World+War+1

World War II **//World Wars//**
 * //American History//**
 * //Mr. Sontheimer//**

Throughout the 20th century the world has been torn apart by wars. Unlike previous conflicts these “modern” wars involved more nations, took advantage of the technological improvements related to the Industrial Revolution, and engulfed the entire populations of the combatant nations. We are going to examine both the First and Second World Wars at the same time to find the common themes and differences that characterized each conflict.

Helpful Timeline with Links….Copy into your Wikispace  1914 June 28th - [|Assassination of Arch-Duke Ferdinand] August 1st- Germany Declares War on Russia October 29th – [|Trench Warfare] becomes dominant on Western Front 1915 May 7th- [|Lusitania] is sunk by German Submarine [|(U-Boat)] 1916 September 15th- British introduce the [|tank] to the battlefield 1917 January 16th [|Zimmerman Note] February 1st- Germans begin unrestricted submarine warfare April 6th- United States declares war on Germany December 5th- Communist [|Russia] reaches separate peace with Germany General “Black” Jack Pershing leads the first of 1.8 Million American Soldiers 1918 October 4th- Germany asks for Armistice (cease fire) November 11th- Armistice is signed bring an end to the fighting [|World Wide Influenza epidemic] 1919 June 28th- [|Treaty of Versailles] is signed with the League of Nations 1921 [|Extreme inflation] hits German economy as they pay reparations 1922 [|Mussolini] and his followers march on Rome 1923 [|Hitler] launches a failed coup in Bavaria writes

=//Mein Kampf//= 1929 Stock Market Collapse in United States marking the beginning of Depression 1933 Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany March 12th First [|Concentration Camp] Opened 1934 June 30th [|Night of the Long Knives] 1937 December 13th [|Rape of Nanking] 1939 March 15th Nazis take Czechoslovakia through [|appeasement] September 1st Invasion of Poland using the [|Blitzkrieg] 1940 June 22nd France force to sign armistice with Germany September Beginning of the [|Blitz] 1941 June 22nd [|Germany attacks Soviet Union] a strategic mistake December 7th Japanese attack [|Pearl Harbor] drawing the United States into war 1942 September 13th Battle of [|Stalingrad] a key turning point of the War June 4th [|Battle of Midway] another key turning point of the War 1943 [|Battle of the Atlantic] Climaxes with many sinkings 1944 June 6th [|Normandy Landings] Americans in France August 25th [|Paris Liberated] December 16-27 [|Battle of the Bulge] Last German offensive of the War 1945 Feb 13th [|Dresden Firebombed] Many civilians are targeted by allies. April 28th Mussolini Hanged April 30th Hilter commits suicide May 7th German’s Surrender August 6th First Atomic bomb used on [|Hiroshima] September 2 [|Japanese] Surrender October 4th United Nations formed

 World War I Alliances Triple Entente France Russia England USA

Triple Alliance Germany Austria-Hungarian Empire Ottoman Empire

World War II Alliances Axis Powers Germany Japan Italy

Allied Powers Great Britain United States Soviet Union France*

In **each** of the following categories you will research and explain ONE critical point from each category. You must support and illustrate your answer with FOUR PICTURES and ONE OTHER PRIMARY SOURCE. Your answer and evidence must connect and cover the First and Second World Wars. You may submit an answer in one of the following formats. 1.) Microsoft Word Document with Answers, Pictures, and Primary sources on one page. 2.) Wikispaces page(s) on your account with Answers, Pictures, and Primary sources arranged in a way that completes the assignment. Please place a link to your page on the class wikispace so I can go visit yours!

· // New technologies changed how war was waged Old techniques of fighting were decidedly ineffective against new tools. (chart the changes that armies made in how they fight ie. trenches vs. movement) // · // Developments in weapons extended their range and effectiveness. (examine the improvements made to a weapon of your choice through both wars ie. The tank) // · // Destructive capability increased so much that weapons became almost unusable because of their power.(Look at some of the most ghastly moments in both wars and make comparisons about the weapons that brought them about ie. Somme vs. Dresden // ‘Army City' Garnett, Kansas  August 6, 1917 My Dearest Mary, We are in the Army now. I am sitting inside our little old tent listening to the gentle patter of the raindrops on the canvas. It began raining here this morning and it is still at it. No drill today, so I will have time to write a letter or two. We got into the city all O.K., marched up to the armory and had dinner. They have mess in the armory. We have to march back and forth to eat. Eats are pretty good so far as they have some women helping with the cooking. Set up camp in the afternoon. Shoemaker has been Acting Corporal in our squad. We got the tent up all right under the direction of one of the old heads who has seen service on the border. Some equipment was issued in the afternoon. As my name is down well in the list, I have not received anything yet in my own name. Corporal Hilton is staying in town so he let me have his stuff. Got pack, gun, poncho, and numerous other things I don't know what are used for. Slept on the ground last night in a tent with just an even dozen in it. Some of the fellows are staying in town at hotels, rooming houses, and private houses. Taken altogether, things are in rather poor shape as yet, but I suppose it takes a little time to get around. A few of the bunch act like a bunch of bums instead of soldiers, but they will get that taken out of them when they get to a real camp. They got Parker Melliush for kitchen duty the first thing. Walter Anthony was stuck for guard duty last night. It must be fine walking up and down in front of a row of tents watching the other fellows sleep. One thing they did do, everybody had to quiet down at ten-thirty last night. We had a good entertainment before lights out. (We had a light, too, as some of the bunch got hold of a lantern.) A fellow in our squad by the name of Donald gets off some pretty good comedy -- original stuff, too. He is a rather rough nut, but not as bad as some of this crowd. There was some crowd at the station yesterday, wasn't there? I think I shook hands with everybody in town three or four times. Not a very pleasant task under the circumstances, either. Well, I got so much company in here that I can't think straight. This is rather a poor excuse of a letter, but I will write again soon. With best of love to my own little girl, Lloyd S.
 * Why these Wars Matter! **
 * T echnology ** -Both conflicts featured many new inventions and weapons that were developed and improved throughout the first half of the twentieth century. These inventions included ** tanks, aircraft, submarines, better communications devices, radar, sonar, and many more **. The introduction many of the inventions prompted improvements and innovations that continue through today.
 * Critical Points ** -

