UPSC IAS exam preparation - India's Independence Struggle - Lecture 7

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World War I and the Indian National Movement

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1.0 Introduction

 

In June 1914, the First World War broke out between Great Britain, France, Russia and Japan on one side (joined later by Italy and USA), and Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey on the other. In India the years of the War marked the maturing of nationalism. The reaction of the Indian nationalist leaders went through two phases. In the beginning, many leaders including Lokamanya Tilak, who had been released in June 1914, decided to support the war effort of the government in the genuine belief that Britain would be grateful and repay India's loyalty with enabling provisions towards self-government. What they did not realize was that protection of colonies was the reason different powers were fighting the First World War. 

2.0 The Home Rule Leagues

 

However, many Indian leaders were able to realize that the British Government was not likely to give any real concessions unless popular pressure was brought to bear upon it. A mass political movement was necessary to bring pressure on the British. Some other factors were leading the nationalist movement in the same direction. The World War destroyed the myth of the racial superiority of western nations over the Asians and also led to increased misery among the poorer classes of Indians. The British raised the money to finance the War by increasing taxes. Prices of essential commodities were also soaring due the economic policies of the British. The people, therefore, were ready to join any mass movement of protest against the British.

After the Surat split in 1907, the Indian National Congress under the leadership of the Moderates had become a passive and inert political organization with no genuine political work among the people to its credit. Therefore, two Home Rule Leagues were started in 1915-'16, one under the leadership of Lokamanya Tilak and the other under the leadership of Annie Besant, an English admirer of Indian culture and the Indian people, and 

S. Subramaniya Iyer. 

Mrs. Annie Besant, an Irish lady, had come to India as a member of the Theosophical Society. She later joined the Congress. She had established a Home Rule League in London in 1914 and finally founded a Home Rule League on 15 September 1916 with its headquarters at Adyar near Madras. 

Tilak's league was founded on 28th April 1916 with headquarters at Poona. Both the leagues cooperated with each other and therefore divided among themselves their areas of activities. While Tilak's Home Rule League confined its operations to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Berar, Besant's League worked in the rest of the country. Tilak meanwhile kept up pressure on the Moderates for readmission into the Congress. He knew that a mass based movement would need support of the Congress. The two leagues carried out intense propaganda all over the country in favor of the demand for the grant of Home Rule or self-government to India after the War. It was during this agitation that Tilak gave the popular slogan: "Swaraj (Home Rule) is my birthright, and I will have it". Both Tilak and Besant toured all over the country and carried out the message of the Home Rule among the masses. They tried to spread the message through newspapers, mass meetings and distribution of leaflets. Tilak, through his newspaper 'Young India' and Besant, through her newspaper 'New India' tried to stir the popular sentiment. The movement attracted liberal readers like Motilal Nehru and Tej Bahadur Sapru who became its members. Thus, the Home Rule Movement became a powerful movement during the course of the First World War. The movement aimed that self-government be granted to India within the British dominions during the course of the war. It was within constitutional limits. The two Leagues made rapid progress. Many moderate nationalists, who were dissatisfied with the Congress inactivity, joined the Horne Rule agitation. Naturally, the Home Rule Leagues soon attracted the British Indian government's attention and ire.

2.1 The end of the Home Rule movement

The British tried to suppress the movement by force. Mrs. Besant was forced to close the publication of 'New India' and was sentenced to home imprisonment. The movement suddenly acquired an all India character when Mrs. Besant and Tilak were arrested on their refusal to furnish securities and personal bonds. The movement instilled in the people the spirit of patriotism, fearlessness, self respect and sacrifice. Finally, the government had to bow down and in 1917 by Montague's declaration accepted self government for India by gradual process as its aim. The Home Rule movement merged with the Congress and Mrs. Annie Besant was elected the President of the Congress in 1917 (the first lady President). Congress also accepted the goal of 'Home Rule'. This was the biggest success of the movement.

