-
Allies
consisted of France, Britain, and
Russia -
Central Powers
consisted of Germany and Austria-Hungary, together with the Ottoman Empire—an empire of
mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks -
1914 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand 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. Princip was a member of the
Black Hand, an organization promoting Serbian nationalism. -
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 -
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. -
Sinking of the British liner Lusitania
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 the British liner Arabic
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. -
Trench Warfare
armies fought for mere yards of ground in trenches -
Sinking of the French passenger liner Sussex
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. -
Battle of 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. -
Wilson's "peace without victory" speech
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. -
Zimmerman 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.” -
369 Infantry Regiment
Most African Americans were assigned to noncombat duties, although there were exceptions. The all-black 369th Infantry Regiment saw more continuous duty on the front lines than any other American regiment. -
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 -
War industries board
The board encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency. It also urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products—for instance, by making only 5 colors of typewriter ribbons instead of 150. The WIB set production quotas and allocated raw materials. -
Espionage and sedition acts
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. -
Convoy System
a heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic in groups. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
Selective Service Act of 191
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. -
Second Battle of Marne
The Americans arrived just in time to help stop the German advance at Cantigny in France. Several weeks later, U.S. troops played a major role in throwing back German attacks at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood. In July and August, they helped win the Second Battle of the Marne. The tide had turned against the Central Powers. In September, U.S. soldiers began to mount offensives against the Germans at Saint-Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne area -
wilson's fourteen points
On January 18, 1918, he delivered his now famous Fourteen Points speech before Congress. The points were divided into three groups. The first five points were issues that Wilson believed had to be addressed to prevent another war -
Conscientious objector
a person who opposes warfare on moral grounds, pointing out that the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” -
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 m“gospel of the clean plate.” -
Raising money for the war
The government sold bonds through tens of thousands of volunteers. Movie stars spoke at rallies in factories, in schools, and on street corners. -
Committee on Public Information and the "four minute men"
The head of the CPI was a former muckraking journalist named George Creel. Creel persuaded the nation’s artists and advertising agencies to create thousands of paintings, posters, cartoons, and sculptures promoting the war. 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.” -
Anti german sentiment in America
The most bitter attacks were directed against the nearly 2 million Americans who had been born in Germany, but other foreign born persons and Americans of German descent suffered as well. -
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. It pushed for an
eight-hour workday, promoted safety inspections, and enforced
the child labor ban. -
Austria-Hungary surrenders to allies
On November 3, 1918, Austria Hungary surrendered to the Allies. That same day, German sailors mutinied against government authority. The mutiny spread quickly -
Establishment of the German Republic
Everywhere in Germany, groups of soldiers and workers organized revolutionary councils. On November 9, socialist leaders in the capital, Berlin, established a German republic. -
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. -
Reparations and the war guild clause
required Germany to return the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France and to pay reparations, or war damages, amounting to $33 billion to the Allies.
