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Clear Target: Identify and explain the significance of key individuals of WWI.
Task #1: Identify key individuals of WWI and explain their significance.
Franz Ferdinand was an Austrian archduke and heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, he was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist who wished for a united Serbia and advocated pan-Slavism. Bosnia had been previously annexed by Austria-Hungary and many Serbs protested against Austro-Hungarian rule as Bosnia had historically been governed by Serbia.
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Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire. Leader of Germany in WWI. He pursued an aggressive policy of German expansion and backed Germany's ally, Austria-Hungary, which led to Germany's involvement in WWI.
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and leader of the Russian Empire in WWI. Nicholas suffered from a series of defeats in WWI and the Russian Revolution deposed him from the throne. As he and the royal family were gunned down by the Bolsheviks in 1918, Nicholas became famous for being the last tsar of Russia.
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King George V of the British Empire. Prior to WWI, King George had to deal with increasing anti-German sentiment in England. As his family had German ancestry, he would come to give up any German titles and adopted the more British-sounding "House of Windsor" rather than the Germanic "House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to describe the royal family. Though not an intellectual, he was a devoted king and was well-loved by his people. He would rule the empire through WWI, dying in 1936.
George Clemenceau was prime minister of France and one of the representatives of the "Big 4" at the Versailles Peace Conference after WWI. He was nicknamed "le Tigre" or "The Tiger" and wanted harsh terms brought against Germany for the losses incurred by the French in WWI.
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David Lloyd George was prime minister of the United Kingdom during WWI. He was the U.K.'s representative at the Versailles Peace Conference and one of the "Big 4." At the peace conference he advocated generosity and moderation against Germany and argued with other leaders such as Clemenceau and Wilson. He thought Clemenceau was seeking terms that would be too harsh upon Germany. He also thought Wilson's ideas too idealistic for the post-war world. When asked how he think he did at Versailles, George replied, "I think I did as well as might be expected, seated as I was between Jesus Christ (Wilson) and Napoleon (Clemenceau).
Vittorio Orlando was the prime minister of Italy during WWI. He was one of the "Big 4" at the Versailles Peace Conference. Vittorio's goal at the conference was to secure lands promised to him by the Allies for Italy's help during the war. However, he ran into problems when he failed to gain the support of Woodrow Wilson (Wilson supported the concept of self-determination for nations) and the other Allied powers for the lands Italy desired. Once he concluded that his goal could not be reached, he left the conference. Once back in Italy, his political reputation suffered for not having acquired new territory for Italy.
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Key U.S. Individuals of World War One
President Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States (POTUS) during WWI. He advocated a neutral policy towards the war but after a series of aggressive actions by Germany eventually asked Congress to intervene on the side of the Allied Powers. Wilson also created his "Fourteen Points," a plan for peace after the war. He pushed for the acceptance of his points at the Versailles Peace Conference and was one of the "Big 4." Of all the points, only the creation of a League of Nations was accepted by the other Allied powers. Even though Wilson came up with the idea for a League of Nations, the U.S. would not join it due to opposition from Wilson's opponents in the Senate.
Gen. John "Blackjack" Pershing was the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI. At the time the U.S. declared war on the Central Powers the U.S. Army was nowhere near ready. Pershing had only 25,000 soldiers available at the time. He would need to organize an army and get it to Europe in time to help the Allies. Under Pershing's leadership, the U.S. Army trained and sent over two million "doughboys" to France and were still training over two million more when hostilities ceased. Pershing also successfully led the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Pershing is only one of two men bestowed the title of General of the Armies, the highest rank in the U.S. Army (the other was George Washington, posthumously).
Sergeant Alvin York is the most famous "doughboy" of WWI. Sergeant York was a native Tennessean who won the Medal of Honor for his heroism. His Medal of Honor citation reads: After his platoon suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns. Later in life, York would be an advocate for education of rural Tennesseans and helped found a school (now the Alvin C. York Institute) in his home county of Fentress.
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Head of the U.S. Food Administration during WWI, Herbert Hoover engineered a rapid increase in production of foodstuffs and put in place an efficient distribution system that delivered foodstuffs to millions of troops and European civilians. Just one of many civilian administrators who successfully & quickly transformed the American economy for wartime demands
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