World War I (1914-1918)

1. World War I (1914-1918) Key People and Events

3. Woodrow Wilson • President of the USA (1913-1921) • Opposed imperialism • Declared the U.S. neutral at the outbreak of WWI • President when the US declared war on Germany and the Central Powers in April, 1917 • Unrestricted submarine warfare • Zimmemann Message

4. Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) • German Kaiser • Wilhelm was an overtly militaristic man • Sought to strengthen Germany's armed forces.  • Wanted to develop a German navy the equal of Britain's Royal Navy

5. Archduke Franz Ferdinand • Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne • Visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo in late June 1914 • A Serbian nationalist named GavriloPrinciprushed his car and shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife to death. • Following his assassination, the Austro-Hungarian government decides to crush Serbia in order to prevent Slavic nationalism from undermining its empire.

6. Arthur Zimmerman • A German official who sent a note to the German ambassador in Mexico in January, 1917 known as the Zimmermann telegram. • Instructed him to make an offer to the Mexican government: • Mexico should ally itself with Germany in the event of war between Germany and the USA • In return, Mexico would regain its “lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona” after the war • The note made Americans angry and convinced many to enter World War I on the side of the Allies

7. Lusitania • A British liner, one of the world’s largest passenger ships, sunk without warning in May, 1915 by German. U-boats (submarine) • Killed 1,198 people (including 128 Americans).

8. Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution • In April 1914, President Wilson ordered US troops to seize the Mexican port of Veracruz to help Venustiano Carranza overthrow the government of Victoriano Huerta. • Huerta had overthrown the democratically elected president of Mexico led by Francisco Madero and killed him. • Wilson was outraged and refused to recognize the Huerta’s government. • Wilson used the invasion as a pretext to help Carranza seize power and prevent Mexican nationalists like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata from seizing power.

9. Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution • Feeling betrayed, Pancho Villa led a group of Mexican guerrillas in an attack on the small town of Columbus, New Mexico in 1916. • Villa’s force burned the town and killed several Americans • Wilson responded by sending 6,000 U.S. troops led by General John J. Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa • Pershing did not succeed and was later recalled and sent to Europe when the US entered WWI

10. Czar Nicholas II • Leader and last Czar of the Russian empire • Ascended to the throne in 1894 • In March, 1917, after three long years of war and scarcity of food and fuel, Russians rebelled against Czar Nicholas II. • He abdicated the throne in February, 1917 • He was executed by the Bolsheviks in July 1918

11. Vladimir Lenin • Leader of the Bolshevik Party, a group of Communists in Russia. • Helped organize the overthrow of the Russian government in November, 1917. • After taking power, he agreed to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany on March 3rd, 1918. • Withdrew Russia from WWI • Russia ceded the Ukraine, its Polish and Baltic territories, and Finland to Germany

12. John J. Pershing • Commander of the American forces in World War I. • Led American forces at the Battle of the Argonne Forest

13. Battle of the Argonne Forest • Turning Point of WWI • Began on September 26th, 1918 • Led by U.S. General John J. Pershing • Involved 600,000 American troops • Americans suffer heavy losses, but shatter the German defenses • Germany later surrendered on November 11th, 1918 • Armistice: cease-fire

14. Europe after World War I (1923)

15. Europe Before/After WWI