-
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. 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. -
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
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. -
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. As German
troops swept across Belgium, thousands of civilians fled in
terror. -
Sinking of British liner Arabic
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 British liner Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, a U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. Of the 1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans. -
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. -
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. -
Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex
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. -
Germany Blockades the North Sea
Britain blockaded the German coast to prevent weapons and other military supplies from getting through. American ships carrying goods for Germany refused to challenge the blockade and seldom reached their destination. 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. -
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
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.” -
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. -
369 Infantry Regiment
African American soldiers served in segregated units and were excluded from the navy and marines. Most African Americans were
assigned to noncombat duties, although there were exceptions. The all-black 369th Infantry Regiment saw more continuous duty on the front lines than any other American regiment. -
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. -
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. American infantrymen were nicknamed doughboys, possibly because of the white belts they wore, which they cleaned with pipe clay, or “dough.” -
Second Battle of the Marne
When Russia pulled out of the war in 1917, the Germans shifted their armies from the eastern front to the western front in France. 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 throwing back German attacks at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood. In July and August, they helped win the Second Battle of the Marne. -
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. -
Anti-German sentiment in America
As soon as war was declared, conformity indeed became the order of the day. Attacks on civil liberties, both unofficial and official, erupted. The main targets of these attacks were Americans who had emigrated from other nations, especially those from
Germany and Austria-Hungary. -
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. -
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. By the end of 1918, 24 million men had registered under the act. -
Shell Shock, Trench Foot, and Trench Mouth
The new weapons and tactics of World War I led to horrific injuries and hazards. Constant bombardments and other experiences often led to fatigue and “shell shock,” a term 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. -
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. (He later skipped bail and fled to Russia.) Under such federal pressure, the IWW faded away. -
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
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. -
Cease-fire and Armisti
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
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
To help produce and conserve food, Wilson set up the Food Administration 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 “meatless,” another “sweetless,” two
days “wheatless,” and two other days “porkless.” Restaurants
removed sugar bowls from the table and served bread only after
the first course. -
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, a war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury goods. The government sold bonds through thousands of volunteers. Movie stars spoke at rallies in factories, in schools, and on street corners. As Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo put it, only “a friend of Germany” would refuse to buy war bonds. -
Committee on Public Information and the 'Four Min. Men'
The head of the CPI was a former muckraking journalist named George Creel. Creel persuaded the nation’s artists and advertising agencies to create thousands of paintings, posters, cartoons, and sculptures promoting the war. 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.” -
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. -
Eugene V. Debs arrest
The 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. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
On January 18, 1918, he delivered his now famous Fourteen Points speech before Congress. The first five points were issues that Wilson believed had to be addressed to prevent another war: The next eight points dealt with boundary changes. Wilson based these provisions on the principle of self-determination “along historically established lines of nationality.” -
Agreements made in the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles established nine new nations—including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia—and shifted 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. -
Reperations and the War Guild Clause
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, or war damages, amounting to $33 billion to the Allies. First, the treaty humiliated Germany. It contained a war-guilt clause forcing Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting World War I. -
Victor Burger
not in textbook
