World War I

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    World War I

  • Franz Ferdinand and wife are killed by Serbian terrorist

  • Germany declares was on Russia

  • Germany declares war on France, an ally of Russia

  • Italy declares itself neutral

  • Britain declares war on Germany

  • United States declares itself neutral

  • German submarines sink 3 British cruisers - 1400 men die

  • Germany declares waters around British Isles a war zone

  • Lusitania is sunk by Germans- 140 Americans die

  • Woodrow Wilson orders General John Pershing to invade northern Mexico to capture Pancho VIlla, who has killed 16 US mining citizens

  • Woodrow Wilson is reelected because he wants to keep US out of war

  • German diplomat recieves secret telegram from Arthur Zimmerman that suggusts forming a defensive alliance with Mexico if US goes to war with Germany.

  • Wilson calls for "peace without victory"

  • US government cuts ties with Germany because of the submarine warfare

  • 3 American vessels (City of Memphis, Vigilancia, and Illinois) are sunk by German submarines

  • US declares war on Germany

  • Selective Service Act passed- the draft

  • Woodrow Wilson "14-Point Peace" speech to Congress aims to prevent destructive warfareby setting up an international body to resolve disputes

  • Cantigny- first US win

  • Germans surrender, expecting a peace drawn up under Wilson's generous 14 Points

  • US forces move into Rhineland

  • Woodrow Wilson arrives in France- first US president to travel to another country

  • Treaty of Versailles signed