A.The Final Push This discussion addresses the following outcomes: Evaluate the role Americans played in ending the fighting of the First World War. At Versailles, President Wilson’s claims that Amer

A.The Final Push

This discussion addresses the following outcomes:

 Evaluate the role Americans played in ending the fighting of the First World War.

At Versailles, President Wilson’s claims that Americans had sacrificed in order to help the Allies defeat Germany repeatedly offended British, French, and Italian representatives. They were particularly rankled when Wilson pointed out that he sought no reparations from the Germans for the damage that they caused and the lives they took.

Britain and France suffered over three million dead; France in particular lost roughly 4% of its population while another four million were wounded. More specifically, three-quarters of the French’s 8 million-man army was killed or wounded over four years of fighting and tens of thousands of civilians perished as well. Italy endured a million military deaths that totaled roughly 3% of their prewar population. By contrast, the United States suffered just over 100,000 dead, more than half of whom perished from non-combat causes such as disease. These casualties represented 0.13% of the nation’s population and US military deaths made up only 2% of total casualties among the Allies. While the comparatively small casualty rate was no comfort to the American families who lost loved ones abroad, by comparison most Americans were largely unaffected by their involvement in World War I. America’s cities had not been bombed or shelled and its civilian population escaped unmolested by foreign soldiers.

American forces in Europe represented a fraction of the boots on the ground and yet their impact was arguably disproportionate to their actual numbers. As the Germans attempted their final offensive, they came up against veteran French and British units fighting alongside untested but eager Americans. Together, the Allied forces not only stopped Ludendorff’s Offensive, but started a three-month rout that saw more territory change hands than the entire war since 1914.

In preparation for this discussion, make sure you read the following chapters in the Neiberg text: Chapter 12: Jerry's Turn, Chapter 13: One Hundred Days to Victory, and Conclusion: An Armistice at Any Price.  

Then, in an initial post of at least 250 words discuss the following:

1. How would you evaluate the claim that the United States saved Britain and France through their involvement in World War I?
2. In what way did the US most contribute to ending the fighting of World War I?

Your initial post must use evidence from the assigned readings, including at least two full citations in proper APA style.

B. The Treaty of Versailles

This discussion addresses the following outcomes:

 Discuss the differing motivations of the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference and propose reasonable solutions for handling the defeated powers.

As you read in this week’s readings and Module Notes, the Treaty of Versailles was not just controversial at the time of its implementation. Even today, historians debate its fairness and its effects on the state of Europe after the war.  

In preparation for this discussion, read the Module Notes, Conclusion: An Armistice at Any Price, “Mistakes and Myths", President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points site, Resolutions of the General Syrian Congress, and watch Wilson's Fourteen Points, Wilson in Paris, and Big Four at Paris.   

Then, in an initial post of at least 250 words discuss the following:

1. Given the disconnect between how Germans reacted to the treaty and modern historians’ assessments of its fairness, how would you evaluate the Treaty of Versailles? In what ways was it “fair” or “unfair”?
2. How did the treaties ending WWI affect the state of Europe after the war?
3. If you had been a member of the “Big Four” how would you have dealt with the defeated Central Powers?

Your initial post must use evidence from the assigned readings, including at least two full citations in proper APA style.