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Germany's declaration of a war zone around Britain, its warning to U.S. travelers, the May 7, 1915 torpedoing of the ship by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland -
His death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist triggered a series of diplomatic and military escalations, including Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, which in turn activated a complex web of European alliances, leading to a chain reaction that plunged the continent into a devastating global conflict -
At the start of WWI, President Woodrow Wilson declared the U.S. would remain neutral, a policy supported by many Americans. -
the German advance to the Marne River, the Allied counterattack which exploited a gap in the German lines, the use of Parisian taxicabs to rapidly reinforce French troops, and the subsequent German retreat which ended the Schlieffen Plan and led to trench warfare. -
for its immense human cost, its symbolic significance as a testament to French resolve, and its impact on the overall strategy of World War I. -
it directly led to the Sussex Pledge, a German promise to the United States to alter its naval warfare tactics -
one of the costliest battles in history, highlighting the brutal realities of trench warfare, and it led to important tactical and operational lessons that helped the Allies win the war. -
shifting American public opinion and ultimately contributing to the United States' entry into World War -
provoked the United States to enter World War I -
tipping the balance in favor of the Allies, shifting the U.S. from isolationism to a position of global leadership, and shaping the postwar world -
its authority to conscript individuals into the military during national emergencies to ensure a fair and rapid expansion of the armed forces when needed. -
protecting national security by preventing the disclosure of classified information and maintaining public safety by safeguarding critical infrastructure like ports. -
provided the fresh manpower that gave the Allied powers numerical superiority, helped turn the tide in key battles like the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and established the United States as a major modern military power. -
their role as a blueprint for a lasting peace after World War I -
devastating global impact, its role in highlighting the need for public health infrastructure, and the medical innovations it spurred, which paved the way for future treatments and vaccines. -
Russia's exit from World War I was important because it allowed Germany to focus its forces on the Western Front, giving the Central Powers a significant advantage, and enabled the Bolsheviks to consolidate power and fight a civil war -
its role in the first major American debate over freedom of speech and press, as it criminalized "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government, leading to the prosecution of opposition party journalists. -
it was the final Allied offensive on the Western Front, involved the largest U.S. military operation in World War I, and its success was a major factor in forcing Germany to surrender, thus ending the war. -
it marks the end of fighting in World War I with a ceasefire on the Western Front at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918. -
The Paris Peace Conference And Treaty of Versailles