Wilson's Declaration Of War With Germany example essay topic

The Great War, or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers; Germany, Austria - Hungary, Turkey / Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world. The ignition, or rather start of these events occurred on June 28th, 1914, when the Archduke of Austria - Hungary, Frances Ferdinand and his wife, were assassinated by a young Serbian militant, Gavril o Prince. Austria - Hungary was ensured of support from the German government if the declared war against Yugoslavia, who had a defensive treaty with Russia.

On July 25th, Austria - Hungary extended a ten point ultimatum to the Serbian government, along with a forty - eight hour deadline to enforce the ultimatum. July 28th marked the official declaration of war between Austria and Yugoslavia. The conflict was begun with the intentions of seizing a portion of Serbian territory and utilizing that as a leverage tool to gain their demands. The Russian military began its mobilization efforts to protect Yugoslavia. Trying to still maintain peace the Russians said they would not attack if peace talks would begin. The Germans then issued a twelve hour deadline for the demobilization of the Russian build up, and the Germans declared war on the Russians on August 1st, 1914.

Although Germany had perhaps not been planning for this conflict to materialize in the exact manner that it had, they did have a "contingency" plan. That plan was known as the Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan consisted of war plans for the invasions of all the European nations. The German Military leader Moltke determined that the war had to be fought and won on the western front in order to defeat the Russians (Germany in World War One, Holburn).

Germany then declared war on France on August 3rd, 1914, and invaded Belgium the following day. Belgium tried to resist the oncoming Germans, but fell in three days. The English became involved due in part to the Treaty of London of 1839, in which Great Britain guaranteed to help defend Belgium's independence. Great Britain then issued an ultimatum to the Germans to withdraw from Belgium or they would declare war on Germany, (Causes of World War 1, Wikipedia).

Although sustaining losses along the way to Paris, the Germans were a dominant onslaught until the Battle of the Marne. By mid September 1914 the introduction of trench warfare had begun and on the western front for the Germans it had become a war of attrition. By November 1914, with the exception of the United States of America, most major nations were at war due to allegiances or direct involvement. By February 1915 the Austria Army had lost 5 million soldiers and consequentially, was no longer involved in the war until the insurgence of the Germans.

Russian successes alongside the eastern front and against Austria attributed to the Germans dividing their forces into two active fronts. The Germans were quite successful on the eastern front, despite being outnumbered by 93.5 divisions of Russian armed forces to 78.5 divisions of German armed forces. By May of 1915 Germany liberated the Austrian forces and together they took Poland, Lithuania, Galicia and Latvia, moving increasingly forward (Germany in World War One, Holburn). The western front did not bode as well for the Germans. The Allies rallied an offensive for the liberation of France in late September 1915. This resulted in a stalemate between the powers, inflicting heavy casualties on the Allied and Central Powers.

This fierce battling with no progression continued into late 1916, when the Germans became concerned at the amount of the allied forces on the western front and the invention of the tank - technology that Germany had not engaged in until that point. In 1917, the Germany Navy began to sink American ships that were carrying munitions and other supplies for the Allied forces, instigating American involvement. Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front the Germans induced a revolution in Russia, the Bolshevik Revolution in early November 1917. Lenin, who became the new leader of Russia, decided to ensue talks of a peace treaty with Germany. This was done to bring permanence to himself and his country. Although Germany did enter a treaty with Russia on March 3rd, 1918, they advanced as far as the Caspian Sea before making a last treaty with Russia on August 27, 1918, (Germany in World War One, Holburn).

The United States of America had chosen a policy of neutrality throughout the beginning of the war. At the onset, President Woodrow Wilson had said the war, .".. which we nothing to do with, whose causes cannot touch us". , (America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine). The ideal of neutrality was reaffirmed by the predominant political philosophy at that time, Progressivism. Progressives believed that war would infringe on their platform of reform. As well, the progressives believed that the war was one of greed, profiting "munition manufacturers, stockbrokers, and bond dealers", (America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine).

Although America had tried to maintain neutral, they did actively engage trade and supply of war and societal needs with the Allied Powers. At the start of the war, America did have trade relations with the Germans, though those got closed off by Allied blockades and confiscation, with empty promises of repatriation. President Wilson was in opposition to Germans policy of the outright sinking of ships by submarine. International law at that time stipulated that submarines were to; surface, warn the intended target / victims to halt, launch a boarding party to examine cargo and the passengers and allow passengers the time to enter lifeboats (America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine).

Essentially, this took away the element of surprise and the attacking submarine chanced their demise by incorporating this process. With the sinkings of the Lusitania and the Arabic in 1915, Wilson was adamant that Germany would compensate any American losses incurred and for Germany to protect passenger vessels, the Arabic pledge (America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine). In February 1916, the Germans violated that pledge by attacking the French ship Sussex, which had several American citizens aboard. On May 4, 1916 Germany and America agreed on the Sussex pledge. This stated that Germany would only engage enemy ships, conditionally the Germans wanted the Americans to enforce International law to the blockade of imported goods to Germany, (America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine). The Sussex pledge lasted for about a year, until Germany had determined to sink all ships in the surrounding waters of England and France.

Initially, Wilson broke off relations with Germany, but still harbored hopes for peace. Then, in late February 1917, the Zimmerman telegraph was intercepted by British officials and delivered to President Wilson. The telegraph had tried to solicit Mexico into an alliance with Germany, by offering the return of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona as well as monetary support. This instigated Wilson to order the arming of merchant vessels, and conflict soon transpired.

President Wilson spoke before congress on the evening of April 2nd, 1917; .".. I advise that the congress declare the recent course of Imperial German Government to be in fact nothing less than war against the government and people of the United States; that it formally accept the status of belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it; and that it take immediate steps not only to put the country in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war... ". , (First World War, Wilson). On April 6, 1917 Congress passed President Wilson's declaration of war with Germany. American manpower contribution rose from 200,000 to over 2 million by the war's end, in part due to Selective Service Act, passed in May 1917. this act called for all males to register for draft induction to the military, between the ages of 18 and 30.

Of the 24.2 million registered, only 2.8 million were drafted, (America, Past and Present, 7th ed., Divine). With American intervention, Allied forces doubled in size and were able to start making ground against the German / Central Powers in Europe. Throughout the fall and early winter of 1918, Allied forces catapulted on even the Germans eastern front (the Balkans and Rumania), when the German military leader Ludendorff stated", The condition of the army demands an immediate armistice", (Germany During World War One, Holburn). On November 11, 1918 (thereafter, known as Armistice Day), Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War One.