· // As men were mobilized for war, women’s roles on the home front expanded greatly(evaluate how production in both conflicts depended on women’s labor and support) // · // Using blockades and the denying supplies of food as weapons was practiced by all sides. (examine the blockades or WWI with the mass starvation of WWII in Leningrad) // · // Maintaining the war effort through propaganda was common and very important for morale.( compare the types of propaganda in both world conflicts) // German Propaganda 1
 * T otal War **-Both World Wars engulfed the civilian populations of the opposing sides. Civilians supported the wars through factory production and agriculture. Civilians were targeted by all sides as the wars progressed, and civilian opinion was critical to the continued war efforts.
 * Critical Points-**

HOW TO STOP THE WAR Do your part to put an end to the war! Put an end to your part of it. Stop fighting! That's the simplest way. You can do it, you soldiers, Just stop fighting and the war will end of its own accord. You are not fighting for anything anyway. does it matter who owns Metz or Strassburg, you never saw those towns nor knew the people in them, so what do you care about them? But there is a town back home in little old United States you would like to see and if you keep on fighting here in the hope of getting a look at those old German fortresses you may never see home again. The only way to stop the war is to stop fighting; That's easy. Just quit it and slip across "No Man's Land" and join the bunch that s taking it easy there waiting to exchanged and taken home. There is no disgrace in that. That bunch of American prisoners will be welcomed just as warmly as you who stick it out in these infernal trenches. Get wise and get over the top. There is nothing in the glory of keeping up the war. But think of the increasing taxes you will have to pay the longer the war lasts The larger those taxes at home will be. Get wise and over. All the fine words about glory are tommy rot. You haven't got any business fighting in France. You would better be fighting the money trust at home instead of fighting your fellow soldiers grey over here where it doesn't really matter two sticks to you how the war goes. Your country needs you, your family needs you and you need your life for something better than being gassed, shot at, deafened by cannon shots and rendered unfit physically by the miserable life you must live here. The tales they tell you of the cruelties of German prison camps are fairy tales. Of course not like being a prisoner of war but anything better than this infernal with no hope of escape except by being wounded after which you will only be sent back for another hole in your body. Wake up and stop the war! You can if you want to. Your government does not mean to stop the war for years to come and the years are going to be long and dreary. You better come over while the going is good.

· // Racial and religious prejudice reached new heights in this period. Genocide became a “final solution” for several regimes during the Second World War. (Examine how the Armenians in Turkey were treated during WW I versus how the Jews were treated in WWII) // · // Internal opposition was not tolerated during the First and Second World Wars. (How did America treat people of German descent during WWI and Japanese during WWII) //
 * G enocide -**World Wars also allowed countries to propose and act upon solutions for portions of their populations that they could characterize as undesirable. From forced internal exile or relocations, mass executions and even extermination camps the First and Second World Wars changed how unwanted populations were treated.
 * Critical Points-**


 * A uthoritarianism -** As the 20th century dawned much of the population of Europe lived under the rule of kings and monarchies. The World conflicts that characterized the first half of the century shattered these regimes and brought new powerful individuals to power. These dictators allowed little or no opposition and created powerful parties or systems to keep themselves in place.
 * Critical Points-**
 * // Old monarchies and territories will fall apart in the face of rising nationalism and the forces of war Democratic ideals will be pushed aside as militarism becomes more widespread // //(Compare the governments and nations at the beginning of each war)//
 * // New forceful leaders will take power and implement their totalitarian ideas of government.(look at the rise of Hitler, Mussolini, or Tojo) //

World War I [] [] [] [] World War II [] [] []
 * Helpful Links-**

General Good Place to Start [|High School Media Center] Login-Gettysburg Password-Warriors Go the History Special Section and Type in “World War I or World War II” This is a resource with many primary sources and links, use it!

 Readings- The First World War

**Mr. Peter Sontheimer** American and World History Teacher Gettysburg Area High School

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