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Allies
The Triple Entente, consisted of France, Britain, and Russia -
Central Powers
The Triple Alliance, consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Germany and Austria-Hungary, together with the ottoman Empire- an empire of mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks -
National War Labor Board
, the DuPont Company, saw its stock multiply in value 1,600 percent between 1914 and 1918. By that time the company was earning a $68-million yearly profit. As a result of the uneven pay between labor and management, increasing work hours, child labor, and dangerously “sped-up” conditions, unions boomed. Union membership climbed from about 2.5 million in 1916 to more than 4 million in 1919. -
Food Administration
To help produce and conserve food, Wilson set up the Food Administration under Herbert Hoover. Instead of rationing food, he called on people to follow the “gospel of the clean plate.” Hedeclared one day a week “meatless,”another “sweetless,” two days “wheatless,” and two other days “porkless.” Restaurants removed sugar bowls from the table and served bread only after the first course. -
1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
As the royal entourage drove through the city, Servian nationalist Gavrilo Princip stepped from the crowd and shot the Archduke and his wife Sophie -
Schlieffen Plan
This plan called for a holding action against Russia, combined with a quick drive through Belgiu to Paris; after France had fallen, the two German armies would defeat Russia. -
Sinking of British liner Lusitania
when U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. Of the 1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans. -
Sinking of British liner Arabic
a U-boat sank another British liner, the Arabic, drowning two Americans. Again the US protested, and this time Germany agreed not to sink any more passenger ships. -
Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex
March 1916 Germany broke its promise and torpedoed an unarmed French passenger steamer, the Susex. The Sussex sank, and about 80 passengers, including Americans, were killed or injured -
Battle of the Somme
The British suffered 60,000 casualties the first day alone. Final casualties totaled about 1.2 million, yet only about seven miles of ground changed hands--trench warfare -
Zimmermann note
a telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico that was intercepted by British agents. The telegram propsed an alliance between Mexico and Germany and promised that if war with the US broke out, Germany would support Mexico in recovering "lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona" -
Convoy System
a heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic in groups -
War industries Board
. It was established in 1917 and reorganized in 1918
under the leadership of Bernard M. Baruch, a prosperous businessman. The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency. It also urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products -
Selective Service Act of 1917
To meet the government's need for more fighting power, Congress passed the Selective Serivice Act in 1917. The act required men to register with the government in oreder to be randomly selcted for military service. -
Eespionage and Sedition Acts
In June 1917 Congress passed the Espionage Act, and in May 1918 it passed the Sedition Act. Under the Espionage and Sedition Acts a person could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to 20 years in jail for interfering with the war effort or for saying anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the government or the war effort. -
Committee on Public Information
To popularize the war, the government set up the nation’s first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public information (CPI). Propaganda is a kind of biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions. The head of the CPI was a former muckraking
journalist named George Creel. -
Second Battle of the Marne
U.S. troops played a major role in throwing
back German attacks at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood. In July and August, they helped win the Second Battle of the Marne. The tide had turned against the Central Powers. In September, U.S. soldiers began to mount offensives against the Germans at Saint-Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne area. -
Austria-Hungary surrenders to the allies
On November 3, 1918, AustriaHungary surrendered to the Allies. -
Establishment of the German Republic
On November 3, 1918, AustriaHungary surrendered to the Allies. That same day, German sailors mutinied against government authority. The mutiny spread quickly. Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized revolutionary councils. On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital, Berlin, established a German republic. -
Cease-Fire and armistice
Although there were no Allied soldiers on German territory and no truly decisive battle had been fought, the Germans were too exhausted to continue fighting. So at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, in the eleventh month
of 1918, Germany agreed to a cease-fire and signed the armistice, or truce, that ended the war.
