Ji,
Mary
8East,
Humanities
May 3,
2003
WWI Essay
– Rough Draft
The
United States involvement with World War I was clearly necessary. The United
States was right to have stepped in 1918, when the “Allied Powers,” England,
Russia and France needed help against the “Central Powers,” Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Germany shouldn’t have been so greedy to want more land.
Without the help of the United States during the Great War, more time, money
and energy would have been spent and more power and land would be given to
Germany. Wanting more land is selfish and killing innocent civilians is just
low. The major battles lead to the ending of the World War, which should have
been fought because it constructed the overall problem between the different
powers.
Germany
shouldn’t have been selfish to want more land, power and to bomb American
ships. The Germans should have been worried that the United States will get
involved either if they haven’t bombed American ships carrying food and
supplies. Just because the United States lacked weapons and soldiers didn’t
mean they weren’t able to fight. The Germans where totally wrong when they
thought that it would take several years for the United States to get ready to
fight against them because they known about how poor the United States armed
forces was. In late February, 1917, a telegram was intercepted and decoded by
the British Secret Service and passed on to American officials. President
Wilson was outraged by the second point of the message when it asked Mexico to
join Germany and in return they would get the Texas, New Mexico and Arizona,
which is the real estate of the United States when they obtain it from southern
neighbors in 1848 after the Mexican War. On March 5, 1917, President Wilson
declared:
We
are provincials no longer. The tragic events of the thirty months of vital
turmoil through which we have just passed have made us citizens of the world.
There can be no turning back. Our own fortunes as a nation are involved whether
we would have it so or not.
President Wilson is asking for a war
and saying that when a war starts, there is no turning back which will acquire
tragic events. When the war starts, everything is at stake no matter how well
you protect it, hide it, it will be involved.
The major battles should have been
fought. General John J. Pershing commanded the first American Army troops in
Europe. The first troops where known as “doughboys.” The United States was
right to have stepped in when it did because if the US didn’t, then the Germans
and their partners would have controlled Europe. The American doughboys were
killed, wounded, and died from diseases to turn the war effort around and gave
the “Allied Power” the win they wanted for so long. The major battles killed
innocent men. Crutchfield,
J.A. (1999) argues that, “During its four and one-half year course from 1914 to
1918, the bloody struggle extracted nearly thirty-eight million casualties,
either killed, wounded, or missing in action.” Crutchfield,
J.A. (1999) comment indicates that during the major battles, many soldiers were
killed, wounded or missing; this also demonstrates how wars end up. The Battle
of Verdun in 1916; the Battle of the Marne of 1914 and 1918; the Battle of
Ypres of 1914, 1915, and 1917; the Battle of the Somme of 1916 and the Battle
of Cambria of 1917 where the major battles of World War I. The Battle of Verdun
in 1916 was between France and the German armies. This battle is considered to
be the most brutal of World War I, the place of the battle is remembered as
the, "battlefield
with the highest density of dead per square yard." [Horne, 1] The Battle
of the Marne in September 4, 1914 happened because the French were afraid when
the German army came through Belgium. In the end on May, 1918, the Germans
reached Marne. The Battle of Ypres was three battles. The battles were horrible
because men drowned in liquid mud. On July 1, 1916 at 0730 hours, artillery
launched the infamous “Big Push” attack across the river Somme. On November 20,
1917, the British launched a secret weapon, a tank. It created massive damage
which proved that combining tanks were effective.
After World
War I, Europe shouldn’t have separated. The war left Europe shattered and
broken it into two. Crutchfield, J.A. (1999) argues
that, “Across Europe, political change was in the air, and before the winds of
discontent had subsided, most of the continent had been affected.” Crutchfield,
J.A. (1999) comment implies that politically, everything was changing across
Europe and that the continent has been affected rather broken up. Before the
war, Germany and Austria-Hungary had ruled Europe and when the Allies won the
Central Powers, the map has been rearranged.
World War I was a war that was supposed
to put an end to all wars, but instead it caused more battles between the
Germans. This war was different from many of the other wars because the United
States got involved. This World War took 4 years to end and when it finally
ended, Europe was split and countries became smaller. The outcome of the war
was assertive because of how Europe was once ruled by the Germans.
The United States involvement was
definitely necessary because without getting involved the war wouldn’t have
ended so fast and not more than 100,000,000 soldiers would have died. It was
the Germans who started everything which lead to the United States getting
involved because the Germans started bombing US ships containing needed food
and supplies. It was there fault that the outcomes lead to Europe splitting, it
was their fault.
Bibliography–
Crutchfield, J.A. (1999). WWI:
World War I 1914-1918. Amawalk, New York: Jackdaw Publications.
Brouwer, R.
“Major Battles of World War I.” 2001.
http://www.home.zonnet.nl/rene.brouwer/majorbattles.htm
Emuang, Keith G. “World War I (Part 7 – Major Battles).” Green Dot Internet Service Pte Ltd. 2002.
http://content.miw.com.sg/LifeStyle/Military/ls_military01_20030130.asp