...American contributions to the Second Battle of the Marne and to the fighting in the months leading up to the German surrender. 1. Analyze the role of American soldiers in the Second Battle of the Marne, and in subsequent engagements with the Germans. 2. Discuss the weapons used in WWI, such as bayonets, flamethrowers, machine guns, pistols, mustard gas, rifles, tanks and trench mortars. 3. Discuss the soldier’s experience, such as fighting in the trenches, boredom, lice, rats, food, common injuries, and battlefield engagement. The Second Battle of the Marne marked the turning of the tide in World War I. It began with the last German offensive of the conflict and was quickly followed by the first allied offensive victory of 1918. The American Expeditionary Force with over 250,000 men fighting under overall French command played key roles both in the initial defense and the later advances. In the Second Battle of Marne with 30,000 killed and wounded, the United States started suffering casualties on the enormous scale usually associated with the battles of the Great War. In what began as the last major German offensive of the First World War, the Second Battle of the Marne developed into a significant Allied victory. After it became clear that the Germans had not only failed in their aim to win the war in this offensive, but had in fact lost ground, a number of German commanders, including Crown Prince Wilhelm, believed the war was lost. the war could best be...
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... Week 5 2 America and World War I-The Battle of Marne This was the first time in history that the United States fought in a European war. This battle also made the world look at the United States in a new light; we were a force to be feared. At the time that our soldiers had arrived the French and British troops were exhausted, and welcomed the help from the solders with open arms. There were several concerns about the American soldiers, and whether or not they would be able to handle the Germen troops. Many of these men were not only untrained, some were unarmed. Things were not going well at the time that the troops had arrived; some historians have said that it was like being delivered to a Slater house. The American soldiers played a big part in the reason that this battle was won. The Germans were gaining strength in numbers, and at the time of the arrival of American troops this fact changed. The American soldiers were a shimmer of hope to the British, and French soldiers....
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...World War I, as a result of several events. In an attempt by both the allied and the central powers to involve the Americans, the US was heavily saturated with propaganda. Much of the material had a Pro-British slant which was aided by the connection to Britain as a "cultural brother" and the United States' concern with affairs in Western Europe. While propaganda sympathetic to Germany did also exist, it did not carry much weight with the American public. Germany was seen by most Americans as a dangerous monarchy with autocratic militarist thinking, including a hidden agenda to undermine democracy and US power. There were allegations of industrial sabotage, poisoning water supplies, kidnapping individuals, and engaging in espionage within American labor unions by Germans to keep the United States busy on the home front. These rumors, along with extensive submarine warfare, added to the distrust of the Germans. The US fought many battles but the second battle of Marne seems to have been the one that led to the demise of Germany and an eventual victory for Allied troops. In what began as the last major German offensive of the First World War, the Second Battle of the Marne developed into a significant Allied victory. After it became clear that the Germans had not only failed in their aim to win the war in this offensive they had in fact lost ground. The battle took place over the course of July 15- August 5 1918,...
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...allies set up a naval blockade of Germany and Austria. The Wilson Administration complained bitterly that the blockade violated international law (2010). It was not the conventional surface vessels used by Britain and France to enforce its blockade that enraged Americans, but the German submarines used. When American ships were intercepted by the British, the crew treated well. German submarines attacked without warning, and passengers had little to no chance of surviving (2010). While Wilson weighed his options regarding the submarine issue, he had to also evaluate Germany’s attempt at a secret alliance with Mexico. On January 19, 1917, British naval intelligence intercepted a telegram sent by Arthur Zimmerman, a German Foreign Minister, to the German Ambassador in Mexico City (2010). The “Zimmerman Telegram” promised the Mexican Government that Germany would help Mexico recover the territory it had lost to the United States following the Mexican-American War. In return for this assistance, the Germans asked for Mexican support in the war (2010). Initially, the British had not shared the news of the “Zimmerman Telegram” with U.S. officials. However, on February 24th, the British shared the note in hopes of persuading American officials to join the war. The British finally forwarded the intercept to Wilson. Even with this news, Wilson still hesitated to ask for a declaration of war. On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before Congress to request a declaration of war...
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...n late June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. An escalation of threats and mobilization orders followed the incident, leading by mid-August to the outbreak of World War I, which pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (the so-called Central Powers) against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan (the Allied Powers). The Allies were joined after 1917 by the United States. The four years of the Great War–as it was then known–saw unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction, thanks to grueling trench warfare and the introduction of modern weaponry such as machine guns, tanks and chemical weapons. By the time World War I ended in the defeat of the Central Powers in November 1918, more than 9 million soldiers had been killed and 21 million more wounded. WORLD WAR I BEGINS (1914) Though tensions had been brewing in Europe–and especially in the troubled Balkan region–for years before conflict actually broke out, the spark that ignited World War I was struck in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death along with his wife by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie set off a rapid chain of events: Austria-Hungary, like many in countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident...
