Raising An Army and Navy

Warm Up

• What events led President Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war?

• How did American’s prepare for war? • What did the American military need?• How would you respond to the U-Boat

attacks? How do you stop a weapon you can not see nor hear?

Getting Prepared for War

• U.S. was not ready to fight a war– They only had about 200k soldiers, most of them

new recruits

• The gov’t tried an enlistment policy– They were not getting the numbers they needed

• Had to institute a draft– A system of choosing people to fight in a war

• First used in the Civil War

• Selective Service Act of 1917 made this legal

Preparations cont..• Selective Service Act stated:

– Required all men between the ages of 21-30 to sign up for military service

• Within a year, the U.S. now had 3million soldiers

• Most of these soldiers were shipped to France

• Served under Gen. John Pershing as the American Expeditionary Force or AEF– Britain asked the U.S. to have AEF troops join

them and French soldiers because their troops were battle weary

Preparations cont..

• 50k women also served in WWI– Most served with the Red Cross– But some served in the military

• 1st time in U.S. history

• 400k African Americans served as well• Faced the same discrimination overseas, as they

did at home– And like home, it came from white American soldiers,

not Europeans

• Military created two African American combat divisions

Impact of American Ships • America came up with plans to protect supply

ships from German U-Boats• 1. Convoy System

– A heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships across the Atlantic in groups

– Strategy reduced the loss of supply ships

• 2. Mines– June, 1918 Allies laid 70k mines in the North Sea,

180 miles long– This made it impossible for U-Boats to access the

North Sea

American Troops Enter the War

• The first troops arrived in France in 1917– Fighting was going on for 3 years– “Whomever joins the war last, will win the war.”

• These Americans boosted the morale of their allied brothers– Russia withdrew, and they desperately needed soldiers

• Germany made an attempt to end the war before the full force of the U.S. could get there

• They smashed into France, and were only 50 miles from Paris--whooping the allies!!

• But….

American Troops cont..• May 1918, American troops arrived in time

– 1million, fresh, non-battle weary troops, arrived ready for action held off the Germans

• May 28: Attacked Cantigny– French town occupied by Germans

• American forces took the town in two hours– Totally annihilated the German soldiers

• Next they took the town of Chateau-Thierry, and Belleau Wood– Forest near the Marne river– Suffered heavy casualties--one unit lost 380 of 400

men

Pushing the Germans Back

• 2nd Battle of the Marne--July 1918– Turning point of the War

• Germany tried to advance on the French line• 85k Americans helped halt the German

advance• Allies then cut off their enemy from their supply

lines, and forced them back• The allies would steadily advance for the rest of

the war• This lead to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

• Sept. 26, 1918• 1.2 million U.S. soldiers took part in a drive to

push the German line back• Heavy fighting ensued• Offensive lasted months• Finally, in November, the Germans were

retreating• Americans lost around 26k lives• This led to the collapse of Germany

Collapse of Germany• General Erich Ludendorff advised the German

gov’t to seek peace• Germany’s navy mutinied • All it’s allies dropped out of the war• November 9, the German Kaiser stepped down• Nov 11: Germany agreed to an armistice

– An end to fighting

• On November 11 1918, at 11:00am-- the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month-- all fighting ceased

• 8.5 million soldiers died in this war

Deaths

• Russia-- 1.7 million• Germany-- 1.773 million• Austria-Hungary-- 1.2 million• France-- 1.385 million • Ottoman Empire-- 325,000• British Empire-- 908,400• Italy-- 650,000• U.S.-- 116,000