During
World War I, artillery fire caused major destruction and was the cause of death
for thousands. A network of trenches was
dug so that the troops had a way to avoid the rapid-fire bullets. Poison gas was also concocted and used
successfully by the Germans. The British
were quick to react with their new prototype of a tank. These tanks were unreliable and only served
the purpose of shielding its passengers and busting through barbed wire. On all sides, aircraft became a popular
weapon to effectively drop bombs onto the enemies.
Around
two million “doughboys” fought for America, inexperienced and giddy. Americans sailed across the seas in groups
called convoys, which transported the troops to Europe. The war started to heat up and the Russians
broke out in riots because of the war’s impact on the government and
society. Czar Nicholas II abdicated his
throne and kick-started the Russian Revolution.
Russians were soon under the authority of a Communist government after
Vladmir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, took office. Another substantial change that Russia faced
was the loss of a large expanse of territory with Lenin’s signing of the Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.
After
the Battle of the Argonne Forest, the Americans punctured through Germany’s
defense and caused them to retreat. The
Austria-Hungarian Empire began to break apart into separate countries and
Germany experienced changes too when Emperor Kaiser resigned. Germany became a republic and signed an
armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month in 1918. Later, the Big Four
(Wilson, George, Clemenceau, and Orlando) would come together to help form the
Treaty of Versailles. President Wilson
proposed his Fourteen Points, which would be the basis of how the League of
Nations was born. His Fourteen Points
were accepted, but America’s senate refused to sign the treaty because they
thought this League of Nations would go against the Founding Father’s ideals.
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