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...World War 1. Serbia, Russia, France, Belgium, and Great Britain were allies in WW1 against Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Germany began invading west Belgium on August 4,1914. The German troops were lead by Erich Lundendorff. The German troops killed the...
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... Upon the outbreak of the Great War, the U.S. enforced a rule of non-intervention, preventing conflict while attempting to negotiate peace. President Woodrow Wilson expressed that the United States was too proud to battle, and commanded Germany to stop the assaults on passenger ships, which Germany obeyed his command. Because President Wilson could not mediate a settlement, he cautioned Germany that the United States would not allow unrestricted submarine combat. This warfare would violate the universal law and American philosophies of human rights. Germany became defiant, and continued with the plan to start submarine warfare anyway. Germany approached Mexico with a deal that if they join forces with them in war against the U.S., they would support them financially, and help them gain back territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. These were territories Mexico had lost 70 years ago during the Mexican-American war. President Woodrow Wilson announced the Zimmerman note, which was a telegram intercepted by British Intelligence, declaring war on the United States. This caused an outrage, and gave the U.S. a reason to wage war on Germany and its allies. The United States Army was very small, but grew by 2.8 million from the drafting of American soldiers after the passage of the Selection Service Act. Although the United States was an “Associated Power”, it was never officially declared as a member of the allies. The U.S. sent their navy to join forces with the British...
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...American and World War I Alina Ibrahim HIS/125 January 25, 2013 Matt Brickley American and World War I World War I began as a domino effect of one thing leading to another. In June 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist while visiting Sarajevo (Schultz, 2012). Austria-Hungary then issued an ultimatum to the Serbians to bring the assassins to justice. This was an ultimatum that the Austro-Hungarians knew the Serbians would not meet prompting Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia (The Causes of World War I, 2009). Compelled by a treaty with Serbia, Russia mobilized its army in defense of Serbia. While Russia was an ally of Serbia, also bound by a treaty Germany was an ally of Austria-Hungary. This obligated Germany to mobilize its army in defense of Austria-Hungary. Britain and France also entered the war bound by treaty as an ally of Russia (The Causes of World War I, 2009). Hence, the domino effect of one country leading the other to enter the war. Throughout the first three years of the war America remained a neutral country. They were not bound by any treaties to ally themselves to fight for either side in the war. The war in Europe was at an impasse and both sides realized that in order to win the war they needed to submit the other to starvation (Schultz, 2012). The economies of the countries at war in Europe were quickly in ruins and they looked to the United States for supplies...
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...until 1915.Most Americans were shocked by the rivalries and alliances that had caused the war and in disbelief over the amount of death and destruction in France. European emigrants still felt strong ties to their homeland and were conflicted with how they felt about the war. However, industrial leaders and politicians were Anglophiles, or persons who greatly admire England or things that are English(Merriam-Webster.com), instinctively had pro-British feelings toward the war. Before 1915, President Wilson urged American citizens to remain “impartial in thought as well as action”(Shultz p. 360 HIST 2, Volume 2). President Wilson had no intention of getting involved in the feud between the Allied and Central Powers, a stand that eventually got him reelected into office because “He Kept Us Out Of War”. However, despite President Wilson’s best intentions, the promise of making money slowly started pulling the United States into the war. With both the Allied and German forces’ economies in the pits, each side began to look to the United States for supplies; otherwise both sides would have starved to death. By 1915, the economic incentive to trade with them began to prove irresistible. The willingness to help both sides began to prove difficult because it conflicted with strategies of both Allied and German forces to deprive one another of the essential supplies needed to survive. However, because both Britain and France had a naval force, they were able to force American supply ships...
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...lasted four years from 1914 to 1918. It caused the death of millions of soldiers and innocent civilians, and an unknown amount of property damage. In the beginning, America tried to stay neutral but eventually it was necessary to join the Allied troops in battle against Germany. In 1915, a German U-boat bombed the passenger ship Lusitania, and many Americans were among the victims. This event was one of the main reasons that American’s public opinion turned in favor of entering the war against the Germans. Congress declared war in 1917. The Second Battle of the Marne was fought from July 15 to August 5, 1918 on the Western Front in France. This was the turning point of World War I when the Allies gained ground against the Germans and eventually won the war. It began with a German attack at the Marne River and the Allied defense that led to a win over the Germans. The victory came from 85,000 fresh American troops joining the battle along with the British and Italians (Duffy, 2009). The presence of fresh American troops, unbroken by years of fighting, boosted the Allies resistance. The Germans were successful in crossing the river to the west of the French town of Reims, and pushed forward for nine miles before the French, American, British, and Italian soldiers stopped their advance. This loss was the first in a series for the Germans that led to their defeat. During World War I, the soldiers in the trenches used a variety of weapons that were improved upon or newly...
