The Start of the War – The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
World War I was called “The Great War” before World War II because people did not think there could be a repeat of the idiocy that reigned in Europe from 1914-1918. It started in Europe in August 1914 as a result of the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the […]
The Western Front
The war was fought on three different fronts: the Western Front (France), the Eastern Front (Russia, Poland and East Prussia) and the Southern Front (Turkey, the Balkans and the Middle East). Germany’s battle plan—The Schleiffin Plan—called for a surprise strike against France from the north through Belgium and Luxembourg instead of a direct assault across […]
The Christmas Truce of 1914
At Christmas time in 1914 an amazing event occurred at numerous places along the trench lines on the Western Front. The guns fell silent; soldiers declared a temporary truce and celebrated Christmas with each other. Remember, the trench lines were close enough that the opposing troops could yell back and forth. This allowed them to […]
The Southern Front-Gallipoli
One of the deadliest battles of World War I was in the Southern Theatre at Gallipoli, an area near the Dardanelles, the strait that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea. The strait was of great strategic importance to the Allies because it allowed them to transport troops and materiel to and from Russia. […]
United States Neutrality and German Submarine Warfare
President Woodrow Wilson, following the prevailing isolationist mood of the country, adopted a position of strict neutrality towards the European conflict: “neutral in thought as well as action.” Wilson’s campaign slogan for the 1916 presidential election was “He kept us out of war.” Wilson tried to broker a negotiated settlement among the warring factions, a […]
The United States Enters the War and Patriotic Music Supports the Effort
At the turn of the 20th century, sheet music was the primary source of music for the American family, which was enamored with the increasingly available piano. Parker, World War I Sheet Music, Vols. I and II, p.13.) By 1910 sales of sheet music had reached some two billion copies per year. (Id.) From the […]
Segregated Armed Forces
An interesting note about the participation of Americans in World War I was the fact that American service men were organized into segregated units. Black soldiers did not serve in white units and vice-versa. It was quite unlikely for black soldiers to serve in American combat units, serving instead in support functions, such as mess […]
The End of the War
The Armistice ending World War I was signed on November 11, 1918 at 11:11 AM. More than 10 million people were killed in the war, including about 115,000 Americans. President Wilson tried to convince the French and English to agree to a non-punitive peace. However, the terms of the Versailles Treaty imposed by France and […]
The Industrial Age
After the Civil War, the United States entered into a period of significant industrial growth. The first transcontinental railroad was completed. Many new inventions were developed, such as the telephone and other communication tools, electric lighting, transportation advances, medical treatments, motion pictures, and many more. New techniques for the processing of natural resources and the […]
Ellis Island and Immigration
The industrial growth was fueled by waves of immigration primarily from Europe and the Orient. Thirty one million people arrived in America between 1860 and 1930. (The Story of America, p. 328.) Nine million immigrants came to the United States between 1900-1910. (TFC, Vol. 1, 1900-1910, p. 72.) Former African-American slaves, who wanted to escape […]