But the passing of the Government of India Act of 1919, the division of the Congress on the issue of the Act, departure of  Tilak to London for a legal case and acceptance by Mrs. Besant of the new scheme of reforms of 1919 weakened the movement. Although the Home Rule Movement failed to achieve its aim, it kept the fire of nationalism burning among the hearts of the Indians during the course of the War when the Congress had failed to give any direction to the people. Regarding the significance of the Home Rule Movement Prof. S.R. Mehrotra observes, "The Home Rule Leagues created a significant impact on the national movement in India. For the first time an agitation had been aroused on a nation-wide scale and a network of political committees covered much of India."

3.0 The Komagata Maru incident (1914) and the Ghadar Party

The Komagata Maru was a Japanese steamship that sailed from Punjab, India to Hong Kong, Shanghai, China; Yokohama, Japan; and then to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India. Of them 20 were admitted to Canada, but the 356 other passengers were not allowed to land in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. The passengers consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, all British subjects. This was one of several incidents in the history of early 20th century involving exclusion laws in both Canada and the United States designed to keep out immigrants of only Asian origin.

The Komagata Maru incident was widely cited at the time by Indian groups to highlight discrepancies in Canadian immigration laws. Further, the inflamed passions in the wake of the incident were widely cultivated by the Indian revolutionary organisation, the Ghadar Party, to rally support for its aims. In a number of meetings ranging from California in 1914 to the Indian diaspora, prominent Ghadarites including Barkatullah, Tarak Nath Das, and Sohan Singh used the incident as a rallying point to recruit members for the Ghadar movement, most notably in support of promulgating plans to coordinate a massive uprising in India. Lack of support from the general population caused these plans to come to nothing.

In the 1900s Punjab was facing an economic depression because of which large scale immigration happened to the Pacific coast of North America. In response, the Canadian government armed itself with  a series of legislations aimed at limiting the entry of South Asians into Canada, and restricting the political rights of those already in the country. The Komagata Maru incident was the result of these policies. The Punjabi community had hitherto been an important loyal force for the British Empire and the Commonwealth (it is worth noting that the British Indian army after 1857 revolt had recruited large number of Punjabi soldiers due to their loyalty), and the community had expected the British to honour their loyalty by giving them equal rights as extended to British and white immigrants. But the anti immigration legislations fed growing discontent, protests and anti-colonial sentiments within the community. Faced with increasingly difficult situations, the community began organizing itself into political groups. A large number of Punjabis also moved to the United States, but they encountered similar political and social problems.

The Indian Independence League was formed in Portland, Oregon by Indian students of the likes of P S Khankhoje, Kanshi Ram, and Tarak Nath Das. Nationalistic work started gaining momentum from this time. Khankhoje's works also brought him close to Indian nationalists in United States at the time, including Tarak Nath Das. He met Lala Hardayal in 1911. He also enrolled at one point in a West Coast military academy. The Ghadar Party, initially the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was formed in 1913 in the United States under the leadership of Har Dayal, with Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president. It drew members from Indian immigrants, largely from Punjab. Many of its members were also from the University of California at Berkeley including Dayal, Tarak Nath Das, Kartar Singh Sarabha and V. G. Pingle. The party quickly gained support from Indian expatriates, especially in the United States, Canada and Asia. Ghadar meetings were held in Los Angeles, Oxford, Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Shanghai. Ghadar's ultimate objective was to overthrow British colonial authority in India by means of an armed revolution. Its foremost strategy was to entice Indian soldiers to revolt. Therefore, in November 1913 Ghadar established the Yugantar Ashram press in San Francisco. The press produced the 'Hindustan Ghadar' newspaper and other nationalist literature.

At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Ghadarites decided to send arms and men to India to start an uprising with the help of soldiers and local revolutionaries. Several thousand men volunteered to go back to India. Millions of dollars were contributed to pay for their expenses. Many gave their life-long savings and sold lands and other property. The Ghadarites also contacted Indian soldiers in the Far East. South-East Asia and all over India and persuaded several regiments to rebel. Finally, 21 February 1915 was fixed as the date for an armed revolt in the Punjab. Unfortunately, the authorities came to know of these plans and took immediate action. The rebellious regiments were disbanded and their leaders were either imprisoned or hanged. For example, 12 men of the 23rd Cavalry were executed. The leaders and members of the Ghadar Party in the Punjab were arrested on a mass scale and tried. Forty-two of them were hanged, 114 were transported for life, and 93 were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Many of them, after their release, founded the Kirti and Communist movements in the Punjab. Some of the prominent Ghadar leaders were: Baba Gurmukh Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Sohan Singh Bhakna, RahmatAli Shah, Bhai Parmanand, and Mohammad Barkatullah.