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...allies were deeply rooted into this war that seemed unequivocally to involve all parties in the great powers of the world this war was fought by many elements within the United States and all elements of its military's from powerful navy to the mighty Marine Corps to the Army. The Americas introduction into the beginning of World War I they received information in the beginning part of me that Germans hi command had ordered a major offensive of the Chemin des Dames which was situated in Paris. With the assistance of the second and third AEF they help defend along the Marne on both side of the plain. This better way to Don for several months taking casualties on both sides and reach the climax during a portion of July 14 and the 15th in 1918 during this barrage both sides of the plane received heavy artillery fire and particularly around midnight the artillery reach the climax as the artillery Bumbarger the Germans even if they started to push forward in this battle of the main focus was getting across and gaining access to the Marnethat the Germans so heavily wanted and wanted to defend at all costs. The assault of the Chateau Thierry Display some of the most impressive and all inspiring series of artillery demonstration from both sides even during the climax in the middle of the night and midnight. But unfortunately by 12 o'clock in the afternoon of that day July 14 the Germans had made it across they had made it...
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...Audie Leon Murphy was not just the most-decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II but in all American military history. Among his 33 honors and decorations was the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor, three medals from France, and one from Belgium. Yet at war’s end, he was not even old enough to vote. The young dirt-poor boy from rural Texas with only five years of formal education became the face of the victorious American soldier. Audie was born on a sharecropper's farm in North Texas on June 20, 1925. One of nine surviving siblings out of the twelve born to Emmett Berry Murphy and his wife, Josie Bell Murphy, his early life could best be described as “hard-scrabble”. Growing up poor around small towns like Farmersville and Celeste, life was tough in the Murphy household. At the young age of 5, Audie was already working in the fields, chopping corn or picking cotton alongside his father and mother. Farm labor in the 1930’s was...
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...Syllabus College of Humanities HIS/125 U.S. History 1865 to 1945 Professor Jewell gjjewell@email.phoenix.edu 843-863-0102 Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course provides an overview of the social, political, economic, and global events affecting U.S. history from the Civil War through World War II. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Schultz, K. M. (2012). HIST2, volume 2 (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Reconstruction and the New South Details Objectives 1.1 Evaluate the outcomes of Reconstruction. 1.2 Summarize the economic, political, and social characteristics of the New South. 1.3 Explain the populist response to late 19th-century developments. Read the course description and objectives. Read the instructor’s biography and post your own. Read Ch. 16 of HIST2, Volume 2. Read pp. 318–325 in Ch. 19 of HIST2...
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...against Germany. • The Entente Cordiale in 1904 Franco-British • Anglo-Russian Agreement 1907 (Persia, Afghanistan (England), Tibet) • Finally, the formation of the Triple Entente to counteract this policy 1.1. The transformations of the new century and the conflicts between the powers. Emergence of USA and Japan, which retention passage of a European to a global. • Spanish-American War 1898: conflict between USA and Spain, the latter losing the Cuban island, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam • 1905 Russian-Japanese War: Russian aggression ultimately led to the British-Japanese alliance in 1902 which led to the aforementioned war, winning Japan. As a result Russia turned its attention to the Balkans, leads to clash with Astro-Hungary. 1.2. The Road to War 1905-1914 Balkans: • Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina October 5, 1908 (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Kingdom of Italy, Kingdom of Serbia, Montenegro, German Empire and France intervened in these events), this damage the relationship of Austria-Hungary to Serbia. • all faced with Turkey, the second faced the victors, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro, against Bulgaria • Germany supported the Austro-Hungarian empire in case of conflict. Russia supported...
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...His burial site is in Grove City, Pennsylvania. In the last decade of his service to the Commonwealth, each summer Charles Smathers would lead his soldiers during training exercises at a new facility, Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. In many ways it was a second home to him as it has been for many generations of Pennsylvania National Guard members. They perform field exercises, fire their weapons at ranges and, as many of them did, prior to World War II, Vietnam and the other conflicts since it opened in 1931, prepare for war. In February of 1941, the 56th Brigade, General Smathers final command, was inducted into federal service. The unit moved to Fort Indiantown Gap with the remainder of the 28th Infantry Division. The facility was inundated with units training for war. To inspire them, several thoroughfares in the facility were renamed for Pennsylvania Guard leaders, most of who served in World War I. A local newspaper made note of this in an article published in 1941. One of those so honored...
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