Quick Summary
- The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, during World War I. The U.S. was an independent power and did not officially join the Allies. It closely cooperated with the Allies militarily but acted alone in diplomacy. The U.S. made its major contributions in terms of supplies, raw material and money, starting in 1917. Before entering the war, the U.S. had remained neutral, though it had been an important supplier to Great Britain and the other Allied powers. During the war the U.S. mobilized over 4 million military personnel and suffered 110,000 deaths, including 43,000 due to the influenza pandemic
- The United States entered the War because of the Germans' decision to resume the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- WWI President Wilson adopted a neutral position in an effort to keep the United States of America from being drawn into the war in Europe.
- American allies consisted of French Republic, British Empire, and the Russian Empire.
- On May 24th 1917 the first U.S. convoy departed from the US to protect shipping to Europe.
- Military airfare first came out during the first world war when airplanes were used in combat.
- The cost of everything that went into World War One for the U.S. was more than $30 Billion.
- 400,000 African Americans were drafted during the war, and over 40,000 African Americans served overseas as combat troops.
- Dogs were used in World War 1 as messengers, carrying orders to the front lines in a capsule attached to their body.
- The U.S. was in World War 1 in actual combat for 7 1/2 months during which time 116,000 Americans were killed and 204,000 were wounded
Thomas Woodrow Wilson
- Wilson was part of the Treaty of Versailles and used “Fourteen Points” to negotiate it. He also is credited to creating the League of Nations. He was unable to get the US Senate to ratify membership though. Wilson tried to keep the US out of the war, but he relented and decided to join in when countless US ships were sunk all over the Atlantic Ocean due to a German U-boat campaign. Wilson was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920.
- Sergeant Alvin York was once described as World War I’s “greatest civilian soldier,” yet he began the conflict as a conscientious objector. A deeply devout man from the small mountain town of Pall Mall, Tennessee, York initially resisted serving on the grounds that violence was against his religion.
- Renegade pilot Frank Luke was America’s greatest “balloon buster,” the nickname assigned to the brash aviators who attacked German observation balloons used to sight artillery. Luke joined the 27th Aero Squadron in France in July 1918, and wasted little time in aggravating his fellow pilots with his cocky attitude and reckless flying style.
- Navy officer Edouard Izac’s remarkable odyssey began on May 31, 1918, when a German submarine torpedoed his ship, the USS President Lincoln, as it sailed near the coast of France. Most of the crew managed to escape, but Izac was captured and taken aboard the U-boat for the journey back to Germany. Unbeknownst to his captors, Izac was the son of German-speaking immigrants, and he used his knowledge of the language to collect vital information on German submarine operations.