Conscription

Definition forced enrollment in

the armed forces
How does it relate to WWI?
Why would conscription need to be
used?
Is conscription fair?

The End of the Fighting

April 1917
United States
entered war
Germany had to
win before United
States was able to
fight

A New German
Offensive
Germany refocused efforts at
Western Front
no longer fighting with Russia in east

March 1918 Germany led major

assault
made progress: gained around 40
miles

A New German
Offensive
June 1918 American soldiers
helped in Europe & gave Allies
hope
800,000 German soldiers died

German Collapse
Second Battle of the
Marne
Allies stopped
Germans (had done
so in 1914, as well)

Allies used tanks &

aircraft to gain
ground
many Germans
simply gave up
they knew Germany
was defeated

German Collapse
October 1918 Allied forces broke
through heavily defended Hindenburg
Line
German leaders approached Allies for
truce
November 11, 1918 armistice
agreed to
Veterans Day

Differing Allied Goals

America, Woodrow
Wilson
- Fourteen Points: President Wilsons
plan for organizing post-World War I
Europe & for avoiding future wars
- within Fourteen Points
-reduction of weapons
-right of all people to choose their
own
governments
(democracies)
-organization for worlds nations to
join, to protect from future
aggression

Differing Allied Goals

France, Georges Clemenceau
punish Germany
make Germany pay for costs of war

Great Britain, David Lloyd

George
punish Germany
dont weaken Germany
wanted Germany to stop communism from
spreading out of Russia

Differing Allied Goals

Italy, Vittorio Orlando
wanted to gain territory
-Italy was essentially ignored

Treaty of Versailles
Allies finally compromised on goals
Treaty of Versailles was closer to Clemenceaus goals than Wilsons
Germany had to accept the terms of the treaty

Treaty of Versailles
Germany was forced to:
- pay reparations: compensation in money,
payable by a defeated country to another for
loss suffered during war
-take responsibility for conflict
-return conquered land to France & Russia
-give land for formation of new country of Poland
-give colonies around world to various world
powers
-limit size of military

Treaty of Versailles
June 28, 1919 signed by Germany
Wilson did get one thing he asked for:
League of Nations: international body of
nations formed after World War I to prevent
future wars
-Germany was excluded from the League
-United States did not join League