World War I

By elunderhill13

  • The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    The Serbians wanted their land back because Austria-Hungary was encroaching on Serbia, so they shot the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This assassination was the spark that started WWI.

  • Sinking of the Lusitania

    The sinking of the Lusitania was when the US ship, that was full of ammunition, was sent from New York to Liverpool, England. The US said it was just a passenger ship, but really they were stocking ammunitions for the British. The Germans tried to disrupt their trade routes so they sunk the US ship, killing 120 Americans.

  • National Defense Act

    The National Defense Act was a federal law that updated the Militia Act of 1903. The 1916 act included an expansion of the army and the national guard, the creation of the officers and Enlisted Reserved Corps and the Reserve Officer Training Corps.

  • First Liberty Loan

    Liberty Loans were part of the US government's effort to sell war bonds during WWI to defray the expense of war.

  • What the German Sub Commander said to the captain of the Housatonic before sinking it

    "You are carrying foodstuffs to an enemy of my country, and though I am sorry, it is my duty to sink you"- German commander's warning to Housatonic captain P.A Ensor, February 1917.

  • Why the US broke their diplomatic relations with Germany

    Woodrow Wilson announced that the US was breaking the diplomatic relations with Germany after it had reinstituted its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

  • The War Revenue Act

    This act was passed by congress to fund the Union and the American Civil War and created the Bureau of internal revenue. The act also created the office of the commissioner of internal revenue and levied excise taxes on many luxury and "sin" items, from playing cards to alcohol.

  • Second Liberty Loan

    The government did use propaganda to promote bonds by the development sale of bonds of the second Liberty Loan Act.

  • Railroads Are Nationalized

    Nationalization is the process of transforming private assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. On December 26th, President Woodrow Wilson nationalized most American railways under the federal Possession and Control Act, creating the US railroad administration.

  • Why Germany renewed its unrestricted submarine warfare

    Germany renewed its unrestricted submarine warfare because the only reason they were holding off, was because they didn't want to make the US angry, so now that the US had entered the war, they went back to unrestricted submarine warfare.

  • US Declares War

    Woodrow Wilson asked a special joint session of the US Congress for a declaration of war against the German empire. Congress responded with the declaration on April 6th, 1917.

  • The Selective Service Act

    This act authorized the US federal government to raise a national army for service in WWI through conscription.

  • War Industries Board

    It coordinated the production of war materials and the purchase of war supplies. It also encouraged companies to use mass production techniques to increase efficiency and eliminate waste by the standardization of products.

  • Lever Food and Fuel Control Act

    This act created the US food administration and federal fuel administration. This act basically told the civilians to eat less so they had more food to send over to the US troops.

  • Third Liberty Loan

    This act specifically allowed the US government to issue $3 billion worth of war bonds at a rate of 4.5% interest for up to 10 years with the individual aggregate limit of $45,000.

  • Second Battle of the Marne

    A doughboy was an informal term for a member of the US Army of Marine Corp (referred to members of the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI).

  • Fourth Liberty Loan

    The US government raised around $17 billion in liberty bonds all together.

  • The Fourteen Points

    The Fourteen Points
    The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end WWI. Woodrow Wilson made the 14 Points.

  • Germans Offense in Western Front

    Russia's exit from the war had allowed Germany to shift no fewer than 44 divisions of men to the western front.

  • Battle of Belleau Wood

    The Americans went over to the offense and attacked the German positions in front of Belleau Wood on June 6th, suffering heavy losses in the process (the highest in US Marine Corp history until the Battle of Tarawa in 1943).

  • First Independent Action by American Expeditionary Force

    John J. Pershing commanded the first independent action of the American Expeditionary Force in 1918.

  • The Battle of Meuse-Argonne

    This battle was one of a series of allied attacks known as The Hundred Days Offense, which brought the war to an end. 28,000 Germans, 26,277 Americans, and an unknown number of French died.