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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. The alliances 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. -
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. -
1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
As the royal entourage drove through the city, Serbian nationalist
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 nationalism.
The assassinations touched off a diplomatic crisis. On
July 28, Austria-Hungary declared what was expected to be a
short war against Serbia. -
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 Russia. -
Sinking of British liner Arabic
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. -
Germany Blockades the North Sea
Germany responded to the British Blockade with a counter blockade by U-boats. Any British or Allied ship found in the waters around Britain would be sunk. Germany sank the Lusitania which killed 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 British of 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. -
Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex
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. Again Germany agreed, but there was a condition: if the United States could not persuade Britain to lift its blockade against food and fertilizers, Germany would renew unrestricted submarine warfare. -
Battle of the Somme
During the First Battle of the Somme— which began on July 1, 1916, and lasted until mid-November—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. A battle in WW1 British and France vs Germany. -
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. There were three main kinds of trenches—front line, support, and reserve. Soldiers spent a period of time in each kind of trench. Dugouts, or underground rooms, were used as officers’ quarters and command posts.
Between the trench complexes lay “no man’s land”—a barren expanse of mud Periodically. -
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. -
Wilson's "Peace without Victory speech"
Wilson tried to mediate between the warring alliances. 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. -
Bolshevik Revolution
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. -
Selective Service Act of 1917
To meet the government’s need for more fighting power. The act required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service. -
American Expeditionary Force and General john J. Pershing
The American Expeditionary Force, led by General John J. Pershing, included men from widely separated parts of the country. believed in aggressive combat and felt that three years of trench warfare had made the Allies too defensive. Dough boys helped fight= American infantrymen. shocked by the unexpected horrors of the battlefield and astonished by the new weapons and tactics
of modern warfare. -
Second Battle of the Marne
When Russia pulled out of war in 1917, Germans shifted armies from eastern to western front in France. The Americans arrived in time to stop German advance at Cantigny in France. Several weeks later, U.S. troops threw back German attacks at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood. In July and August, they helped win the Second Battle of the Marne. The tide turned against the Central Powers. In September, US soldiers mount offensives against Germans at Saint-Mihiel and in Meuse-Argonne. -
Anti-German sentiment in america
attack on civil liberties. attacks were directed against the
nearly 2 million Americans who had been born in Germany. lost jobs. refused to play music of mozart, bach, brahms, etc. stop teaching german and removed books from library. -
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, profane,
or abusive about the government or the war effort. these laws clearly violated the spirit
of the First Amendment. Their passage led to over 2,000 prosecutions for
loosely defined antiwar activities; of these, over half resulted in convictions. -
Eugene V. Debs arrest
Espionage and Sedition Acts targeted socialists and labor leaders.
Eugene V. Debs was handed a ten-year prison sentence for speaking out
against the war and the draft. -
Emma Goldman
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 Haywood 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. -
Victor Berger
The House of Representatives refused to seat Victor
Berger, a socialist congressman from Wisconsin, because of his antiwar views. -
Zimmerman note
A telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico that was intercepted by British agents. -
369 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.” -
Shell Shock, trench foot and trench mouth
Constant bombardments and other experiences 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. Physical problems included a disease called trench foot, caused by standing in cold wet trenches for long periods of time without changing into dry socks or boots. A painful infection of the gums and throat, called trench mouth, was also common among the soldiers. -
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. -
National War Labor Board
Many workers strikes. To deal with disputes between management and labor, President Wilson established
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 factory
conditions. It pushed for an
eight-hour workday, promoted
safety inspections, and enforced
the child labor ban -
Food Administration
Wilson set up FA under Herbert Hoover. Instead of rationing food, follow the “gospel of the clean plate.” one day a week “meatless,” another “sweetless,” two days “wheatless,” and two other days “porkless.” As a result American food shipments to Allies tripled. Hoover set high government price on wheat and other staples. Farmers responded putting an additional 40 million acres into production. increased their income by almost 30 percent. -
Committee on public information and the "four minute men"
nation’s first propaganda agency. head of the CPI was a former muckraking 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.” -
War Industries Board
The 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 businessman.
The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to
increase efficiency. It also urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products—for
instance, by making only 5 colors of typewriter ribbons instead of 150.
The WIB set production quotas and allocated raw materials. -
Raising money for the war
$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
first five points prevent another war. no secret treaties. freedom in sea for all. economic barriers lowered for free trade. arms reduced. colonial policies include ppls interests and imperialists power. next eight points dealt boundary changes. groups that claimed distinct ethnic identities were to form own nation-states or decide what nations they would belong. fourteenth point called for creation of an international organization to address diplomatic crises. -
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
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. The kaiser gave up the throne. -
Establishment of the German Empire
Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized revolutionary
councils. On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital,
Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne. -
Reparations and the war guild Clause
required Germany to return region of Alsace-Lorraine to France and pay reparations, for war damages, amounting to $33 billion to Allies. contained a war-guilt clause forcing Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting WWI. Although
German militarism had played a major role in igniting the war, other European nations were guilty of provoking diplomatic crises before the war. Germany could pay the huge financial
reparations. Germany was stripped of colonial possessions in the Pacific. -
Agreements made in the treaty of versailles
The Treaty of Versailles established
nine new nations—Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia—and shifted
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.
Those two Allies administer their respective mandates until the areas
ready for self-rule and then independence.
The treaty barred Germany from maintaining an army.
