefficiencies of the Russian Government
• Previous attempts at revolution over the years
Video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx
cVJPMVH78
Effects of the February Revolution
• Removed the imperial government
from power
• Power was given to the Petrograd
Soviet and Provisional Government
Causes of the October Revolution
• People where unhappy with the
Provisional Government (weak)
• Bolshevik influence grows
• Lenin leads the organization of
Soviets after returning from exile
Effects of the October Revolution
• New government was established and
controlled by the Bolsheviks
• Withdrew from WWI by signing of the Brest-
Litvosk with Germany
• Russia forfeited the Baltic state, Finland
Poland and the Ukraine
• Economic ruin
War on the Eastern Front• The war in the east was fought along a front hundreds of miles
long. After the Russians invaded German East Prussia and
Austrian Galicia in 1914, the Central Powers pushed them back
during the next three years.
• The Russian’s military leaders were often old and lazy, and
gained their power through social status or wealth. They often
clashed on how to fight the war and lacked communication
skills. The intelligence system was poor for the Russian armies
and resulted in limited contact between forces.
• The war in the east began with the Russian invasion of East Prussia and
the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. The first effort quickly turned to
a defeat following the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914. The second
incursion was completely successful, with the Russians controlling almost
all of Galicia by the end of 1914. Under the command of Nikolai Ivanov
and Aleksei Brusilov, the Russians won the Battle of Galicia in September.
• This early Russian success in 1914 on the Austro-Russian border was a
reason for concern to the Central Powers and caused considerable
German forces to be transferred to the East to take pressure off the
Austrians, leading to the creation of the new German Ninth Army
• By June 1916 there were 140 Russian infantry divisions against 105
Austro-German infantry divisions and 40 Russian cavalry divisions
against 22 Austro-German. The mobilization of industry and increase
of imports enabled the Russian army to resume the offensive. A large
attack on the southwestern front started in June. The attack, aimed
against the part of the front held by Austro-Hungarians, was initially a
spectacular success. The Russian army advanced, capturing several
hundred thousand prisoners and several hundred guns. The arrival of
important enemy reinforcements from the west, the defeat of the
Romanians, and failure of Russia's western allies to shake German
defenses, brought the Russian advance to an end in September.
• The Russian casualties in the First World War are
difficult to estimate, due to the poor quality of available
statistics. Some official Russian sources list 775,400
battlefield fatalities. More recent Russian estimates give
900,000 battlefield deaths and 400,000 dead from
combat wounds, or a total of 1,300,000 dead. This is
about equal to the casualties suffered by France and
Austria-Hungary and about one-third less than those
suffered by Germany.
Battle of Tannenberg
• First clash between Germans and Russians on the eastern front in East
Prussia. Russian Second Army becomes completely surrounded by German
forces and is annihilated. Proves to be one of the greatest German victories
of the war.
• Russian forces in East Prussia far outnumbered German forces, but failures
in communication and intelligence caused the Russians to maneuver into
the German’s trap. German casualties: 12,000 Russian casualties: 142,000
• “The sight of thousands of Russians driven into two huge lakes or swamps
to drown was ghastly, and the shrieks and cries of the dying men and
horses he will never forget.” (Ghastliest scene of the whole war.)
The Battle of Zamosc- Komarow
• Russian army repels Austrian attack and nearly all of
Austrian Galicia falls into Russian hands. August 26-31,
1914.
• The Russian army at first struggled to defeat the Austrians,
but the overwhelming number of Russian soldiers compared
to Austrian soldiers caused Austria to retreat from Galicia.
• One of the few Russian victories on the Eastern Front.
The Brusilov Offensive• Russia’s most successful military operation of the war pushed the Austrian
forces back along a wide front, but both Russia and Austria were left weakened
by the end of the offensive.
• Russian leaders decided to reorganize as a result of of the repeated losses and
the civil unrest in Russia. One military leader in particular (Brusilov) came up
with a tactic which would catch the Austrians by surprise. Instead of using
artillery to batter the enemy trenches, the four armies under Brusilov would all
attack at once without the warning brought about by standard artillery
barrages.
• When the Russians attacked, the Austrians were taken completely by surprise.
The Austrian commander was not even with his troops as he was on a hunting
trip. The Russian armies scored immediate success and were able to recapture
Bukovina and seize parts of Galicia, which they had lost two years prior.
Scorched Earth
• As the Russians retreated from the eastern front, the Russian high
command ordered for the troops to burn dwellings, destroy crops,
cut down trees, and force thousands of people to evacuate.
• The tactic was used to prevent the Germans from using the land
and towns to sustain their army, yet the Russians were very
inconsistent in their efforts. The Russians would often leave entire
towns barely damaged, and evacuate all of the inhabitants. This
would provide the Germans with sufficient, and convenient shelter
for their troops.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk • The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk (now
Brest, Belarus) between Russia and the Central Powers marking Russia's exit from World War
I.
• By 1917, Russia and Germany stuck in a stalemate on the Eastern Front of World War I. At the
time, the Russian economy neared collapse under the strain of the war effort. The large war
casualties and food shortages in the major urban centers brought about civil unrest
• Germany knew that they could push into Russia as Russia was left weak by the revolutions
and the conflict on the eastern front, but they wanted to transfer the troops in the east to the
western front in order to defeat France.
• The Germans demanded the "independence" of Poland and Lithuania, which they already
occupied, while the Bolsheviks demanded a settlement under which the revolutionary
government that succeeded the Russian Empire would give neither territory nor money.
• In all, the treaty took away territory that included a
quarter of the Russian Empire's population, a quarter
of its industry and nine-tenths of its coal mines.
Almost all of this territory consisted of nations that
Russia had absorbed by conquest during the prior
several centuries and correspondingly non-Russian
speaking population groups. The treaty also helped
to establish, at least for the time being, the
independence of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania
and Poland. The treaty became obsolete as the
world war ended before the end of the year.
• As a consequence of making a separate peace,
Soviet Russia was denied the spoils of war enjoyed
by the other Allied powers.
Works Cited• "Women's Roles in the World Wars." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Oct.
2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_roles_in_the_World_Wars>.
• "Women In World War 1." Women In World War 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. <http://women-in-
war2.tripod.com/>.
• Bryan, Jami. "Fighting for Respect: African-American Soldiers in WWI." Fighting for Respect: African-
American Soldiers in WWI. Military History Online, 2003. Web. 04 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwi/articles/fightingforrespect.aspx>.
• MPTnational. "For Love of Liberty - World War I." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuLCLPvt758>.
• The Grolier Library of World War One. Ed. Ellen Dupont. Danbury: Grolier PC, 1997. Print. Grolier Library
of World War One 6.
• Howard, Michael. The First World War. New York: Oxford Univ., 2002. Print.
• Omissi, David. "India and the Western Front." BBC News. BBC, 2002. Web. 07 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/india_wwone_01.shtml>.
• Mosley, Philip E.. "Russian Revolution of 1917." Emayzine.com Dr E's Social Science Webzine. Dr. Eric
Mayer, n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012. http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/russianrev.html.