The Ghadar movemented inspired many people to rebel against the British. In Singapore, men of the 5th Light Infantry at Singapore revolted under the leadership of Jamadar Chisti Khan and Subedar Dundey Khan. They were crushed after a bitter battle in which many died. Thirty-seven others were publicly executed, while 41 were transported for life. In 1915, during an unsuccessful revolutionary attempt, Jatin Mukerjea popularly known as 'Bagha Jatin' gave his life fighting a battle with the police at Balasore. Rash Bihari Bose, Raja Mahendra Pratap, Lala Hardayal, Abdul Rahim, Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi, Champakaraman Pillai, Sardar Singh Rana, and Madame Cama were other prominent Indians who carried on revolutionary activities and propaganda outside India, where they gathered the support of socialists and other anti-imperialist powers.

4.0 Lucknow Session of the Congress (1916)

 

The nationalists soon saw the necessity of putting up a united front before the British. The growing nationalist feeling in the country and the urge for national unity produced two historic developments at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in 1916. Firstly, the two wings of the Congress were reunited. The old controversies had lost their meaning and the split in the Congress had led to political inactivity. Tilak, released from jail in 1914, immediately saw the change in the situation and in order to unify the two streams of Congressmen diluted his stand somewhat. He declared: "I may state once for all that we are trying in India, as the Irish Home-rulers have been all along doing in Ireland, for a reform of the system of administration and not for the overthrow of Government; and I have no hesitation in saying that the acts of violence which have been committed in the different parts of India are not only repugnant to me, but have, in my opinion, only unfortunately retarded to a great extent, the pace of our political progress."

The moderates were compelled by the rising tide of nationalism to welcome the old leaders back into the Congress. The Lucknow Congress was the first united Congress since 1907. It demanded further constitutional reforms as a step towards self-government. The unity between the Congress and the League was brought about by the signing of the Congress-League Pact, known popularly as the Lucknow Pact. An important role in bringing the two together was played by Lokamanya Tilak and Mohammed Ali Jinnah because the two believed that India could win self-government only through Hindu-Muslim unity. Tilak declared at the time: "It has been said, gentlemen, by some that we Hindus have yielded too much to our Mohammedan brethren. I am sure I represent the sense of the Hindu community all over India when I say that we could not have yielded too much. I would not care if the rights of self-government are granted to the Mohammedan community only. ... I would not care if they are granted to the lower and the lowest classes of the Hindu population. ... When we have to fight against a third party, it is a very important thing that we stand on this platform united, united in race, united in religion, as regard all different shades of political creed."

The Lucknow Pact marked an important step forward in Hindu-Muslim unity. Unfortunately, it did not involve the Hindu and Muslim masses and it accepted the harmful principle of separate electorates. It was focused on bringing together the educated Hindus and Muslims as political entities without secularisation of their political outlook. The Lucknow Pact, therefore, left the way open to the future resurgence of communalism in Indian politics.

The developments at Lucknow however had immediate effect. The unity between the moderates and the extremist on one hand and between the Congress and the Muslim League on the other hand aroused great political enthusiasm in the country. Even the British Government felt it necessary to placate the nationalists. Previously, it had relied heavily on repression to quell the nationalist agitation. Large numbers of radical nationalists and revolutionaries had been jailed or interned under the notorious Defence of India Act and other similar regulations. The government now decided to appease nationalist opinion. On 20 August 1917 they announced that their policy in India was "the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of Responsible Government of India as an integral part of the British Empire". In July 1918 the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms were announced. But it was a case of too little too late. The Indian national movement was soon to enter its third and last phase - the era of mass struggle or the Gandhian Era.

