A Very Short Recap of WWI History
Following the European wars of the 1870’s countries wanted to be prepared for any future war. They knew they needed the support of other countries to win. European countries formed alliances, both public and secret, to go to war if their ally was attacked. In 1914 the assassination of a minor Serbian official gave Austria-Hungry the excuse for declaring war on Serbia. Because of ‘entangled alliances’ all the nations in Europe were obligated to go to war. For more details on the causes of WWI see: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26048324 While the United States was neutral, it provided supplies primarily to the Allied Powers. Germany retaliated by sinking shipping that killed many US citizens which ultimately caused the US to declare war on Germany in April 1917. For more details see: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/wwi The German Kaiser wanted to capture Paris and end the war in about 42 days. They attacked in August 1914 through neutral Belgium and were stopped in France on what was called ‘The Western Front’, which eventually consisted of extensive trench fortifications. The initial 14,000 American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F) arrived in summer 1917. By May 1918 a million U.S. soldiers arrived, with 500,000 serving on the Western Front. American battle tactics were successful and the war ended November 11, 1918. For more details: https://www.loc.gov/collections/stars-and-stripes/articles-and-essays/a-world-at-war/american-expeditionary-forces/
The Major Allied Powers
Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States
The Central Powers
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Modern Warfare
Machine guns, tanks, airplanes, radio communications, chemical weapons
Casualties
All military: Killed 9 million+, Wounded 21 million+
All civilians: Killed and Wounded 10 million
United States Military: 4,700,000 served
116,516 Americans died
(53,000 of whom were killed in action, 63,000 had died of disease)
and 205,000 had been wounded.
The United States in World War I
Presented by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission.
(PDF – 20 pages, 16.5 MB)
History_of_WWI-By_the_WWI_Centennial_Commission
A War Catechism: questions and answers concerning the great World War, its causes and progress, our country’s part in it, our duties as citizens.
An compilation of questions and answers of the main historical and current war related events. It was created for students to understand the causes and situation of World War I. It covered the war to the middle of May, 1918. In May 1918 Company L arrived in France. The Catechism was created for teachers of all grade levels so they could create lesson plans. Consisting of 48 pages it ends with an admonition for teachers to add content as the war progressed. While designed for students, it provides a very short recap of the historical causes and status of WWI that should be valuable to those with limited WWI knowledge.
Link to 48 page 6 MB PDF A War Catechism dated 1918 or select image below.
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This item is from the World War I collection from the Illinois Digital Archives. The Illinois Digital Archives is maintained by the Illinois State Library, an office of the Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian. Used with permission. Source: http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/isl8/id/1936/rec/2
The 33rd Division during WWI
– Newspaper article, The Decatur Review, Sunday May 25, 1919 –
A short history of the 33rd Division.
