Important People, Places, and Things
People: President Woodrow Wilson
Places: N/A
Things: Lusitania, German U-Boats, trench warfare, mustard gas, tanks
People: President Woodrow Wilson
Places: N/A
Things: Lusitania, German U-Boats, trench warfare, mustard gas, tanks
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1914-1917: The War in Europe was RAGING. New Technologies Made War More Devastating!
We normally think of technology as a great thing that makes life easier, however sometimes technology can have negative effects. That is very much the case when considering how technology changed how wars were fought in World War I.
We normally think of technology as a great thing that makes life easier, however sometimes technology can have negative effects. That is very much the case when considering how technology changed how wars were fought in World War I.
- Trench Warfare- During World War I, troops moved from fighting in open fields to down in trenches. The trenches were dug into the ground like a tunnel system with no ceiling, and in the trenches were where the armies of opposing sides would stay. Opposing armies would fight from the trenches with a large field in between. This large empty field was known as "No Man's Land". This land did not belong to either side, but it was said that "no man" would survive attempting to cross it.
- Tanks- The British and the French were the first to create large armored vehicles with guns to cross "No Man's Land". These machines were still very expensive to produce so they were not produced in large amounts. However, this was the first time that these types of vehicles were used in war with devastating effects.
- Mustard Gas- Germans were the first to use large-scale chemical warfare on their opponents. Cylinders full of poison gas would be launched into trenches in an attempt to draw the men out into No Man's Land or to kill large amounts of men at one time. It then became a competition to see who could create the most lethal (deadly) compounds to harm their opponents. This led to the creation of gas masks to help prevent death by chemical warfare, but many of the gas masks could not protect from all of the gases.
- Aerial Combat- With the successful flight of airplanes being only a decade old at the time the first World War began, there was a lot of trial and error with aerial combat. Eventually a Dutch inventor created a way to mount a machine gun to planes so that they could be used in war. Both sides had their "flying aces", pilots who were known for their flight skills and success in taking out enemy planes.
- Machine Guns- Machine guns were now owned by all people. These guns were able to take out hundreds of people within a matter of minutes. This weapon was one of the most devastating technologies of "The Great War".
- German U-Boats and Depth Charges- The Germans were the first to use submarines, or U-Boats, as a method of carrying out war. The Allies were not prepared for this new technology, and Germany deployed "depth charges" which were essentially underwater bombs that blew up
Isolationism in the United States
With the United States heavily focused on their own expansion in Latin America after the Spanish-American War, the war going on in Europe was the last thing we wanted to be involved in. President Woodrow Wilson stuck tightly to his policy of isolationism (meaning to stay away out of other people's problems and to worry about yourself). However, Wilson's policy of isolationism was not respected by the Central Powers. The United Staes was a major trade partner of Great Britain, and they continued to try and send goods to and from Great Britain. Germany felt like by continuing to supply Great Britain with materials that they needed for war and survival that the United States wasn't really staying out of the war at all- they were helping Germany's enemy. As a result, German U-Boats began to sink American ships that were trading with Great Britain.
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The Sinking of the Lusitania Marks The End of US Isolationism
After being warned by the United States to STOP blowing up Allied ships, a German U-Boat sank The RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915. The RMS Lusitania was a British ship on its way from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the more than 1,900 passengers and crew members on board, more than 1,100 died, including more than 120 Americans. Nearly two years would pass before the United States formally entered World War I, but the sinking of the Lusitania played a significant role in turning public opinion against Germany, both in the United States and abroad. The sinking of the Lusitania angered many Americans, and just like in the Spanish-American War, public opinion and cries of the people to avenge the sinking of a ship led to the United States becoming involved in the War. |