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Harold Riley
Harold Riley spent most of his brief time in captivity. The war ended a month after he was released. Riley was under medical attention for his wounds. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. His death was what set off a chain of events that caused WWI. He was assassinated along with his wife sophie by a serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip -
Aug 3rd, 1914. Germany Invades Belgium
Germany declared war on France and needed a better stance on France. They wanted free passage through Belgium, but Belgium refused because they were a neutral country. Since Belgium refused Germany decided to invade them and cause a war zone in spite of their neutrality -
Lusitania
A German U-boat sank the passenger boat Lusitania. More than 1,000 people died on the Lusitania. This made the American people rethink being in favor of neutrality in the war. It was later revealed that the Lusitania was carrying war munitions from the US to Great Britain. -
Battle of Verdun
The French were defending against the Germans trying to take their fortresses around Verdun. German forces moved in February the Germans called off their offensive in mid-July,The French retook their forts and by mid-December, both sides had more than 600,000 casualties. -
Zimmerman telegraph
The Zimmerman telegram was an intercepted encrypted message from Germany to Mexico. Germany proposed an alliance with Mexico so they would fight the Americans there. The Germans became informed that the British had cracked their code and sent a warning to the Mexican embassy -
US declares War
Woodrow Wilson declared his reasons for going to war with Germany were Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare, as well as its attempts to have an alliance against the United States with Mexico. -
Selective Service Act
Selective Service Act is the act that enabled the draft. Due to the large number of fighting in Europe and need for strength, President Woodrow Wilson thought the best way to get people to go to war is not really giving them an option. The act required all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. By the end of the war almost 2.8 million men had been drafted -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia signed a treaty with the Central Powers ending its participation in World War I.armistice ending World War I and marking the Allies’ victory over Germany, the treaty was annulled. By the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to give up its territorial gains from the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. -
Crash
Sent to scout the Bois de Consenvoye , he didn't expect Upon turning to make for the airfield, he saw four German airplanes.. He then was taken prisoner by the Germans. -
The Armistice of Villa Giusti
The Armistice of Villa Giusti ended warfare between Italy and Austria-Hungary. -
End of ww1
Germany signed an armistice that had been prepared by Britain and France. This ended ended the fighting between the central powers and allied powers -
Wings
Harold Riley received his Pilot's "Wings" in Tours, France, around Easter. 1918 Riley was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the Army Air service. -
Harold Riley's achievements
Riley was decorated with the "Military Order of the Purple Heart," given to Americans injured while on active duty. It is now on of his grandsons possession. -
Home
Riley then boarded a ship to Denmark. He was able to leave for France. From there, he was finally able to return to the US