Sarojini Naidu

• She was born on 13th February 1879 at Bikrampur (now in Bangladesh) to Barada Sundari Devi and Aghore Nath Chattopadhyay
• Thanks to her father who was a doctorate of science from Edinburgh University, and a mother who was a Bengali poet , she stepped into the literary world quite early at the age of 12
• Sarojini first work into literature was a play named ‘Maher Muneer’ which impressed Nizam of Hyderabad and he awarded her a scholarship at the age of 16
• Her tenure as a student in King’s College in London and Girton College in Cambridge inspired her to write Indian-themed poetries
• Seeing her amazing work, Nobel Laurate Arthur Simon and Edmond Gausse convinced her to stick to Indian-themed poetries, just because she is so good at it. She retort to their advice and went on to become one of the best poet to depict contemporary Indian life and events through her work.
• She released a collection of poetries in 1905
• Sarojini Naidu started her political career by being a part of Indian National Movement in 1905. She travelled to multiple locations from 1915 to 1918 spreading welfare. She founded the WIA (Women’s India Association) in 1917
• She took over the presidency of Indian National Congress in 1925. She was also a part of Salt Satyagraha in 1930 and later on presided the East African Indian Congress in South Africa
• ¨She became the first women governor of India and served as the governor of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1947 to 1949
• A number of educational institutions including, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, Sarojini Naidu College for Women, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication have been attributed to the legend Sarojini Naidu.AHA Taxis wishes a very Happy Birthday to the legend, to the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu

BAGHA JATIN MUKHERJEE

• Bagha Jatin Mukherjee (1879-1915) revolutionary activist. Bagha Jatin's real name was Jatindra Nath Mukherjee. He hailed. It is said that he came to be called 'Bagha Jatin' after killing a tiger single-handed and without any arms. He learnt short hand and type writing after passing the Entrance Examination and was appointed a stenographer to the government of Bengal. Jatin, a strong and stout young man, proved his efficiency as a sincere, honest, obedient and diligent employee.
• Jatin was born in Kayagram, a village in the Kushtia subdivision of Nadia district in what is now Bangladesh. His parents were Umeshchandra Mukherjee and Sharatshashi; he grew up in his ancestral home at Jhenaidah till his father's death when Jatin was five years old. His mother settled in her parents' home in Kayagram with him and his elder sister. As he grew older, Jatin gained a reputation for physical bravery and great strength; charitable and cheerful by temperament, he was fond of enacting mythological plays and playing the roles of god- loving characters.
• Jatin, a man with a strong sense of self-respect and national pride, came in contact with Aurobindo Ghosh, and took part in climbing, swimming and shooting in the bodybuilding. In 1908 Jatin, with some revolutionaries, was implicated in the Alipore Conspiracy Case. In the judgement Barin Ghosh was deported for life, many others were sentenced to various terms and the Anushilan Samiti was declared illegal and banned. Jatin was acquitted for want of evidence, went in hiding and continued underground works with other revolutionaries.
• Jatin was once again arrested in the Hawra-Shibpur Conspiracy Case, and those who were arrested with him were given the common name 'Jatin's gang'. They were so ruthlessly tortured that some of them died and some went insane. Jatin, though acquitted in this case also for want of evidence, was dismissed from service. When in jail, Jatin made a long term programme to capture power through armed insurrection. He planned to unite different groups of patriots and with this intention Naren travelled extensively all over India as a Sanyasi and organised the revolutionaries in Bengal and elsewhere. The leaders of various groups gathered together on the occasion of relief works during the floods in Hughli and Midnapore. They chose Jatin Mukherjee and Rashbehari Bose as leaders for Bengal and northern India respectively.
• With the outbreak of the First World War, the Indian revolutionaries of Europe gathered together in Berlin to form the Indian Independence Party and sought German assistance, to which the German government agreed. The Indian Independence Party sent an emissary to Jatin Mukherjee to negotiate with the German Consulate in Calcutta. In the meantime Jatin was made the Commander-in-Chief of the entire revolutionary forces.
• Police, however, discovered the hideout of Jatin in a paddy field. On 9 September 1915, after heavy exchange of fire, two revolutionaries surrendered. Police found Jatin dead with two others injured. 

