World War I

Committee on Public Information

1919 BCE

To popularize the war, the govern- ment set up the nation’s first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public Information (CPI). Propaganda is a kind of biased communication designed to influence people’s thoughts and actions. The head of the CPI was a former muck- raking journalist named George Creel.

Food Administration

1919 BCE

To help produce and conserve food,Wilson set up the Food Admin- 1918 istration 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 “meat- of the United States less,” 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.

Second Battle of the Marne

1918 BCE

The Second Battle of the Marne (French: Seconde Bataille de la Marne), or Battle of Reims (15 July – 6 August 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War.

Austria-Hungary surrenders to the Allies

1918 BCE

On November 3, 1918, Austria- Hungary surrendered to the Allies. That same day, German sailors mutinied against government authority. The mutiny spread quickly. Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized rev- olutionary councils.

Cease-fire and armistice

1918 BCE

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

1918 BCE

To deal with disputes between management and labor, President Wilson estab- lished 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.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

1918 BCE

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.

Establishment of the German Republic

1918 BCE

On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital, Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne.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.

Selective Service Act of 1917

1917 BCE

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.

Convoy System

1917 BCE

German U-boat attacks on merchant ships in the Atlantic were a serious threat to the Allied war effort. 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.

War Industries Board

1917 BCE

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 (bE-rLkP), a prosperous business- man. The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency.

Zimmermann note

1917 BCE

The overt acts came. First was the Zimmermann note, a telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico that was intercepted by British agents. It was an internal diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States' entering World War I against Germany.

Battle of the Somme

1916 BCE

The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire.

Sinking of French passenger liner Sussex

1916 BCE

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.

Sinking of British liner Lusitania

1915 BCE

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.

Sinking of British liner Arabic

1915 BCE

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.

Central Powers

1914 BCE

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.The Central Powers were a group of nations fighting against the Allied Powers during World War I; The members included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and their territories.

1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

1914 BCE

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.

Allies

1907 BCE

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

Schlieffen Plan

1905 BCE

The Schlieffen Plan was the German army's plan for war against France and Russia . It was created by the German Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen in 1903 the request of Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was revised in 1905.