World War 1

  • The Sinking of the Lusitania

    The Sinking of the Lusitania

    Germany's declaration of a war zone around Britain, its warning to U.S. travelers, the May 7, 1915 torpedoing of the ship by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland
  • The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    His death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist triggered a series of diplomatic and military escalations, including Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, which in turn activated a complex web of European alliances, leading to a chain reaction that plunged the continent into a devastating global conflict
  • American Neutrality in world War I

    American Neutrality in world War I

    At the start of WWI, President Woodrow Wilson declared the U.S. would remain neutral, a policy supported by many Americans.
  • The Battle of the Marne

    The Battle of the Marne

    the German advance to the Marne River, the Allied counterattack which exploited a gap in the German lines, the use of Parisian taxicabs to rapidly reinforce French troops, and the subsequent German retreat which ended the Schlieffen Plan and led to trench warfare.
  • The Battle of the Verdun

    for its immense human cost, its symbolic significance as a testament to French resolve, and its impact on the overall strategy of World War I.
  • The Sussex Incident

    it directly led to the Sussex Pledge, a German promise to the United States to alter its naval warfare tactics
  • The battle of the Somme

    one of the costliest battles in history, highlighting the brutal realities of trench warfare, and it led to important tactical and operational lessons that helped the Allies win the war.
  • The Zimmermann Telegram

    The Zimmermann Telegram

    shifting American public opinion and ultimately contributing to the United States' entry into World War