Annie Besant

• Annie Besant was a prominent British theosophist and reformer, who was a supporter of Indian Independence. On this day, August 1, 1916, she started the Home Rule League.
• Annie was born on October 1, in the year 1847 in London into a middle class family of Irish origin. When Annie Besant's mother could not afford her education, she sent her to a friend, Ellen Marryat's care.
• In Marryat's care, Besant was given a sense of duty to society and what independent women could achieve.
• Besant fought for the causes she thought were right. She fought for freedom of thought, women's rights, secularism, birth control, and workers' rights.
• She was also a leading member of the National Secular Society
• After her divorce, she began to question her long-held religious beliefs and began to write attacks on the churches and the way they controlled people's lives. She was against the role of Church of England as a state-sponsored faith
• Annie Besant was a brilliant speaker. Through her speeches, she always demanded improvement, reform and freedom
• She published foothills of essays, wrote a textbook, and became the editor of the New India newspaper
• Besant came to India on November 16, 1893 to attend the Annual Convention of the Theosophical Society in Madras and after five years she established the Central Hindu College at Benares which is one of the largest schools in India. It is also called the nucleus of the Benares Hindu University
• In 1914, Besant founded a weekly newspaper Commonweal in January 1914. In June, she purchased the Madras Standard and renamed it 'New India'.
• In 1917, Besant started the Women's Indian Association. In 1932, she was made Honorary Commissioner for India
• Besant also participated in Indian political matters and joined the Indian National Congress
• In the year 1916, Besant flung open the All India Home Rule League along with Lokmanya Tilak
• In June 1917, Besant was arrested for participating in Indian political matters. It is said that in prison, Besant disobediently flew a red and green flag. She died in India on September 20, 1933.

Aga Khan III

• Aga Khan III, personal name Sultan Sir Mohammed Shah, (born November 2, 1877, Karachi, India [now in Pakistan]—died July 11, 1957, Versoix, Switzerland), only son of the Aga Khan II. He succeeded his father as imam (leader) of the Nizari Isma?ili sect in 1885.
• Under the care of his mother, who was born into the ruling house of Iran, he was given an education that was not only Islamic and Oriental but also Western. In addition to attending diligently to the affairs of his own community, he rapidly acquired a leading position among India’s Muslims as a whole. In 1906 he headed the Muslim deputation to the British viceroy, Lord Minto, to promote the interests of the Muslim minority in India. The Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 consequently provided for separate Muslim electorates. The Aga Khan served as president of the All-India Muslim League during its early years and initiated the fund for raising the Muslim college at Aligarh to university status, which was effected in 1920.
• When World War I (1914–18) broke out, the Aga Khan supported the Allied cause, but at the subsequent peace conference he urged that the Ottoman Empire (and its successor state, Turkey) should be leniently treated. He played an important part in the Round Table Conference on Indian constitutional reform in London (1930–32). He also represented India at the World Disarmament Conference in Geneva in 1932 and at the League of Nations Assembly in 1932 and from 1934 to 1937. He was appointed president of the League in 1937. During World War II (1939–45) he lived in Switzerland and withdrew from political activity.
• The Aga Khan was also well-known as a successful owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses.

