-
Allies
By 1907 there were two major defense alliances in Europe.
The Triple Entente, later known as the Allies, consisted of France, Britain, and Russia. The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy -
Central Powers
Germany and Austria-Hungary, together with the Ottoman Empire—an empire of mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks—were later known as the
Central Powers. -
!914 Assaniation 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 nation-
alist Gavrilo Princip stepped from the crowd and shot the
Archduke and his wife Sophie. Princip was a member of the
Black Hand, an organization promoting Serbian national-
ism. -
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 with a quick
drive through Belgium to Paris; after France had fallen, the
two German armies would defeat Russ -
Sinking of the British liner Arabic
Despite this provocation, President Wilson ruled out a military response in
favor of a sharp protest to Germany. Three months later, in August 1915, a U-boat sank another British liner, the Arabic, drowning two Americans. Again the United
States protested, and this time Germany agreed not to sink any more passenger
ships. -
Convoy System
German U-boat attacks on merchant ships in the Atlantic were a serious threat
to the Allied war effort. 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 -
Sinking of British liner Lusitania
One of the worst disasters occurred on May 7, 1915, when a U-boat sank the
British liner
Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. Of the
1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans. The Germans defended their action on
the grounds that the liner carried ammunition. Despite Germany’s explanation,
Americans became outraged with Germany because of the loss of life. American
public opinion turned against Germany and the Central Powers -
Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex
But in March 1916 Germany broke its promise and torpedoed an unarmed
French passenger steamer, the
Sussex
. The
Sussex
sank, and about 80 passengers,
including Americans, were killed or injured. Once again the United States warned
that it would break off diplomatic relations unless Germany changed its tactics. -
Bolshevik Revolution
Revolutionaries ousted the czar
in March 1917 and established
a provisional government. In
November, the Bolsheviks, led by
Lenin and Trotsky, overthrew the
provisional government. They set
up a Communist state and sought
peace with the Central Powers. -
Shell shock, trench foot, and trench mouth
The new weapons of World War I led to horrific injuries and
hazards. The fighting men were surrounded by filth, lice, rats, and polluted water
that caused dysentery. They inhaled poison gas and smelled the stench of decaying
bodies. They suffered from lack of sleep. Constant bombardments and other expe-
riences often led to battle fatigue and “shell shock,” a term coined during World
War I to describe a complete emotional collapse from which many never recovered -
Battle of The Somme
The scale of slaughter was horrific. During the First Battle of the Somme—
which began on July 1, 1916, and lasted until mid-November—the British suf-
fered 60,000 casualties the first day alone. Final casualties totaled about 1.2 mil-
lion, yet only about seven miles of ground changed hands. -
Trench Warfare
This bloody
trench
warfare,
in which armies fought for mere yards of ground, continued for over
three years. Elsewhere, the fighting was just as devastating and inconclusive. -
Wilson's Peace without victory speech
After the election, Wilson tried to mediate between the warring alliances. The
attempt failed. In a speech before the Senate in January 1917, the president called
for “a peace without victory. . . . a peace between equals,” in which neither side
would impose harsh terms on the other. Wilson hoped that all nations would join
in a “league for peace” that would work to extend democracy, maintain freedom of
the seas, and reduce armaments -
Zimmermann note
The overt acts came. First was the
Zimmermann note,
a telegram from
the German foreign minister to the
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.” -
Selective Service Act of 1917
To meet the government’s need for more
fighting power, Congress passed the
Selective Service Act
in
May 1917. The act required men to register with the government
in order to be randomly selected for military service. -
369th Infantry Regiment
The all-black 369th Infantry Regiment saw more continuous duty on the front
lines than any other American regiment. Two soldiers of the 369th, Henry
Johnson and Needham Roberts, were the first Americans to receive France’s
highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre—the “cross of war. -
American Expeditionary Force and General John J. PErshing
The
American Expeditionary Force
(AEF), led by
General John J. Pershing,
included men from widely
separated parts of the country. American infantrymen were
nicknamed doughboys, possibly because of the white belts
they wore, which they cleaned with pipe clay, or “dough.” However,
doughboys were also shocked by the unexpected horrors of
the battlefield and astonished by the new weapons and tac-
tics of modern warfare. -
Second Battle of the Marne
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. -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
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, pro-
fane, or abusive about the government or the war effort. -
Germany blockades the North Sea
The results were two fold. First, American ships carrying goods for
Germany refused to challenge the blockade and seldom reached their desti-
nation. Second, Germany found it increasingly difficult to import foodstuffs
and fertilizers for crops. By 1917, famine stalked the country. An estimated
750,000 Germans starved to death as a result of the British blockade -
Anti-German sentiment in America
The most bitter attacks were directed against the
nearly 2 million Americans who had been born in Germany, but other foreign-
born persons and Americans of German descent suffered as well.Many Americans with German names lost their jobs. Orchestras refused to
play the music of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Some towns with
German names changed them. People even
resorted to violence against German Americans, flogging them or smearing them -
War Industries Board
he main regulatory body was the
War
Industries Board
(WIB). It was established in 1917 and reorganized in 1918
under the leadership of
Bernard M. Baruch
a prosperous business-
man. The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to
increase efficiency -
Food Administration
To
help produce and conserve food,
Wilson set up the Food Admin-
istration under Herbert Hoover.
