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Allies
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. -
Central Powers
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 alliances provided a measure of international security
because nations were reluctant to disturb the balance of power. As it turned out,
a spark set off a major conflict. -
1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian Empire, was killed along with his wife during a drive while visiting Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia. This event is generally accepted by historians as being the immediate cause of the First World War, though tensions had been previously building. -
Schlieffen Plan
On August 3, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium, following
a strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan. This plan called
for a holding action against Russia, combined with a quick
drive through Belgium to Paris; after France had fallen, the
two German armies would defeat Russia. As German
troops swept across Belgium, thousands of civilians fled in
terror. -
Sinking of the British liner
One of the worst disasters occurred on May 7, 1915, when a U-boat sank the
British liner Lusitania (lLQsG-tAPnC-E) off the southern coast of Ireland. Of the
1,198 persons lost, 128 were Americans. The Germans defended their action on
the grounds that the liner carried ammunition. Despite Germany’s explanation,
Americans became outraged with Germany because of the loss of life. American
public opinion turned against Germany and the Central Powers. -
Sinking of the French passenger liner Sussex
But 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. -
Battle of the Somme
During the First Battle of the Somme—
which began on July 1, 1916, and lasted until mid-November—the British suffered
60,000 casualties the first day alone. Final casualties totaled about 1.2 million,
yet only about seven miles of ground changed hands. -
Trench Warfare
This bloody trench
warfare, in which armies fought for mere yards of ground, continued for over
three years. Elsewhere, the fighting was just as devastating and inconclusive. -
Wilson's "peace without victory" speech
After the election, Wilson tried to mediate between the warring alliances. The
attempt failed. In a speech before the Senate in January 1917, the president called
for “a peace without victory. . . . a peace between equals,” in which neither side
would impose harsh terms on the other. Wilson hoped that all nations would join
in a “league for peace” that would work to extend democracy, maintain freedom of
the seas, and reduce armaments. -
Committee on Public Information and the "four minute men"
To popularize the war, the government
set up the nation’s first propaganda agency, the Committee on Public
Information (CPI). The head of the CPI was a former muckraking
journalist named George Creel. He
recruited some 75,000 men to serve as “Four-Minute Men,” who spoke about
everything relating to the war: the draft, rationing, bond drives, victory gardens,
and topics such as “Why We Are Fighting” and “The Meaning of America.” -
Selective Service Act of 1917
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 -
Germany blockades the North Sea
Germany responded to the British
blockade with a counterblockade by U-boats (from Unterseeboot, the
German word for a submarine). Any British or Allied ship found in the
waters around Britain would be sunk—and it would not always be possible to
warn crews and passengers of an attack. -
Zimmermann note
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. The
telegram proposed an alliance between
Mexico and Germany and promised
that if war with the United States broke
out, Germany would support Mexico in
recovering “lost territory in Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona.” Next came the
sinking of four unarmed American merchant
ships, with a loss of 36 lives -
Bolshevik Revolution
Revolutionaries ousted the czar
in March 1917 and established
a provisional government. In
November, the Bolsheviks, led by
Lenin and Trotsky, overthrew the
provisional government. They set
up a Communist state and sought
peace with the Central Powers. -
396th Infantry Regiment
The all-black 369th Infantry Regiment saw more continuous duty on the front
lines than any other American regiment. Two soldiers of the 369th, Henry
Johnson and Needham Roberts, were the first Americans to receive France’s
highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre—the “cross of war.” -
Convoy System
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. -
American Expeditionary Force and General John J. Pershing
The American Expeditionary Force (AEF), led by
General John J. Pershing, included men from widely
separated parts of the country. American infantrymen were
nicknamed doughboys, possibly because of the white belts
they wore, which they cleaned with pipe clay, or “dough.” -
Shell shock, trench foot, and trench mouth
Physical problems included a disease called trench foot, caused by standing
in cold wet trenches for long periods of time without changing into dry socks
or boots. First the toes would turn red or blue, then they would become numb,
and finally they would start to rot. The only solution was to amputate the toes,
and in some cases the entire foot. A painful infection of the gums and throat,
called trench mouth, was also common among the soldiers -
Second Battle of the Marne
The turning point of the war. Allies
advance steadily after defeating
the Germans. -
Conscientious objector
A redheaded mountaineer and blacksmith from Tennessee, York sought
exemption as a conscientious objector, a person who opposes warfare
on moral grounds, pointing out that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” -
Austria-Hungary surrenders to the Allies
On November 3, 1918, AustriaHungary
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 revolutionary
councils. On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital,
Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne. -
Establishment of the German republic
On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital,
Berlin, established a German republic. The kaiser gave up the throne. -
Cease-fire and armistice
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. -
War Industries Board
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 businessman.
The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to
increase efficiency -
National War Labor Board
To deal with disputes between management and labor, President Wilson established
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 -
Food Administration
To help produce and conserve food,
Wilson set up the Food Administration
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 “meatless,”
another “sweetless,” two
days “wheatless,” and two other
days “porkless.” -
Raising money for the war
The United States spent about $35.5 billion on the war effort.
The government raised about one-third of this amount through taxes, including
a progressive income tax (which taxed high incomes at a higher rate than low
incomes), a war-profits tax, and higher excise taxes on tobacco, liquor, and luxury
goods. It raised the rest through public borrowing by selling “Liberty Loan” and
“Victory Loan” bonds. -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
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, profane,
or abusive about the government or the war effort. -
Eugene V. Debs arrest
The Espionage and Sedition Acts targeted socialists and labor leaders.
Eugene V. Debs was handed a ten-year prison sentence for speaking out
against the war and the draft. -
Emma Goldman
The anarchist Emma Goldman received a
two-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine for organizing the No
Conscription League. When she left jail, the authorities deported her to
Russia. “Big Bill” Haywood and other leaders of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) were accused of sabotaging the war effort because they
urged workers to strike for better conditions and higher pay. -
Big Bill Haywood and the IWW
“Big Bill” Haywood and other leaders of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) were accused of sabotaging the war effort because they
urged workers to strike for better conditions and higher pay. Haywood
was sentenced to a long prison term. (He later skipped bail and fled to
Russia.) Under such federal pressure, the IWW faded away. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
- No secret treaties among nations
- Freedom of the seas should be maintained for all.
- Tariffs and other economic barriers among nations should be lowered or abolished in order to foster free trade.
- Arms should be reduced “to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety, thus lessening the possibility of military responses” during diplomatic crises.
- Colonial policies should consider the interests of the colonial peoples as well as the interests of the imperialist powers.
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Anti-German sentiment in America
Finally, in a burst of anti-German fervor, Americans changed the name of
German measles to “liberty measles.” Hamburger—named after the German city
of Hamburg—became “Salisbury steak” or “liberty sandwich,” depending on
whether you were buying it in a store or eating it in a restaurant. Sauerkraut was
renamed “liberty cabbage,” and dachshunds turned into “liberty pups.” -
Reparations and the War Guilt Clause
It contained a war-guilt clause
forcing Germany to admit sole responsibility for starting World War I. Although
German militarism had played a major role in igniting the war, other European
nations had been guilty of provoking diplomatic crises before the war.
Furthermore, there was no way Germany could pay the huge financial
reparations. Germany was stripped of its colonial possessions in the Pacific, which
might have helped it pay its reparations bill. -
Agreements made in the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles established
nine new nations—including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia—and shifted
the boundaries of other nations. It carved five areas out of the Ottoman Empire
and gave them to France and Great Britain as mandates, or temporary colonies.
Those two Allies were to administer their respective mandates until the areas were
ready for self-rule and then independence
