World War I: War Years (1960)

And now I suppose you'd like to hear about the conflict that I've got the background of World War I pretty well in mind now. Up to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Okay. You could of course review the war, but let's concentrate on a few ideas rather than all the battles and dates. Of course we'll have to remember a few dates. Now let me see. One important date June 28th, 1914. The day that the heir to the throne of Austria was assassinated. As a result of his death, you recall that Austria declared war on Serbia. In quick succession, Germany declared war on Russia and then on France. The German General Staff directed a German invasion along a natural route into France. Germany would avoid the mountains along much of the French border. Here through the lowlands of Belgium, she would hurl her armies into France for a knockout blow. German troops invaded Belgium even though Germany and Great Britain had signed a treaty pledging the neutrality of Belgium. A shocked world watched as German troops streamed into the tiny country. The invasion of Belgium brought Britain into the war. Ready to defend Belgium, England declared war on Germany and Germany's allies. And so the sides were drawn. The Central Powers, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and later Turkey faced the Allies, Russia, France, and Great Britain. England's great fleet was mobilized. British troops were landed in France to help stop the German advance on Paris. The German plan was to capture Paris with a lightning blow and knock France out of the war. In September 1914, the French made a successful stand in the Battle of the Marne. Not only was the German advance halted, but counter-attacking, the French drove the German armies back to the River Aisne. Instead of a speedy German victory, there was stalemate. Both armies began digging in. Trenches. Miles of trenches. A new kind of warfare. Trench warfare. A network of trenches. German, English, and French extended along the entire Western Front. On the Eastern Front, Austrian armies were able to do little against the Russians. The Russians, after losing two big battles to the Germans, did little further fighting. By the winter of 1914, both the Eastern and Western Fronts were deadlocked. Why deadlocked? I've seen pictures of furious fighting on the Western Front. Why did it drag on so long as trench warfare? Well, this was a new kind of war. New then, I But fighting was mostly by frontal assault. Dashing attacks of massed armies. But with the World War came new destructive weapons, such as the machine gun, that made the frontal assault far too costly in lives. In this war, other weapons, as artillery, were vastly improved. Machines of destruction never seen before. Such weapons pinned men in trenches. Helped create a static war. Throughout 1915 and 1916, both sides failed to break the deadlock. Then, Allied expeditions tried flanking movements called sideshows into the Turkish Empire to divert the strength of the Central Powers. They failed. The Germans shifted emphasis to the Eastern Front to divert Allied strength. They failed, too. Wide geographic movements like these gave this war a scope unknown in previous wars. Also, this war gave the world its first taste of what we now call total war. Battlefields included whole cities, towns, transportation centers, and huge areas. Mechanization added a new and terrifying dimension to warfare. And for the first time in history, men fought in the air. But did the fighting really involve much of the world? Wasn't it mostly in Europe? Well, most of the sustained fighting was in Europe. But let's look at a world map. The main fighting fronts were in Europe. But there were naval engagements in the the Atlantic and in the South Atlantic. There was fighting in the German colonies in Africa, in China, and even in the Pacific Islands. So, you see, it really was a world war. Conscription of young, able-bodied men reached into many nations. For a total war, this tremendous manpower had to be followed by tons of munitions and supplies. Whole industries had to be mobilized. Both men and women, thousands of civilians, worked in the gigantic task of the war effort. In England and France, and in Germany, the home front became nearly as important as the war front. In this long war, the deadlocked armies were dependent on workers in industry. Not only for munitions, but for supplies of every kind. In supplying food and materials, the Allies had an advantage. The reason was England's naval superiority. England's fleet successfully blockaded the ships of the Central Powers. Germany's battle fleet tried to break the British blockade in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. In the naval battle that raged in the North Sea, Germany failed to break the British blockade. Now, the Germans turned to their submarines to destroy the convoys carrying England's vital supplies. So, began a new chapter of the war at sea. For a while, German submarines were very successful. England's shipping was being destroyed. Encouraged, Germany in January 1917 began unrestricted submarine warfare, sinking any vessels inside the war zone. Such actions had increasing effect on world opinion, particularly in America, where the traditional doctrine of freedom of the seas was very strong. Was Germany winning the war then? Not actually, but there was always the possibility that the Central Powers might win. We Americans felt that such a victory would endanger the security of the United States. On April 6th, 1917, in response to President Wilson's request, Congress declared war on the Central Powers. We'd fight, Wilson said, to make the world safe for democracy. So, we too went to war. I remember how Americans pitched into the war effort of 1917. The big Liberty Loan drives to raise money. Whole industries turned over to war production. America's tremendous industrial potential was being shifted to the war effort. America was providing not only the materials of war, but also men. My older brother Frank was drafted along with thousands of others. These Americans would be fighting in Europe for the first time in our history. Here was new hope, new strength for our weary allies. In Europe, years of fighting had exhausted civilians and armies alike. War weariness had already put Russia out of the conflict. Revolution had toppled the Imperial Russian government. Though the revolutionaries at first sought a liberal democracy, by November 1917, a new communist government had seized control and made a separate peace with the Central Powers. With Russia out of the war, German troops from the Eastern Front moved westward into France. At about the same time in France, American troops were arriving in force to join the allies. Commanding the American forces in France was General Pershing. Both Pershing and General Haig, commanding the British forces, coordinated military efforts under Marshal Foch of France, supreme Allied Commander. The German forces under General Ludendorff decided on a final all-out effort. The summer of 1918 saw three big German offensives trying to break through the Allied lines. The British forces were pushed back, but they held. The French also held fast. Americans too helped stem the tide in valiant action at Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood. Then the allies took the initiative. On August 8th, 1917, the German lines were breached. The four-year deadlock was broken. Defeat for the Germans was near. The Central Powers were giving up. Bulgaria, Turkey, Austria-Hungary. The people of Germany, alone and exhausted, overthrew their government. In this railway car, a German commission met Allied delegates to sign the armistice on November 11th, 1918. The railroad car, Compiegne, isn't that the same one that Hitler used in World War II to dictate the surrender of France? That's right. It was the same car, but in 1940, the tables were turned. Then, World War I didn't solve all the problems. No, it didn't. In spite of our optimism, our great hopes, we did not achieve a lasting peace. That's the last chapter in the story. The aftermath of World War I, the things that were left unsettled, and the attempts of many nations to build a peace.