Instead of rationing food, he
called on people to follow the
“gospel of the clean plate.” He
declared one day a week “meat-
less,” another “sweetless,” two
days “wheatless,” and two other
days “porkless.” -
Committee on Public Information and the "four minute men"
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 muck-
raking journalist named
George Creel.He
recruited some 75,000 men to serve as “Four-Minute Men,” who spoke about
everything relating to the war: the draft, rationing, bond drives, victory gardens,
and topics such as “Why We Are Fighting” and “The Meaning of America.” -
Eugene V. Debs arrest
Eugene V. Debs was handed a ten-year prison sentence for speaking out
against the war and the draft. -
Emma Goldman
The anarchist Emma Goldman received a
two-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine for organizing the No
Conscription League. When she left jail, the authorities deported her to
Russia -
Big Bill Kaywood and the IWW
“Big Bill” Haywood and other leaders of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) were accused of sabotaging the war effort because they
urged workers to strike for better conditions and higher pay. Haywood
was sentenced to a long prison term. (He later skipped bail and fled to
Russia.) Under such federal pressure, the IWW faded away. -
Victor Burger
Newspapers and magazines that opposed the war or criticized any of the Allies
lost their mailing privileges. The House of Representatives refused to seat Victor
Berger, a socialist congressman from Wisconsin, because of his antiwar views -
National War Labor Board
To deal with disputes between management and labor, President Wilson estab-
lished the National War Labor Board in 1918. Workers who refused to obey board
decisions could lose their draft
exemptions. “Work or fight,” the
board told them. However, the
board also worked to improve fac-
tory conditions. It pushed for an
eight-hour workday, promoted
safety inspections, and enforced
the child labor ban -
Raising money for the war
The United States spent about $35.5 billion on the war effort.
The government raised about one-third of this amount through taxes, including
a progressive income tax (which taxed high incomes at a higher rate than low
incomes), a war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury
goods. It raised the rest through public borrowing by selling “Liberty Loan” and
“Victory Loan” bonds. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
On January 18, 1918, he
delivered his now famous
Fourteen Points
speech before
Congress.
1.
There should be no secret treaties among nations.
2.
Freedom of the seas should be maintained for all.
3.
Tariffs and other economic barriers among nations
should be lowered
4.
Arms should be reduced “to the lowest point consis-
tent with domestic safety,
5.
Colonial policies should consider the interests of
the colonial peoples -
Conscientious objector
During the fighting in the Meuse-Argonne
area, one of America’s greatest war heroes,
Alvin York,
became famous.
A redheaded mountaineer and blacksmith from Tennessee, York sought
exemption as a
conscientious objector,
a person who opposes warfare
on moral grounds, pointing out that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” -
Austria-Hungary surrenders to the Allies
On November 3, 1918, Austria-
Hungary surrendered to the Allies. That same day, German sailors
mutinied against government authority. -
Establishment of the German Republic
On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital,
Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne.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 -
Cease-fire and armistice
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. -
Agreement made in the Treaty of Versailes
The
Treaty of Versailles
reestablished
nine new nations—including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia—and shift-
ed the boundaries of other nations. It carved five areas out of the Ottoman Empire
and gave them to France and Great Britain as mandates, or temporary colonies.
The treaty barred Germany from maintaining an army. It also required
Germany to return the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France and to pay
reparations,
amounting to $33 billion to the Allies. -
Reparations and the War Guild Clause
First, the treaty humiliated Germany. It contained a
war-guilt clause
forcing Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting World War I. other European
nations had been guilty of provoking diplomatic crises before the war.
Furthermore, there was no way Germany could pay the huge financial
reparations. Germany was stripped of its colonial possessions in the Pacific, which
might have helped it pay its reparations bill
