By Marcia Lee
Serials Specialist
Today marks the 94th anniversary of World War I coming to an end. Also known as the Great War, a war which lasted from 1914 – 1918. Did you know that the United States did not join in on the war in 1917? At that point the USA joined forced with the “allies,” including: Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan. The war was against the central powers in Europe, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. The death count for the US by the end of the war was 53,402 out of the 4,734,991 American troops we sent to war.
Most of the war was fought via trench warfare and took place on Europe soil. Once Germany and the other Central Powers surrendered to the Allies on this day 94 years ago, a total of 5 peace treaties were signed – the final one signed in 1919 forced Germany to admit guilt for the war, pay for the damages they had caused to other countries, and to decrease their number of armed forces. The treaty also made Germany return territory it claimed during wartime to France, Poland, Belgium and Denmark – Germany only signed the treaty after several unsuccessful protests.
CLICK HERE to find a sampling of the resources related to World War I available here at the GRCC Library.
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