THE BIG PICTURE

own kind man has fought his Wars of aggression conquest and defense from the Misty reaches of time from the feuds between small tribal groups of the Dawn people down through the ages to The Clash of Mighty armies the history of War parallels the history of the human race it is estimated that since 3600 BC some 14,500 Wars Great and Small have been fought throughout more than 5,000 years man has known fewer than 300 years of Peace instead a succession of Wars of Conquest for new lands and treasur Wars to build Empires and exploit vassel peoples to capture trade and commerce [Music] Wars of suppression and Wars of rebellion Wars between opposing political and economic ideology through all this immeasurable history of strife struggle and Carnage there shines forth a great light man's innate love and longing for Peace and Freedom p [Music] the ideal of Freedom has always caused men to defend themselves and their way of life against the aggressor if they were weak they went down before the power of the aggressor in the battle for survival we find this Grim reality throughout history we are facing it again in our time one of the greatest deterring forces which gives the aggressor pause is the combined military strength of the United States the modern United States Army is a potent part of that military establishment strong ready alert it has not always been so the history of the Army's buildup during the past 50 years from weakness to a strong modern fighting force is an epic story the story of a mighty Armed Force organized and maintained not for Conquest but for the defense not only of this nation but of the entire free world and dedicated to win the ultimate UL imate Victory nothing like it has occurred in all the history of man for more than a century the United States was more or less isolated from large scale participation in major European and Asian Wars by the vast oceans to the east and west of us most Americans thought the Atlantic and the Pacific were our protection we had a new and Rich continent to develop a mighty Nation to build we did not wish to become embroiled in the quarrels of remote and alien peoples we wish to prosper in peace the Spanish American war saw the United States emerge as a world power but we still took great comfort in our relative isolation and our complacency grew until a leading role in world affairs for which we were ill prepared was suddenly thrust upon us against our will and desires it actually began in 1914 in Germany Kaiser wihelm and his Prussian militarists had built up a massive Army as an instrument of Conquest to expand the German Empire in 1914 Europe and more specifically the Balkans were a powder keg with a short fuse awaiting the spark [Music] the fuse was ignited on June 28th of that fateful year during a visit to Sero the arch duuk Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated by Serbian nationalists 30 days later Austria declared war on Serbia Serbia appealed to her Ally Russia Russia ordered full mobilization Germany did likewise on the 1st of August German troops moved on France sending a 12-hour ultimatum to Belgium England having guaranteed Belgium's Independence honored her commitment World War I was on [Music] by the 5th of September 1914 the Swift German Advance threatened Paris thousands of French reinforcements were rushed to the front even the taxi cabs of Paris were used in a desperate effort to stem the tide [Music] [Music] to most typically complacent Americans it was just another of Europe's interminable quarrels something we read about in the newspapers our official position strict neutrality a policy proclaimed by President Woodrow [Music] Wilson the entire United States Army consisted of less than 100,000 officers and enlisted men no single unit was larger than a regiment while America's total active military establishment was less than 170,000 men Millions were mobilized and fighting in Europe retired army Chief of Staff General Leonard Wood said I believe our state of unpreparedness to be more d dangerous than ever in history except perhaps during the darkest moments of the Civil War a few other professional soldiers read the signs of danger which could jeopardize their Nation safety they were dedicated men little known to the American public generals Hugh [Music] Scott Tasker Bliss and Payton March who serve successively as Army Chiefs of Staff from 194 through our participation in World War [Music] I so strong was the nation's sense of neutrality that President Wilson thought such planning violated the spirit of our neutrality General Tasker Bliss finally convinced the president that it was a routine staff function a precautionary defense measure meanwhile Europe's Agony continued by the end of 1915 the Allies had suffered 1 and 1 half million [Music] casualties during the first three years of the war great and historic battles were fought the first battle of the mar on the Eastern Front The Battle of tannenburg where the Russians suffered a disastrous defeat from which they would never fully [Music] recover soon the Western Front was confined largely to trench warfare here the machine gun came into its own as a defense weapon of great Firepower the fighting at veran raged on from July through November there was the song bloody and indecisive battles on land a massive stal at Sea German submarines took a heavy toll of Allied Shipping to choke off food and other vital supplies Bound for England and France unrestricted submarine warfare slowly pushed the United States toward War the liner Lucitania was torpedo 1,200 civilians lost their lives 139 of them Americans the United States government made strong protests the Germans agreed to restrict submarine activities the agreement was not kept within months unrestricted ubot Warfare was resumed [Applause] [Music] President Wilson ordered diplomatic relations [Music] severed anti-german sentiment flamed High when it was discovered that Germany's foreign minister Zimmerman had made a secret proposal to Mexico that Mexico declare war on the United States and help persuade Japan to do [Music] likewise as a reward Mexico would be given a fat slice of the United States Arizona Texas and New Mexico so sure was Germany of winning the war the German Warlords were convinced that America had neither the disposition nor the capability to wage war effectively our military weakness gave Comfort to the [Music] aggressor but on April 6th 1917 President Wilson asked the Congress for a declaration of war his message reflected the feeling of the nation when he said we have no selfish ends to serve we desire no Conquest No Dominion we enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other means of Defending our rights we had an army of only 200,000 men 65,000 were National Guardsmen commanded by General John J persing pursuing Poncho via who had been raiding our towns along the Mexican border well the European War we would need to raise an army of 4 million men and quickly for the second time in the nation's history Manpower was drafted those Millions had to be housed fed clothed trained armed and equipped and transported a seemingly insurmountable task faced fewer than 9,000 regular army officers and an equally small hardcore of non-commissioned officers but they met the challenge and molded raw citizen soldiers into a fighting force that was to win the victory such a massive military operation required allout support by American industry industry's response was magnificent we transported overseas more than 2 million United States troops and nearly 8 million tons of War material bre submarine infested waters without the loss of a single transport the United States Navy was on the job [Music] the words of a popular song of the day seem just right we're coming over and we won't come back till it's over over there it was a Brave song to ease the Grim realities but it promised the victory [Music] late in 1917 zaris Russia [Music] collapsed this enabled Germany to transfer a large part of her fighting forces from the Eastern to the Western Front for large scale offensive drives that carried them to within 37 Mi of Paris to stop the massive German offensive General persing sent the United States third division to chat tii the second division was rushed up to the line on the west to hold the road that led from chat tii to Paris [Music] for three days the Germans threw all they had against the Americans but the American line held despite what the German Soldier had been told he soon discovered that the American Soldier was a tough fighting man to be reckoned with the first major All-American offensive began on the 12th of September 1918 to reduce one of three big salients on the Western Front at San Miel on the Muse River the American first Army was assigned the task of removing the BGE in the Allied line more than a half million American soldiers were masked for the attack the big push called for allout air support the greatest concentration of air power yet seen in Warfare more than 1,400 aircraft [Music] [Music] 3,000 pieces of artillery blasted the enemy in 2 days the Salient was smashed 15 ,000 prisoners taken more than 250 pieces of artillery captured the Americans moved on swiftly into the Muse argon area to pound the German forces already weakened by Massive casualties and lack of [Music] supplies now 4,000 guns blasted the enemy day and night more than 800 Allied planes went into action some 600 of them piloted by Americans [Music] [Music] during the Allies power drive those first primitive tanks proved mobile armor would play an essential part in any future warfare the views Aron offensive begun on the 26th of September 1918 was one of the last great offensive actions of the war by the 7th of November American troops had driven through three major German defense lines the kaisa legions fought on stubborn but their supply lines broke down and they were unable to replace mounting casualties at 11:00 on the morning of November 11th 1918 the firing in World War I one [Music] ceased the war to end all wars was [Applause] over the American citizen Soldier had fought in the proudest tradition of his nation's military history the leadership of General John J persing established an inspiring High standard for future commanders to follow World War I was an invaluable training ground for a small group of young American army officers who a quarter of a century later were to become famous military leaders in the greatest of all wars they gained experience which would serve them and their Nation well in years to come but in 1918 they too welcomed the Armistice and returned home with their battle weary troops peace would rain for a time but two great soldiers sounded a warning of things to come which few heated General Tasker Bliss predicted that war would come again within 30 years Marshall fos said this is not peace it is an Armistice for a 20-year period they were prophets of remarkable Insight but we stacked our arms and under the provisions of the Washington disarmament conference sank some of our war [Music] warships the American people relaxed pursuing the Arts and pleasures of Peace our large wartime Army had disintegrated it became a memory The Citizen Soldier had returned to his plow his Factory his business his profession again it was business as [Music] usual our troops engaged in peacetime Garrison duties and an occasional training exercise you United States Military Academy at West Point from whose gray walls and plane have come a host of men who have made Monumental contributions not only in war but in the Pursuits of Peace was just another educational institution in the public mind whose football team evoked the principal interest yes it was a time of Peace the military was not important in the general scheme of things the nation fell back into its old ways of blessed isolation and complacency we pursued fun instead those were the days of prohibition speak eases and Bootleggers did a thriving business there were those who sought relief from the backwash of the recent Great War there was the marathon dance craze it was a strange sort of endurance contest a phenomenon of the [Music] times while and Far Away Germany there was a Shabby little man who had been a Corporal in the German Army brooding Twisted mind was a hate and a growing satanic Obsession he dreamed of many strange things but there was one thing he never dreamed of that one day he would be the underlying cause of activating the mightiest United States Army in history you have just seen the introduction to a special documentary series of big pictures presenting highlights of the history of the United States Army from World War I to the Cold War years of the 1960s portraying the far-reaching events during 50 years which carried a nation from isolationist complacency to immense Global responsibilities and commitments in the struggle to defend its own good way of life and that of the rest of the Free World as well only a strong modern United States Army with the capability and the will to fight and win the final Victory can fulfill its role in meeting those great responsibilities and commitments in the preservation of those freedoms to which we as our forefathers before us have pledged our lives and our fortunes [Music] l [Applause]