The role Americans in ending the fighting of the First World War

This discussion addresses the following outcomes:

• Evaluate the role Americans played in ending the fighting of the First World War (CO4)

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 (Links to an external site.), Chapter 13: One Hundred Days to Victory (Links to an external site.), and Conclusion: An Armistice at Any Price (Links to an external site.).  

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

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