THE WESTERN FRONT

THE UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY:  APRIL 1917

THE ZIMMERMAN TELEGRAM:  MARCH 1917

    When the war broke out in 1914 the majority of Americans wanted the United States to take a neutral stand, and that was certainly the view of their President, Woodrow Wilson, at that time. Indeed, as late as June 1916, the general public saw no reason, in the words of the New York Governor Martin Glynn, to be “hurled headlong into the maelstrom of war”, some three thousand miles across the Atlantic. There was some sympathy for Britain, France and their allies but, on the other hand, nearly ten percent of Americans were of German origin, and there was some strong criticism of the British when, as part of their blockade of Germany, they insisted on checking the cargoes of neutral merchant ships. However, public opinion did begin to turn against the Central Powers when the Germans, growing ever aware of the potential of their U-boats, began an ever tightening blockade of British waters and, ipso facto, began to sink an ever increasing number of neutral merchantmen and passenger liners. Stopping and searching neutral vessels was one thing – unlawful though it might be – but the sinking of neutral vessels, and the killing of innocent people, was quite another! As we have seen, the first turning point came in May 1915 with the sinking of the passenger liner RMS Lousitania and the loss of 128 American lives. Faced with strong criticism from the American government and public, and fearing that the United States might enter the war in support of the Allies, the Germans felt obliged – officially at least – to call off its indiscriminate attacks on passenger and merchant ships. In reality, however, the submarine campaign was continued – particularly in the months of March/April 1916 – and, as we have seen, on two further occasions the United States openly renewed their threat to enter the war, thereby obliging Germany to climb down via the so-called Arabic and Sussex “Pledges”.

    In the long run, however, it was the Germans, in fact, who took the action that actually brought the United Sates into the war. On the 1st February 1917, the Kaiser gave sanction for the renewal of Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare within sea areas adjoining Britain, France, and Italy, and in the eastern Mediterranean. This decision was not taken lightly. On the one hand, it was now becoming apparent to the German high command that the Western Front was going to remain for ever deadlocked; that following recent and very costly battles (notably the Battle of the Somme and the fighting for Verdun), the German forces were seriously under strength; and that there was growing concern over the deficiency in munitions, notably in ammunition and artillery, and the scarcity of food. On the other hand, the blockade of British waters by the U-boat campaign was going from strength to strength, and held out the possibility – the real possibility – of bringing Britain to its knees and forcing it to seek a peace settlement. The 105 U-boats at present in action would be increased to 120 by the end of the year, and it was estimated that 600,000 tons of shipping would be sunk each month in February and March, and some 800,000 tons in April. In addition, it was estimated that at least two-fifths of neutral shipping would be deterred from sailing to Britain. Within five months, six at the most, Britain, would be starved into submission, long before American troops could make a meaningful contribution on the Western Front. And, indeed, as noted earlier (February 1917), the results were spectacular. An average of almost 630,000 tons of shipping were destroyed over the first four months, and this increased to more than 100,000 tons in June and July. In March it is estimated that 25% of all British bound shipping was sunk, and in the second half of April an average of 13 ships were sunk every day. In comparison, only nine U-boats were destroyed in the first three months of the renewed campaign. At that stage, all seemed promising for the Central Powers, though, in fact, the hopes of a British collapse were to prove over optimistic.

    The entry of the United States into the war came as no real surprise. On the 3rd February, President Wilson cut of diplomatic relations with Germany following the sinking of the American cargo ship the SS Housatonic. Then on April 2nd he appeared before congress and called for a declaration of war “to make the world safe for democracy”, just a few days after Germany had sunk six more U.S. merchant ships (including the steamship Aztec). Two days later the Senate declared war against Germany by 82-6, votes, and on the 6th April the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration by a vote of 373 to 50. But this declaration was not only directed against Germany’s change in naval tactics. Thexresumption of its unrestricted submarine warfare, started on the 1st February 1917, was clearly a casus belli as far as the United States was concerned, but there also appeared another serious threat to American well-being come the 24th February. It was on that date that the British, having intercepted and decoded a telegram sent by Alfred Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, to the German embassies in Washington and Mexico City, made its contents known to the American government. The “Zimmermann telegram”, as it came to be known, was a direct threat to the United States, outlining a proposed alliance between Germany and Mexico. It promised the Mexican government support in their aim to recapture their territories of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona (in the American South West) in return for their open support should the United States declare war on Germany. Published on the 1st March and condemned as blatant treachery by Wilson, it swiftly silenced any lingering doubts about a war with Germany! Such a proposal could be seen as a somewhat unlikely scenario, but basically it threatened a war in America’s backyard in addition to the Western Front in Europe!

     It must be said that, at this point in time, the United States was in no way a formidable military force. Its army numbered around 133,000, possessed around 600 pieces of field artillery, less than 500 machine guns, and certainly no tanks. Its naval force was growing, but its air service was small and certainly not trained for war. The United States government was committed to producing a sizeable expeditionary force, but, inevitably, it was going to be some time in the making. The question was whether Germany’s much improved naval blockade would force Britain (and, indeed, France), into submission before their new ally could bring a sufficient number of trained troops to bear upon the Western Front.

    Asxnoted earlier (January 1917), the question was resolved by Britain’s introduction of the convoy system to safeguard the passage of merchant ships across the Atlantic and through British home waters. Cautiously introduced in May, from July onwards the monthly losses never exceeded 500,000 tons. This was still a significant number but, together with other measures – such as food rationing and the cultivation of more land – it took Britain out of the danger zone. By the end of 1917 over 3,000 allied and neutral ships had been sunk (some six million tons), but the convoy system, combined with air support in coastal regions and a substantial increase in the number of merchantmen becoming available, greatly eased the blockade on Britain and France and, at the same time, served to sustain the Allied efforts on the Western Front. The Battle of the Atlantic was eventually won by the Allied Powers, but it took the lives of 15,000 merchant seaman.

    Incidentally, it was inx1917 that the American composer George M. Cohan composed his famous war song “Over There”, containing the famous line, “We’re coming over, we’re coming over, and we won’t come back till its over over there”. It was later put to good use when the United States entered the Second World War in 1941! His Broadway hit, the musical “Little Johnny Jones”, produced in 1904, contained the popular songs “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “Yankee Doodle Boy”. ......

     ...... In 1924 the American dramatist Maxwell Anderson, together with co-writer Laurence Stallings, produced the play “What Price Glory?”, a realistic portrayal of the American soldier in action during the First World War.

    The entry of the United States into the war was clearly a serious blow to the Central Powers and particularly Germany. The pressure was now on to starve Britain – and France – into submission, but, to achieve that, time was at a premium. In the meantime, however, the situation on the Western Front had turned in Germany’s favour! Surprisingly enough, as we shall see, the German forces, despite being seen as under strength and under equipped, repelled the British and Dominion Forces at the Battle of Arras. They were forced to concede the famous Vimy Ridge (a triumph, indeed, for the Allies), but the planned break-through never occurred. Nor did the French fare any better. Their Nivelle Offensive, launched at the same time, was also halted in its tracks, doubtless assisted by the stirrings of mutiny within the French lower ranks. On land, as at sea, the fighting – ferocious and blood letting – was far from over.

Acknowledgements

Neutrality: by American cartoonist W.A. Roger, Library of Congress, Washington  OverThere: en.wikipedia.com

Hand: teacherspayteacher.com. Morgan, Philadelphia Inquirer Zimmerman: spartacus-educatonal.com by American cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman Convoy: SlidePlayer

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