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Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assasinated
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, set in train a series of diplomatic events that led inexorably to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914. -
British Blockade of Germany
British naval blockade of Germany issuing a comprehensive list of contraband that all but prohibited American trade with the Central powers, and in early November 1914 declared the North Sea to be a War Zone, with any ships entering the North Sea doing so at their own riskThe blockade was unusually restrictive in that even foodstuffs were considered "contraband of war". There were complaints about breaches of international law, however most neutral merchant vessels agreed to dock at British port -
Germany declared war on France
Two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declares war on France, moving ahead with a long-held strategy, conceived by the former chief of staff of the German army, Alfred von Schlieffen, for a two-front war against France and Russia. Hours later, France makes its own declaration of war against Germany, readying its troops to move into the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, which it had forfeited to Germany in the settlement that ended the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. -
Lusitania is sunk
The British ocean liner Lusitania, ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain. Since the outbreak of World War I, ocean voyage had become dangerous. All ships headed to Great Britain were instructed to be on the lookout for U-boats and take precautionary measures such as travel at full speed and make zigzag movements. Captain William Thomas Turner slowed the Lusitania down because of fog and traveled in a predictable line. -
President Wilson wins reelection
Wilson won reelection because he said he would keep the country out of War. However, after the election he concluded that America could not remain neutral in the World War. On April 2,1917, he asked Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. -
U.S. Banks had loaned $2.3 billion to the Allies
America wanted to remain neutral in the War. The U.S. loaned Central Powers $27 million. At this point they were leaning toward the Allied nations so we gave them $2.3 billion to financially support them. -
Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare
Germany declared the area around the British Isles a war zone, in which all merchant ships, including those from neutral countries, would be attacked by the German navy. A string of attacks on merchant ships followed, culminating in the sinking of the British ship Lusitania by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915. Although the Lusitania was a British ship and it was carrying a supply of munitions. -
Zimmerman Note
In January 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. This message helped draw the United States into the war and changed the course of history. -
Selective Service Act is ratified by Congress
Some six weeks after the United States formally entered the First World War, the U.S Congress passes the Selective Service Act on May 18, 1917, giving the U.S. president the power to draft soldiers. President Woodrow Wilson had pledged all of his nation's considerable material resources to help the Allies defeat the Central Powers. What the Allies desperately needed, however, were fresh troops to relieve their exhausted men. The U.S. could not provide this at the time, so we turned to a draft. -
Bolshevik Revolution beings in Russia
Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky. The provisional government came to power after the February Revolution resulted in the Russian monarchy being overthrown in March 1917. Weak and unpopular, the provisional government drew criticism from both the right and left. Lenin, a Marxist revolutionary and founder of the Bolshevik Party, had been exiled by the monarchy, but returned to Russia in April. -
U.S. Congress ratified War Resolution
The U.S. signed a peace treaty with Germany in 1921. This treaty followed the earlier Treaty of Versailles signed by the Allies and Germany in June 1919 but which was not ratified by the U.S. Congress.
