World War I - Major Battles; US Enters the War

World War I 1914-1918

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TEKS: High School U.S. History
2A identify the major eras in US history from
1877 to the present and describe their
defining characteristics
4C identify the causes of World War I and
reasons for U.S. entry
4F analyze major issues raised by U.S.
involvement in World War I, including
isolationism, neutrality, Woodrow Wilson's
Fourteen Points, and the Treaty of Versailles

I will be able to identify
the important events of
WWI and be able to
describe why the U.S.
entered the war.

The Western Front

Allied forces vs. Central Forces in France

The Eastern Front

Russian Allied forces vs. Central Forces

The Battle of Gallipoli

THE WESTERN FRONT
First Battle of

the Somme

1916

Bloodiest Military Battle

Over 1 million soldiers

killed during the 5

month battle

The

Gallipoli

Campaign

1915-1916

Allied Forces’

failed attempt to
control the seas
between Europe

and Russia

Western Front

Early August 1914 - November 1918

First Battle of the Marne

Successful Allied counterattack drove the Germans

back North

Second Battle of Ypres

First use of poison gas by the Germans

Battle of the Somme

Bloodiest Military Battle

Over 1 million soldiers killed during

the 5 month battle

Second Battle of the Marne

Germany suffers massive casualties

Turning point in the Allies’ favor

Allied forces eventually won

the war in the West

Allied Casualties ~7 million

Central Powers Casualties ~4.6 million

Eastern Front

Late August 1914 - March 1918

Larger than the Western Front

Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Turkey

vs. Russia

Battle of Tannenberg

Russia faced starvation, lack of
weapons, and poor leadership

The Central Powers eventually
forced Russia to surrender in

March of 1918, ending the war on

the Eastern Front

More than 3 million men died in the

fighting, more than 9 million men were

wounded, and every major country
which participated lost its form of

government

Battle of Gallipoli

February 1915 - January 1916

Unsuccessful attempt by Allied
forces to control the sea route

from Europe to Russia

Considered to be a failure

for the Allies

Allied Casualties: 187,959

Britain, France, Australia & New Zealand

Turkish Army (German ally)

Casualties: 161,828

Germany began fighting WWI on two fronts - to the East and to the West.
Germany thought this would be a quick and easy war to win and that the
countries they invaded wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.

When war broke out in Europe,
US President Woodrow Wilson
vowed to remain neutral and
not get involved...

...following the advice of
former President George

Washington to not entangle
the US with foreign alliances

The United
States must
be neutral...

Multiple Choice

Which statement from George Washington's Farewell Address did Woodrow Wilson use to determine the United State's stance on World War I?

• Importance of unity

• Loyalty to political parties over the nation

• Danger of foreign entanglements

However, German U-boats sunk
several neutral U.S. commercial
and passenger ships that came

close to Great Britain

Multiple Choice

This cartoon depicts President Woodrow Wilson calling on Congress to -

• ratify the Treaty of Versailles

• issue a declaration of war against Germany

• authorize the use of funds to support Russian revolutionaries

• enact trade sanctions against Germany

May 7, 1915 - sinking of the famous Lusitania

cruise ship by a German U-boat

without any warning

Many Americans were on
board and afterwards, many
Americans started to change their
ideas about staying neutral in the war

Well that’s
just the last

straw!

Multiple Choice

Why did the United States decide to enter World War I?

• The United States had suffered economically from European sanctions.

• A European nation had taken aggressive actions against the United States.

• The U.S. president was obligated to fulfill election campaign promises.

• Communist activities among U.S. immigrants were threatening the country.

The Zimmerman Telegram - January 16, 1917
The Zimmermann Telegram was 162 simple words that pulled the U.S. into
WWI against the German Empire and could have put the U.S. at war with Mexico.

Arthur Zimmerman

German Foreign Minister

wrote the telegraph

Germany proposed an alliance with Mexico and promised that if Mexico attacked the US,
Germany would help them recover land that America had taken (Mexican Cession and Texas).
Luckily, Britain intercepted the message and gave it to America.

The intended recipient was

Germany's foreign ambassador
to Mexico and it was his job to

pass it off to the Mexican

government as top secret: for
their eyes only. The U.S. wasn’t

supposed to know about this!

It was written in

a secret

numerical code

Multiple Choice

How did the Zimmerman Telegram influence U.S. entry into World War I?

• It announced the czar's overthrow in Russia.

• It revealed a proposed military alliance between Mexico and Germany.

• It described Romania's plan to abandon neutrality.

• It contained orders for German U-boats to destroy British passenger ships.

The United
States enters
World War I
April 6, 1917

After the sinking of US
ships AND the Zimmerman
Telegram, the US had
enough and declared war

2 million U.S. soldiers fought
in WWI - mostly in France
against the Germans

American forces were well
supplied and marked a
major turning point in the
war to help the Allied forces
win