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Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated when he visited the Bosnian capitol. He and his wife were shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, a group fighting for Serbian nationalism. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
The war was expected to be short lived. -
Germany Declares War on Russia
Germany was obligated to support Austria-Hungary by treaty. -
Germany Declares war on France
Germany declares war on Russia's ally, France. -
Britain Declares war on Germany
Germany invaded Belgium, and Britian was obligated to support Belgium by treaty. -
President Wilson is re-elected
Wilson ran for president again against Evans Hughes. The election was very close. -
America Was Experiencing a Labor Shortage
Because of all the orders from the Allies for war supplies, the American economy was booming and there were not enough people to manufacture all of the goods. -
Lusitania, German U-boat Disaster
To fight the British blockades, creating famine, Germany responed with U-boats. Germany sank any British or Ally ship around Britain, even if the ship was unarmed. Germany sank the British Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. 1198 people were killed, 128 of them were Americans. American opinion of the war turned against Germany. -
Germany sank the Sussex
The Sussex, a French passenger steamer was sank by Germans. 80 passengers, some Americans, were killed. America threatened to break diplomatic relations with Germany unless it stopped using U-boat warfare. -
Battle of Somme
The Battle of Somme was the first battle the British used tanks made of steel that bullets just bounced off of, but not very effectively. By 1917 the Britsh were using the tanks to plow through barbed wire fences. -
Germany Declared it would Continue Using U-boat Warfare
Germany announced it would sink all ships in British waters, armed or unarmed, immediately. Pres. Wilson was shocked. However he still did not enter the war. -
The U.S. Declares War Against the Central Powers
The Zimmerman note, an intercepted telegram from Germany to Mexico trying to persuade Mexico to go to war against the U.S., four sunken American merchant ships, 36 people killed, and the end of the Russian monarchy, replaced with a democratic government all convinced the president and the public to go to war. -
Selective Service Act was Passed
The Selective Service Act required all men to register with the government so a random amount could be selected for military serivce, to meet the large amount of soldiers needed to fight in the war. -
American Soldiers Reach Europe
The Americans brought freshness and enthusiasm to the exhausted Allied forces who had been fighting for two and a half years. -
American Expeditionary Force
The AEF was the name given to the American infantry who fought in the war. They were led by General John J. Pershing. His nickname was Black Jack Pershing. They were also called Doughboys, because of the white belts they wore which they cleaned with pipe clay. -
Women in the War
Women had to take jobs the men had previously occupied before they were drafted into the war. They worked on railroads, chefs, dockworkers, and bricklayers, plus their original jobs as clerks, teachers, and nurses. Many volunteered for the Red Cross. Pres. Wilson recognized their work and helped pass the Nineteenth Amendment which gave women the right to vote. -
Alvin York
Alvin York was a conscientious objector, a person who opposes warfare, but he got over it when he was drafted in the war. On the eighth, Alvin killed 25 germans with just a rifle, and he and six other doughboys captures 132 prisoners. he was promoted to sergeant and became a celebrity when he returned to the U.S. -
Austria-Hungary surrendered to the Allies
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Germany establishes a Republic
Socialist learders establish a republic and the kaiser gives up the throne. -
Germany cease-fires
Germany signes a armistice that ended the war. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The treaty was signed but it had weakness, which will eventually lead to Wolrd War II.