Sunday, October 25, 2015

WWI: The end of the War

The Last Battles of The Great War


In August of 1918, the Allied commanders on the western front decided to go on the offensive. Starting on August 8th, a series of battles were fought called the Hundred Days Offensive. These battles included the Battle of Amiens, the Second Battle of the Somme, and several battles along Germany's Hindenburg Line. The Germans were pushed out of France and were forced to retreat back into Germany. 


 
People celebrating after the armistice 
Armistice 

By the end of the Hundred Days Offensive, the German forces were exhausted and running out of food and supplies. On November 11, 1918 they requested an armistice. An armistice is when both sides agree to stop fighting while a peace treaty is negotiated. The Allies agreed to the armistice and at 11 AM on November 11, 1918 the fighting in World War I came to an end. 

Treaty Negotiations 

The Allied Nations met in Paris at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to decide the fate of Germany and the Central Powers. Although a number of nations took part in the negotiations, the major decisions and discussions were between the leaders of the "Big Four" nations which included Georges Clemenceau (Prime Minister of France), David Lloyd George (Prime Minister of Great Britain), Woodrow Wilson (President of the United States), and Vittorio Orlando (Prime Minister of Italy). 


 
The Big Four

Each of the four nations had different opinions on how Germany should be treated. President Woodrow Wilson felt that the best solution was to incorporate his Fourteen Points. He thought that Germany should not be blamed for the war or punished too harshly. However, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau felt that Germany was responsible for the war and should take the blame and be forced to pay large reparations. 

Treaty of Versailles 

The Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Allied Powers and Germany on June 28, 1919. This officially ended World War I. The treaty was extremely harsh on Germany. It forced Germany to "accept the responsibility for causing all the loss and damage" of the war. Germany was forced to disarm, give up land to France, and to pay reparations of 132 billion Marks (around $442 billion in 2015 money). 

New National Borders 

The map of Europe changed significantly after World War I. Several new independent countries were formed including Poland, Finland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. Russia became the Soviet Union and the Ottoman Empire later became the country of Turkey. Germany also had to give up some land to France. 

League of Nations 

As part of the Paris Peace Conference, an organization called the League of Nations was formed. The League of Nations was formed in an effort to establish world peace. Its member countries hoped to prevent wars by helping to settle disputes between countries. The League also aimed to establish fair labor conditions, improve global health, control the global arms trade, and protect minorities in Europe. The League was officially founded by the Treaty of Versailles and had 42 founding member countries. 

Interesting Facts about the End of World War I
  • The United States did not sign the Treaty of Versailles, but established its own treaty with Germany.
  • The United States also did not join the League of Nations which was first introduced by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points.
  • The reparations that Germany owed from the Treaty of Versailles were renegotiated several times and were not finally paid off until well after World War II.

  • Four European Empires disappeared after World War I including the German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires.



Watch this video about the end of WWI.

Do this map puzzle of Europe. 

19 comments:

  1. So, I don't know exactly if I'm supposed to comment but I will anyway. I remember having to talk about the League of Nations last year and that was a lot of work. Hearing that Germany had to pay billions of dollars while the war costs trillions was very interesting also.

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  2. One thing I thought was crazy was how much it cost. It costed 186 billion dollars, which is equal to 2 trillion today. That's insane! An for how terrible living conditions were, the amount of food soldiers got, and how many died made the amount seem super surprising. It just gives you an idea of how many soldiers were involved, and how surious it was.

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  3. 64 billions dollars in pure gold, that is what Germany was FORCED to pay in World War 1. There were bigger numbers in the videos, but these guys were forced to.

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  4. I thought that the puzzle was very interesting. the videos were really cool too. the thing i found most interesting tho was how much money people are spending on the war

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  5. Huh, the last of the payment of the Russians was in 2010. That is a 91 years in debt to World War I.

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    1. ikr! that was really recent so it shows just how much money they owed and i think thats crazy

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  6. Huh, the last of the payment of the Russians was in 2010. That is a 91 years in debt to World War I.

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  7. I thought that it was crazy how the total cost of the war eventually added up to 186 billion dollars. That's equal to 2 trillion today! That's really surprising! I also had no idea that the last payment the whole WW1 was just payed only 5 years ago which is in 2010.

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  8. its sad how many animals died,, 40 million, isn't that more than how many soldiers died?

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  9. I thought it was insane how may people and animals died! I think this whole war is pointless. I saw something once that said "Countries fight because they are ruled my men. If they were used by women, there would just be a bunch of countries not talking to each other!" That would still be bad, but not nearly as bad as so many people dying and so much destruction.

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    1. Yeah men like to make their point by ultimate destruction and killing each other with super cannons and stuff. Women are less impulsive and more wise, and they talk things out like nice people.

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    2. Awwwww! Jacob, how sweet! :*) Lol!

      It totally depends on the person imo. You can say the 'average women' or the 'average man' but each individual is totally different and although both genders do tend to have likeness to their own (if that makes sense) there can be blood thirsty women and peaceable men. ;) Plus some women can be tooootally immature (I know it's hard to believe but we aren't always wise -- lol JK!). And hey, I'm sure the majority of women would cower in a corner or scream their head off (Yes you Emma) if they saw the shadow of a spider, so that's where da fearless dude comes in to save the day! ;P Hahaha.

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    3. True! All people are different! I think if a bunch of Jacobs ruled the worlds, we would never have war and everyone would just have fun all the time because he's so nice and kind! And if a bunch of Lauren's ruled the world, there might be countries punching each other and throwing Cheetos. Both of those options are more preferable than war! (Sorry Lauren, that's not a cut down! It's a compliment! You have good aim! Lol) And yes, we are not always wise in our ways, but mostly, we know what we're talking about! Lol jk. Especially when it comes to advice! We are REALLY good at that! What I really want is a world ruled by God. That day will come and I can't wait!

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    4. Thanks Cassie you just made my week :) And I just about died with the Cheetos thing.

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  10. Man, if I was Germany I'd be so ticked off at the Allies. I can see why their citizens had HUGE resentments towards Allies and were more than happy to engage in World War II. The Treaty stole their honor as a power nation, and their pride, making them kiss up to our countries. Germany was embarrassed in front of the whole world, literally, and then we take all of their money for reparations for our countries, money that they could have used for themselves.

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  11. I was surprised to learn that President Wilson wanted to have less punishment for Germany than the other Allies. I also was amazed how many animals (and people) died in the war, and how about 10 million civilians died, :O
    (I liked the map puzzle!)

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  12. I found it REALLY interesting how several new independent countries were formed after WWI. I find it fascinating that Finland, was one of those, since my Grandpa was born and raised in Finland. :)

    It took me 10 minutes and 11 seconds to complete the map of Europe on hard. 0.0 There are SO many little countries in Europe! I had no idea! :P

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  13. something that was interesting to me was that Germany still had to pay money from 1919 in 2010

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