The End of the War...the Birth of a New Europe...and the League of Nations...

When the United States got into the War in 1917, things were not going particularly well for the Allies. 

• France and Britain had tried to move the lines along the Western Front, but as we discussed during our trench warfare section, this was not easy...and it wasn't successful, as the Germans beat the Allies down pretty badly.  
• The British blockade of the English Channel, while effective in choking off German shipping, also provoked the Germans to restart their unrestricted submarie (U-boat) campaigns.  As a result, the British were estimated to be losing between 500,000 and 600,000 tons of supplies every month due to submarine torpedoing.  This started to have a negative effect on Great Britain and their economy, as you might imagine, so the convoy system was put back in place.  Even though it was not particularly popular, the convoy system was effective enough to keep Great Britain from starving. 
• The French, who had already suffered approximately a million casualties, were starting to struggle with mutinies and desertions from their troops, with an estimated 20,000 troops either leaving or refusing to fight. 
• The Russian Revolution weakened that powerful empire, and, as we discussed, Russia pulled out of the War by the end of 1917, just a handful of months after the U.S. got into the War.  Not only that, but Russia and Germany (along with the rest of the Central Powers) then signed an armistice, which allowed Germany to send even more troops to the Western Front.

Like I said...things were not going well...but 1918 was going to look a LOT better. 

America getting into the War was, by some accounts, about the only real positive thing to come out of 1917 as far as the Allies were concerned, but this was a big positive because not only did we bring fresh troops and more supplies, there was an almost immediate psychological boost to the morale of the Allied troops.  It also brought on great concern from Germany and the Central Powers because they knew they couldn't win a long, drawn out war.  So...Germany tried one last major offensive along the Western Front, in a sort of do-or-die effort. 

Germany's Last Big Push

In early 1918, Germany knew they were running out of time.  America was shipping thousands of soldiers into the European warzone every day (up to 10,000 a day by the summer of 1918), and despite the fact that they had more troops available from the Russian front, the Germans didn't always have enough provisions and supplies to maintain their army.  So, they came up with a plan (codename Operation Michael), in which they thought they could separate the French and the British troops, and manage to take Paris. 

At first, the plan seemed to be working, as Germany was able to get their long-range artillery (Krupp railway guns) to within 75 miles of Paris and they launched almost 200 shells into the French capital.  The German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was so pleased that he declared March 24 a national holiday; they were certain victory was soon to be theirs.

They were wrong...

First, four units of Australian soldiers managed to stop the German lines from advancing any further, largely because Germany had no tanks or mobile artillery they could use, and also because their supply lines were now stretched so thin they had trouble keeping their army outfitted properly.  So, while the Aussies didn't push the Germans back, the Germans were once again stalled out.

Germany then launched a second offensive, called Operation Georgette, on the British along the English Channel.  Germany, again, made some initial gains, but they were again stopped by the Allies.  When this failed, the Germans again tried to relaunch an attack on Paris...again failing.

Now it was the Allies turn...

Hundred Days Offensive and the End of the War

From August to November of 1918, the Allies launched numerous attacks against the Central Powers along the Western Front.  More than a million American troops, under the leadership of General John J. Pershing, had flooded into France, and started pushing towards Germany, along with French, British, and Canadian troops.  The Allies starting racking up small victory after small victory, until these started becoming bigger and bigger victories with more and more losses for the Central Powers.  In November, Germany faced their own problems with mutinies.  A few days later, the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, left his own country (or was basically forced out), and a new, democratic government was rapidly put into place.  On November 11, 1918, the German government signed the armistice that ended the War, at least as far as the "world war" aspect was concerned.  (Germany had many more internal problems they would continue to deal with for some time, as communists tried to overthrow the new democratic government.)

Making Peace

27 countries, including the United States, met in Paris in January of 1919 to draw up the final settlement of the War.  Among the things discussed were President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points", which was a settlement that Wilson thought would bring about lasting peace.  Wilson had actually made his "Fourteen Points" proposal to Congress a full year earlier, but it was at least discussed, however briefly, once again in Paris. 

Wilson's Fourteen Points, among other things, called for...

1. There should be no secret alliances between countries
2. Freedom of the seas in peace and war
3. The reduction of trade barriers among nations
4. The general reduction of armaments
5. The adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the inhabitants as well as of the colonial powers
6. The evacuation of Russian territory and a welcome for its government to the society of nations
7. The restoration of Belgian territories in Germany
8. The evacuation of all French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine
9. The readjustment of Italian boundaries along clearly recognizable lines of nationality
10. Independence for various national groups in Austria-Hungary
11. The restoration of the Balkan nations and free access to the sea for Serbia
12. Protection for minorities in Turkey and the free passage of the ships of all nations through the Dardanelles
13. Independence for Poland, including access to the sea
14. A league of nations to protect "mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small nations alike."

While many people at the Paris Peace Conference listened to what Wilson had to say, many, especially the French, wanted far more drastic measures to be taken.  Eventually, the fate of Germany would lay in the hands of the so-called Big Three of the United States, Great Britain, and France (the Big Four, if Italy is included, which it sometimes is, but to a far lesser degree). 

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years to the day after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.  In the Treaty, Germany suffered greatly for its role in the War.   

The Treaty can be broken down into various sections, all of which are essentially designed to punish Germany.

Territorial

The following land was taken away from Germany :

• Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)
• Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)
• Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)
• Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)
• West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)
• The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.
• The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies.
• Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land.

Military

• Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks
• She was not allowed an airforce
• She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines
• The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone (DMZ).
• No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone.
• The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.
  

Financial

The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her economy. Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a vital economic loss. Combined with the financial penalties linked to reparations, it seemed clear to Germany that the Allies wanted nothing else but to bankrupt her.

Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.

General

Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was Clause 231 - the infamous "War Guilt Clause".

Germany, as she was responsible for starting the war as stated in clause 231, was, therefore responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. Therefore, she had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war. (The Germans were basically told to write a blank check which the Allies would cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually put at £6,600 million - a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to pay.
       

A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.  (Germany was not allowed to be a part of the Leage of Nations.)

League Of Nations

This cartoon implies that without America the bridge would collapse. The bridge represents the League of Nations, and Uncle Sam, the personification of America, is reluctant to place the keystone in the bridge to complete it. This is odd because in the Treaty of Versailles, it was Woodrow Wilson the president of America that suggested that the League of Nations...in fact, Wilson had mentioned a similar league as far back as 1918 in his "Fourteen Points" that we discussed earlier. The missing keystone demonstrates how difficult the League will function without have the United States as a member. But it was a Republican majority in Congress that blocked the USA's entry into the League, not the President. It is now known that Wilson was very, very ill during vital periods at Versailles and afterwards and probably lacked the will to win Congress around.

Some more political cartoons to analyze....

Treaty of Versailles/League Of Nations Cartoon Analysis