World War I and The Art of War

Timeline

1914

June 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie are assassinated

July 1914 – Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

August 1914 – Germany declares war on Russia, France, Belgium, and invades France
Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary
US declares its neutral stance
France declares war on Austria-Hungary
Japan declares war on Germany
Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium and invades Poland (Russian)

Front page of a newspaper. The headline reads: Germany is also ready to go into war. New York Stock Exchange is closed.

The Oklahoma City Times from July 31, 1914 (2012.201.B1349.0893, Oklahoma Publishing Company Photography Collection, OHS).

1915

January 1915 – Bread rationing introduced in Germany

May 1915 – German U-boat torpedoes the civilian ship Lusitania, including 128 US citizens

A photograph of the Lusitania leaving New York Harbor (image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

1916

June 1916 – National Defense Act signed into law expanding the size and scope of the US military

November 1916 – Woodrow Wilson is reelected

1917

February 1917 – US severs relations with Germany

April 1917 – US declares war on Germany and officially enters World War I

May 1917 – Selective Service Act

June 1917 – Espionage Act
First US Troops arrive in France
First Liberty Loan

July 1917 – First lottery of draft

December 1917 – The Eighteenth Amendment is passed and prohibition begins

1918

January 1918 – 14 Points

Illustrated poster with an figure of Uncle Sam pointing at a clock. The text reads: Victory! Congress passes Daylight Saving bill. Get your hoe ready!

Poster promoting the Daylight Saving bill (image courtesy Library of Congress).

March 1918 – Daylight saving time begins in the United States

November 1918 – Armistice (eleventh day, eleventh month, eleventh hour) World War I ends

Men, women, and children celebrate in the Paris streets on Armistice Day (image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

1919

January 1919 – Peace conference in Paris

February 1919 – League of Nations created

June 1919 – Germany and Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles

July 1919 – Treaty of Versailles is submitted to the Senate

August 1919 – The Nineteenth Amendment passed by Congress giving women the right to vote

November 1919 – Treaty of Versailles not ratified by Senate

This political cartoon shows a man representing the US Senate looking perplexed by the huge Peace Treaty scroll left by President Wilson (image courtesy of the Library of Congress).