American Involvement in WW1

Neutrality Shortly after the war broke out, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation of neutrality on August 4, The neutrality of the United States proved difficult to maintain, however, especially when it came to trade. Germany used newly invented submarines to attack shipping traveling between North America and Europe, but the British blockade of the Central Powers was much more effective in choking off trade. While U.S. commerce with the Allies increased threefold between 1914 and 1916, during the same two years, trade with Germany plunged to less than 1% of its original worth.

Lusitania A U-boat is a torpedo- equipped submarine developed by the Germans during World War I. On May 7, 1915, a German U- boat sank the British ocean liner Lusitania. – Some 1,198 people drowned, including 128 U.S. citizens, arousing a wave of indignation in the United States. The incident indirectly contributed to the United States' entry into World War I in 1917.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Germany hoped to avoid direct American intervention on the side of the Allies. By January 1917, however, the German High Command decided to resume unrestricted submarine warfare, as it believed that Germany could win the war against the exhausted Allies before the United States could bring its full force to bear in the conflict.

Zimmermann Note In late February, 1917, the British government revealed that it had intercepted a telegram from German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador in Mexico proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the United States. When word of the telegram leaked, the U.S. public turned decisively against Germany, and Wilson finally asked for a declaration of war.

To Arms On April 6, 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the Allied Powers. American support brought huge numbers of fresh troops 4 million in all. Furthermore, the U.S. economy turned to wartime production. The result was fatal for the German cause.

Armistice With its Western Front collapsing and wartime shortages crippling both its military and civilian populations, Germany signed an armistice with the Allied Powers on November 11, 1918; – it took effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. The war had wrought unimaginable death and destruction—40 million casualties and 9 million dead—and virtually wiped out an entire generation of young men in Europe.

Versailles The Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, changed the map of Europe. – Germany had to concede several territories and give up all its overseas colonies to the Allied Powers, as well as pay extensive reparations for war damage. The severity of the treaty led to huge resentment in Germany and contributed to Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s, which ultimately led to World War II.

Aftermath During the course of the war, many of the involved countries went through radical change. – Russia came under the control of the communists in the Russian Revolution – Austria-Hungary disintegrated into several small, disunited states. – Monarchies toppled in several countries, including: Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary. The United States, meanwhile, emerged from the war as a global military and economic power.