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Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while visiting sarajevo, Bosnia. He was next in line for the Austro-Hungarian throne. The killings set off decades old tentions in Europe and started WWI. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was a British passenger ship that a German U-Boat torpedoed leaving more than 1,000 people dying including 128 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania angered the American public. -
U.S. enters the War
The American entry into the war had an immediate impact. To ensure that needed supplies reached Great Britain. The U.S. Navy helped the British destroy and protect against German submarines. -
Americans Join The War
While revolution shook Russia and Germany went on the attack, the Americans were preparing to join the fight. In May 1917, General John J. Pershing became supreme commander of what was called the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), the American army in Europe. -
Fighting In The Argonne Forest
The allies now began an attack of their own. In mid- September, a half million American soldiers defeated the Germans at Saint-Mihiel. Later that month, more than 1million American troops joined the allies in the battle of Argonne Forest. It became the biggest attack in American history -
Germany Seeks An Armitice
On October 4, 1918, The German Government asked President Wilson for an armistice, an agreement to end fighting. Wilson consented, but only under certain conditions. Germany had to accept his plan for peace and promise not to renew fighting. All German troops had to leave Belgium and France. -
War Ends
After WW I, leaders from 27 nations in Paris, France, in January 1919. They met for the peace conference following World War I. President Woodrow Willson arrived to cheering crowds. Europeans looked to Wilson to help build a better postwar world. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Allies and Germany signed the Treat of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Germany was full of responsibility for the conflict. They had to pay billions of dollars and had to disarm completely and give up its overseas colonies and some territory in Europe.
