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The War To End All Wars

The Great War

When war erupted among the great powers in Europe in August 1914, America was geographically and emotionally removed. The murder of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist set in motion a series of alliances that eventually set Britain, France, Italy, and Russia against Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Turkey. Democrat Woodrow Wilson, a nominal pacifist, had been elected president in 1912, and what was called "some damned thing in the Balkans" was of only passing interest to Americans. Some Americans regarded the war as a gigantic family spat involving grandchildren of Queen Victoria, who occupied the thrones of Britain, Russia, and Cermany.

At the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson immediately announced American neutraliry, reflecting the prevailing American mood that the Great War was a European affair, not an American one. Indeed, he campaigned in and won the election of 1916 with the slogan "We didn't go to war."

Despite a sizeable influx of immigrants from Germany, America's historic connection with England and regard for France eventually influenced public sentiment. Hundreds of Americans joined the British and French armed forces, including those who flew with the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Air Service, or the Aviation Militaire.

Germany's High Seas Fleet, unable to challenge the Royal Navy in warships, resorted to submarine warfare and came close to choking off the vital sea lanes that kept Britain supplied. Despite a legal right to intercept shipping entering the war zone, U-boats gained poor press in a series of highly publicized sinkings.

But despite Wilson's admonitions to Americans to remain neutral "in thought as well as in action," his own beliefs created bias regarding the conflict. Wilson envisioned a world made "safe for democracy" and based upon the American values of democracy, freedom, and capitalism. A German victory would ensure the dominance of autocracy and imperialism. Indeed, even should the Allies - Great Britain, France, and Russia - prove victorious, a liberal, democratic future was not ensured; Britain and France both had extensive colonial empires and Russia was still ruled by the tsars, who were little better than Germany's Kaiser.

Wilson's fears were justified as Great Britain imposed a naval blockade around Germany, declaring the North Sea a war zone and lacing it with mines. American merchant ships were intercepted and their cargoes confiscated as contraband. Wilson protested such actions, but Great Britain was determined to exploit its naval advantage.

Germany likewise took actions that affected neutral countries. While Britain controlled the surface of the seas, Germany had gained control of its depths through the use of submarines. From the ocean depths, however, it was difficult to determine the nationality of vessels in war zones. Germany declared a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in an effort to break Britain's blockade and warned American citizens against travel on British or French vessels.

America Goes Over (1918) Government-produced historical record of major World War I battles. Internet Archive

Unfortunately, that policy brought Germany into conflict with the United States in a much more dramatic fashion than did British infringements on the rights of neutral countries. On May 7, 1915, a German U-boat sank the British ocean liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. Of the 1,198 people who died in the attack, 128 were Americans. The tragedy sharply turned American opinion against Germany. The fact that she was carrying U.S.-produced munitions in no way mollified American outrage (perhaps because it was concealed at the time). The German government backed away from the policy of unrestricted warfare for a time, and the United States remained neutral for a while longer.

Trade with Germany and the other Central Powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria - dropped precipitously as the British blockade continued. Germany initially had demanded that if the United States intended to remain neutral, it must persuade Britain to follow "the rules of international law." Wilson's sympathies clearly lay with the Allies, however, and he conveniently ignored this demand. Furthermore, it quickly became apparent that American financial well-being was dependent on trade with the Allies. Wilson allowed American banks to make several loans to the British and the French in their war effort against Germany-these loans totaled $2.3 billion by 1917. In comparison, American banks only loaned $23 million to Germany. These dealings greatly strengthened the U.S. economic position in the world, but it also made the Allies economically dependent on the United States.

On January 31, 1917, facing the stiff British blockade, Gcrmany announced that it would resume its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. Some within the German government, including Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, had argued against the resumption of this policy, but the military leaders maintained that the United States was already involved in the war financially and that an actual declaration of war would have little military impact on the conflict in Europe. Three days after the formal declaration of the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, President Woodrow Wilson broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

In February and March, five American ships were sunk by German U-boats. On February 24, the United States learned of the infamous Zimmerman telegram sent from Germany to Mexico, a secret communication suggesting a military alliance between Germany, Japan, and Mexico should the United States declare war on Germany; Mexico was promised the return of territories lost during the Mexican War.

British intelligence decoded the message and leaked it to American newspapers, setting in motion the results desired by London. Years later Winston Churchill stated that without American entry into the war, the exhausted European powers likely would have arranged a cease-fire in 1917.

With such a threat to the freedom of the seas and to American lives and property, President Wilson, in a final irony, asked for a declaration of war against the Kaiser less than a year after being re-elected, which it did on April 6, 1917. Of 4,735,000 Americans in uniform during the Great War, 116,500 died of all causes and 204,000 were wounded. More than 600 Air Service personnel were killed, wounded, or missing.

It is far from clear why the 4 million officers and men who served in the United States army in 1917-20 came to be known as `doughboys', a sobriquet which has not been favoured by the passage of time. In 1918 the word carried connotations of battlefield heroism, grit, toughness, and physical endurance; today it's the brand name of oven-ready bread mix. French and British soldiers were initially at a loss to know what to call their new comrades but they soon hit on the nickname `Sammie', after Uncle Sam. That failed to catch on; `doughboys' stuck, partly because the promoters and defenders of the myths surrounding the American soldier in France - not least the journalists who ran the official US army magazine Stars and Stripes - waged a strong campaign on its behalf.

Where did `doughboy' come from? Did it perhaps refer to the fact that even the lowest rank of AEF soldier - who got $30 a month, a stack of cash in France at that time when 1 franc was worth about $0.20, and when French soldiers were paid ten times less - felt loaded with `dough'? Some argue it was invented by the US cavalry, who contemptuously christened their foot-slogging dust-covered compatriots `dobies' from the adobe huts they inhabited during the campaign against Pancho Villa in Mexico.

Their nickname may have been peculiar but there is no disputing the courage displayed by many doughboys. Even Lloyd George, surely the First World War's greatest humbug, who in his memoirs sneered at the US military and political wartime leadership, praised their valour.

When he failed to get his own way with the US army in France, Lloyd George became a bitter and petulant opponent of General Pershing and his senior officers. Some of Lloyd George's criticisms of the organization of America's war effort were justified; many were not.

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