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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 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 -
Allies
By 1907 there were two major european alliances.The triple entente or 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. -
Schlieffen Plan
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 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. -
Sinking of British Liner Arabic
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. -
Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex
In March 1916 Germany torpedoed an unarmed French passenger steamer, the Sussex. The Sussex sank, and about 80 passengers, including Americans, were killed or injured. -
Trench Warfare
Trench warfare, was when armies fought for mere yards of ground, continued for over three years. Elsewhere, the fighting was just as devastating and inconclusive. -
Germany blockades the North Sea
Germany responded to the British blockade with a counterblockade by U-boats (from Unterseeboot, the German word for a submarine). Any British or Allied ship found in the waters around Britain would be sunk—and it would not always be possible to warn crews and passengers of an attack. -
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 "peace without victory" speech
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
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.” -
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. -
Selective Service Act of 1917
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. By the end of 1918, 24 million men had registered under the act. -
Second Battle of the Marne
By May they were within 50 miles of Paris. The Americans arrived just in time to help stop the German advance at Cantigny in France. Several weeks later, U.S. troops played a major role in throw- ing back German attacks at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood. 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
In June 1917 Congress passed the Espionage Act, and in May 1918 it passed the Sedition Act. 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. -
Conscientious objector
A person who opposes warfare on moral grounds, pointing out that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” -
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. -
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. -
Anti-German sentiment in america
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. Schools stopped teaching the German language, and librarians removed books by German authors from the shelves. People even resorted to violence against German Americans -
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 suffered 60,000 casualties the first day alone. Final casualties totaled about 1.2 million, yet only about seven miles of ground changed hands. -
Establishment of the German Republic
On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital, Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne.
