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Francis Ferdinand assassinated
This is what sparked WWI -
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY DECLARES WAR ON SERBIA. WORLD WAR I BEGINS
“This is a dark day and a dark hour. The sword is being forced into my hand. This war will demand of us enormous sacrifice in life and money, but we shall show our foes what it is to provoke Germany.”
– Kaiser Wilhelm II, July 31, 1914 -
JAPAN ATTACKS AND CAPTURES TSINGTAO, CHINA
Held by the Germans since 1898, Tsingtao is a lightly garrisoned port city on the Yellow Sea. The Germans surrender on November 6. -
CHRISTMAS TRUCE OBSERVED ON WESTERN FRONT
The sound of Christmas carols across No Man’s Land encourages troops from both sides to exchange greetings. The truce is spontaneous and was experienced by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of soldiers. -
GERMAN SABOTEURS AT WORK IN AMERICA
A German officer, Werner Horn, is arrested in Maine for a bombing that damages the Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge, which connects the U.S. and Canada. -
BELGIANS DEPORTED TO GERMANY AS FORCED LABOR
German troops begin to round up Belgian workers for deportation to Germany. They are assembled in daily batches of 1,400 men and women in equal numbers. -
U.S. PRESIDENT WILSON IS REELECTED
The Democrats run on the slogan, “He kept us out of war.” The Republican candidate, Charles Evans Hughes, is perceived as a warmonger and loses the election. -
THE UNITED STATES SEVERS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH GERMANY
President Wilson tells a joint session of Congress that Germany’s policy of unrestricted U-boat warfare poses an unacceptable threat to “freedom of the seas.” -
UNITED STATES IS ALERTED ABOUT THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM, WHICH REVEALS GERMAN PLOT AGAINST AMERICA
Intercepted weeks earlier by the British intelligence service, the United States is alerted about the Zimmermann Telegram. In the decoded message, German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann promises the return of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico as reward for siding with Germany if the U.S. enters the war. -
GERMAN U-BOAT SINKS THE S.S. AZTEC
The American steamer Aztec is torpedoed without warning by a German U-boat as it enters British waters. Twenty-eight Americans drown. -
PRESIDENT WILSON DELIVERS HIS WAR MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.
President Wilson delivers his war message in a historic joint session of the House and Senate, stating that the world must be made “safe for democracy” and asks for a declaration of war -
THE UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY
The day after an overwhelming majority in the Senate votes for war, President Wilson signs the declaration. The United States quickly puts the entire country on the road to war. Going from a standing army of 133,000 men with almost no heavy artillery pieces, millions of men were inducted into the armed forces over the next two years and given basic combat training. -
MILLIONS OF AMERICAN MEN REGISTER FOR SERVICE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE DRAFT
On the first day of the draft, millions of American men register for service under the Selective Service Act signed on May 18. Throughout the country, 9,586,508 men, ages 21 to 31, register at their local draft boards; in many places they are greeted by military bands and cheering onlookers. -
CONGRESS ENACTS THE ESPIONAGE ACT
The new law allows the government to censor publications sent through the mail; it makes it a crime to aid enemy nations or interfere with the draft. -
FIRST AMERICAN TROOPS LAND IN FRANCE
Heywood Broun, a correspondent with the American Expeditionary Forces, stated,
“American blacks in stevedore service were the first American arrivals in France in June 1917. They had been outfitted with old overcoats of the period shortly after the Civil War: blue coats with gold buttons and a lining of crimson.” -
FIRST AMERICAN COMBAT SOLDIERS KILLED
Soldiers of the First Division enter combat on the Western Front under French command. It is less than two weeks later, on Nov. 1, when First American soldiers, members of the 1st Division, are killed in action: James Gresham, Merle D. Hay and Thomas F. Enright -
U.S. CONGRESS PASSES ‘PROHIBITION’ AMENDMENT
The Eighteenth Amendment outlaws the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic liquors. The law is sent to the states for ratification. -
THE U.S. BEGINS DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Clocks are set forward one hour. The Congressional Act for “saving” daylight accompanies food, fuel, and other conservation programs. Canada joins the U.S. in saving daylight on April 15. -
U.S. WAR DEPARTMENT AUTHORIZES CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE
The CWS coordinates all aspects of chemical warfare including administration, research, gas defense, gas offensive, development, and medical training. -
GERMANY AND ALLIES SIGN THE PEACE TREATY
Representatives of Germany and the Allied and Associated Powers sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Chinese delegates refuse to sign in protest against the Shantung settlement that turns over German mines railroads and telegraph cables in China to the Japanese. -
TREATY OF PEACE WITH GERMANY IS SUBMITTED TO THE U.S. SENATE
President Wilson submits the Versailles Treaty to the Senate and the great debate ensues. -
WOMEN WIN THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Women’s suffrage amendment passes U.S. Congress in June 1919 and is ratified in August, 1920, giving American women the right to vote. -
TREATY OF SEVRES ENDS THE WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT WITH THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Again, the terms were harsh, as the Treaty divided the Middle East with a British-controlled Palestine and Iraq, French governed Syria and Lebanon, and an independent Kingdom of Hejaz (present-day Saudia Arabia).