India’s Contribution to World War I

• India was the largest contributor of soldiers to the British Empire. According to Wikipedia, about 800,000 soldiers fought for the British Empire. Total contribution from India was more than combined contribution of South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
• Indian troops were present in all major war theaters including Europe’s Western Front to Africa. They even fought in China.
• At the end of the war, 62,000 Indian soldiers were killed in action and another 67,000 were wounded. However, the overall casualties were greater because many Indian soldiers died of illness and because of extreme cold conditions in some of the Western fronts. The total casualties on Indian side because of combined reasons stood to 74,187.
• Nearly 4,000 Indian soldiers went missing after the war. Most probably they either died in action (and were not accounted for) or they were taken captive by the enemy.
• Nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers were mobilized against the formidable Ottoman Empire in Mesopotamia. This turned out to be the bloodiest battle for Indian troops with over 30,000 casualties and more than 32,000 wounded in combat.
• The bone chilling winters of France was a whole new challenge for Indian soldiers. Not accustomed to such extremely cold weather conditions, nearly 9,000 Indian soldiers succumbed to death because of the fierce winter.
• While the common Indian soldiers were involved on several war theaters, even Indian royalty was involved in Britain’s war efforts. Bhupinder Singh – Maharaja of Patiala participated in Gallipoli Campaign. Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh (Maharaja of Bikaner) was the commander of Bikaner Camel Corps that fought in Palestine, Egypt and France.
• India significantly contributed to war efforts by supplying 600,000 machine guns, motors and rifles. In addition, 70,000,000 small arms ammunition rounds were also supplied from India.
• Not just armed soldiers, India also offered over 43,000 for Indian Labor Corps. These non-combatants were tasked with work like handling supplies, quarrying, carpentry, road development etc. To narrow it down, they were tasked with every other work other than fighting.
• Not just men and material, India also supplied enormous amounts of wealth to aid British Empire. About 100 million pounds of wealth was contributed from Indian subcontinent.
• India’s Army Clothing Department, during the 4-year period of the war, churned out 41,920,223 garments that were used not just by Indian troops but also by troops from other countries that fought for British Empire.
• In total, India contributed 1,302,394 personnel (including both combatants and non-combatants), 369.1 million tons of total war supplies and 172,815 animals for aiding the British Empire during the World War I.
• In today’s context, the total value of India’s contribution towards WWI was Rs. 7,420,800,000.00. Back in those days the total contribution was worth 80,000,000 British Pounds.
• During the war, Indian troops displayed unmatched gallantry because of which, many Indian soldiers were give Victoria Cross. Prior to 1911, no Indians were eligible for Victoria Cross. Rather, they were given Indian Order of Merit.
• The first Indian soldier to earn Victoria Cross was sepoy Khudadad Khan. Darwan Singh Negi was the second soldier to receive the Victoria Cross.
• In total Indian soldiers won 11 Victoria Cross awards. Victoria Cross is the highest military award in Great Britain. In total, Indians won 13,000 medals for their gallantry during WWI.
• Even after the end of WWI, the Indian forces continued to stay engaged in military conflicts. The most notable ones were Third Afghan War and Waziristan Campaign. These engagements continued until the outbreak of World War II.
• Not just men, even women were deployed in Imperial service during WWI. Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) actually originated in Indian Army.
• At the beginning of the war in 1914, a total of 300 Indian nurses served in QAIMNS and by the time the war ended, the numbers went up to 10,404 (including nurses from India and other countries). A total of 200 nurses died while being on active service. Many of these nurses who lost their lives were Indians.
• The India Gate located in New Delhi was built in year 1931. It was built for commemorating those Indian soldiers who lost their lives in action during WWI.

• The first World War began as a local war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in 1914. It grew into a war involving 32 countries. The Allies included Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. These countries fought against the Central Powers which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
• Archduke Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated by a Serb on June 28, 1914. This was the formal start of the war, although the countries had problems with each other before that. The countries of Britain, France and Germany had all grown strong and had large armies. They all wanted to sell their products to foreign countries. Several times Britain and France had been in strong arguments with Germany over markets in Africa. Europe was divided into two groups who were hostile to each other.
• After the assassination, Austria declared war on Serbia. A few days later, Germany declared war on Russia, then on France. As the war progressed, other countries took sides and declared war. Finally the United States entered the war against Germany on April 6, 1917.
• At first, the USA was neutral (NOO trul). But the Germans were sinking ships in an area around Britain (to prevent food and supplies from reaching Britain). The Germans sank a passenger ship named the Lusitania without warning, killing many people onboard, including 128 Americans. Later they sank a French ship, also killing some Americans. The Germans promised to stop sinking ships without warnings and trying to save lives. They kept their promise until January 1917. In April, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war.
• The Germans thought they would defeat the British by using submarines. But the British used fleets of ships to protect the goods on supply ships and planes to spot the submarines. Also, when America joined the war, they built so many new ships that the Germans couldn't destroy enough ships. The submarines did not win the war for them, as the Germans hoped.
• Germany tried to defeat Britain by bombing their cities, especially London. They hoped they would destroy the British people's economy and morale (more AL). They did not succeed. There were many fights between planes and groups of planes in this war. After the Americans joined the war, Germany's air force was greatly outnumbered. By July of 1918, the Allies were winning the war. Germany was trying to reach Paris, France, but the Allies defeated Germany at the famous Argonne Forest Battle. Finally, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles (vur SIGH).
• President Wilson wanted to keep the world at peace. He helped to create the League of Nations. He wanted countries to be able to talk about their problems and never go to war. Sadly, this was not what happened.

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