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Allies
The Triple Ententem later known as the Allies, nsisted of France, Britain, and Russia. The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.The Allisances provided a measure of international security because nations were reluctant to disturb the balance of power. As it turned, out a spark set off a major conflict. -
1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. As the royal entourage drove through the city, Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Prinip stepped from the crowd and shot the Archduke and his wife Sophie. -
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World War I
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Schlieffen Plan
On August 3, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, following a strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan. This plan called for a holding action against Russia, combined a quick drive through Belgium to Paris; after France had fallen, the two German armies would defeat Russia. -
Central Powers
Germany and Austria-Hungary, together with the Ottoman Empire-and empireof mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks-were later known as the Central Powers. -
Sinking of British liner Lusitania
A U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania off the southern caost of Ireland. Of the 1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans, The Germans defended theri action on the grounds that the liner carried ammunition. -
Sinking of British liner Arabic
A U-boat sank another British liner, the Arabic, drowing two Americans. Again the United States protested, and this time Germany agreed not to sink any more passenger ships. -
Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex
In March 1916 Germany broke its promise and torpedoed and unarmed French passenger steamer, the Sussex. The Sussex sank, and about 80 passengers, including Americans, were killed or injured. -
Battle of the Somme
During the First Battle of the Somme- which lasted until mid-November-the British suffered 60,000 casualties the first day alone. -
Zimmermann note
A telegram from the German foreign minister to ther German ambassador in Mexico that was intercepted by British agents. The telegram proposed an alliance between Mexico and Germany and promised that if war with the United States broke out, Germany would support Mexico in recovering "lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona." -
Convoy System
American Vice Admiral William S. Sims convinced the British to try the convoy system, in which a heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic in groups. By fall of 1917, shipping losses had been cut in half. -
Selective Service Act of 1917
The act required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service. By the end of 1918, 24 million men had registered under the act. -
Food Administration
When the United States entered the War, President Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover to the post of United States Food Administrator (1917). Food had become a weapon in World War I and no country produced more food than America. -
Committee on Public Information
To popularize the war, the government set up the nation's first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public Infromation (CPI). -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
A person could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to 20 fane, or abusive about government or the war effort. -
War Industries Board
It was established in 1917 and recognized in 1918 under the leadership of Bernard M. Baruch, a prosperous business man, -
Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information (CPI) was a government agency established in the United States during World War I with the aim of supporting the war effort. It was created by executive order shortly after the United States entered the war in 1917 and was shuttered in 1919 with the cessation of hostilities. -
Food Administration
Instead of rationing food, he caled on people to follow the "gospel of the clean plate." Restaurants removed sugar bowls from the table and served bread only after the first course. -
National War Labor Board
The National War Labor Board was authorized in March 1918 for the purpose of preventing strikes that would disrupt production in war industries. The first appointments were made the next month. -
National War Labor Board
Workers who refused to obey board decisions could lose their draft exemptions. "Work or fight," the board told them. -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War) but is now found under Title 18, Crime. -
Second Battle of the Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne marked the turning of the tide in World War I. It began with the last German offensive of the conflict and was quickly followed by the first allied offensive victory of 1918. The American Expeditionary Force with over 250,000 men fighting under overall French command played key roles both in the initial defense and the later advances. -
Austria-Hungary surrenders to the Allies
Austria-HUngary surrendered to the Allies. that same day, German sailors mutinied against governments authority. The mutiny spread quckly. -
Establishment of the German Republic
The kaiser gave up the throne. The Germans were too exhausted to continue fighting. -
War Industries Board
The War Industries Board is a method of control devised by the President to equalize the strain placed upon the American industrial structure by the war. It stimulates and expands the production of those materials essential to the war pro-gram and at the same time it depresses and curtails the production of those things not of a necessitous nature. This is done by regulation, in consonance with other executive branches, of the basic economic elements. -
Cease-fire and armistice
Germany agreed to cease-fire and signed the armstice, or truce, that ended the war.
