Description
This class and discussion take a detailed look at the final year of World War I, and the events leading up to the 11 November Armistice. It was a momentous year: For the Germans, who had driven Russia out of the War, it was a matter of administering a knock-out blow to the Western Allies before the weight of American involvement could make itself felt. For the British and French, they knew they had to hold out long enough to use American reinforcements to drive the Germans back and end the War. Thus, both sides knew that 1918 would be the year of decision.The course looks at the competing strategies, assesses some of the assumptions and miscalculations, and traces the tortuous path to the armistice in November 1918 – an imposition of a fleeting vision of peace that engendered as many difficulties as it alleviated. In particular, we will focus on what was accomplished by the armistice, but more importantly within the context of the Twentieth Century, what was NOT settled – and how the latter brought about a second great conflict.
