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The First World WarWar at Home & Abroad &
Treaty of Versailles &
Fourteen Points
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Assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
(June 1914)
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The following is an eyewitness account of the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand’s bodyguard.
He was one of those in the car when the Archduke of Austria-Hungary
was shot.
“At that, I seized the Archduke by the collar of his uniform, to stop his
head dropping forward and asked him if he was in great pain. He
answered me quite distinctly, 'It's nothing!' His face began to twist
somewhat but he went on repeating, six or seven times, ever more
faintly as he gradually lost consciousness, 'It's nothing!' Then, after a
short pause, there was a violent choking sound caused by the
bleeding. It was stopped as we reached the Konak."
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Woodrow Wilson:
U.S. Declaration of Neutrality
(August 19, 1914)
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Austria-Hungary declared war on
Serbia in July, 1914 after the
assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand.
This one declaration of war
brought many other world
powers into war because of the
alliances each country had made
prior to the outbreak of war.
President Wilson declared the
United States neutral at the
outset of war.
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German Declaration of Naval
Blockade Against Shipping to
Britain (February 4, 1915)
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The following is the declaration by the German government
informing countries around the world that Germany was establishing
a war zone
Germany did this in response to Britain’s naval blockade of
Germany.
“The waters round Great Britain and Ireland, including the English
Channel, are hereby proclaimed a war region.
On and after February 18th every enemy merchant vessel found in
this region will be destroyed, without its always being possible to
warn the crews or passengers of the dangers threatening.”
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President Wilson: U.S. 'Strict
Accountability' Warning to Germany
(February 10, 1915)
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After World War I started Great Britain blockaded Germany.
In response Germany declared a War Zone around Great Britain
and used unrestricted submarine warfare sinking all ships
regardless if they were belligerents or neutral countries.
In the following Wilson warned that the US would hold Germany
accountable for any harm done to Americans or their property on the
seas.
“the Imperial German Government can readily appreciate that the
Government of the United States would be constrained to hold the
Imperial Government of Germany to a strict accountability…and to
take any steps it might be necessary to take to safeguard American
lives and property and to secure to American citizens the full
enjoyment of their acknowledged rights on the high seas.”
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The Lusitania and Unrestricted
Submarine Warfare
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Propaganda Leaflettes
from World War I
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The following excerpts include examples of leaflets dropped over enemy
lines from planes and balloons.
These are great examples of the types of psychological tricks employed
by the combatants during the war.
* British leaflet dropped into German trenches by balloon:
FOR WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING, MICHEL?
They tell you that you are fighting for the Fatherland.
Have you ever thought why you are fighting?
You are fighting to glorify Hindenburg, to enrich Krupp.
You are struggling for the Kaiser, the Junkers, and the
militarists....
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U.S. Propaganda Posters
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German Ambassador
Count Johann von Bernstorff:
letter to Robert Lansing, U.S.
Secretary of State
(January 31, 1917)
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This is a response from The German Ambassador to the
Secretary of State regarding President Wilson’s stance on
unrestricted submarine warfare
“The German people also repudiate all alliances which serve to
force the countries into a competition for might and to involve
them in a net of selfish intrigues. On the other hand, Germany
will gladly cooperate in all efforts to prevent future wars.”
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President Wilson: Address to
Congress (February 3, 1917)
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This is President Wilson’s response to Germany’s
decision to resume unrestricted submarine warfare.
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“Unless the Imperial Government should now
immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its
present methods of submarine warfare against
passenger and freight carrying vessels, the Government
of the United States can have no choice but to sever
diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether.”
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Arthur Zimmermann:
Decoded message text of the
Zimmermann Telegram
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The following is a letter the German foreign minister Arthur
Zimmermann wrote to Mexico.
Germany wanted to try and beat the Allied Powers before the U.S.
joined.
Germany thought if the U.S. were to be fighting a war against
Mexico in the U.S. they would not send troops to fight in Europe.
This note was published in U.S. newspapers and angered most
Americans. A month later the U.S. declared war on Germany, April 4,
1917.
“keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not
succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal or alliance on the following
basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial
support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to
reconquer the lost territory”
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The Espionage Act
(May 16, 1917)
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The following act was passed by Congress shortly after
the United States declared war on Germany in April,
1917.
Congress passed this to silence people who did not
support the war in the U.S.
“and whoever shall wilfully advocate, teach, defend, or
suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this
section enumerated and whoever shall by word or act
support or favor the cause of any coun try with which the
United States is at war or by word or act oppose the
cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a
fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not
more than twenty years, or both”
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Woodrow Wilson:
Fourteen Points
(January 8, 1918)
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The following is President Wilson’s plan to end World War I;
The Fourteen Points.
He delivered this plan to congress January 8, 1918 after an
armistice was signed to stop the war in Europe November 11,
1918.
“What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to
ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and
particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation
which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own
institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other
peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression”
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Peace Treaty of Versailles:
Articles 159-213;
Military, Naval and Air Clauses
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After World War I ended a peace conference was held in
Paris.
At this peace Conference the Big 4 (President Wilson from the
U.S., Prime Minister David Lloyd George from Great Britain,
Premier Georges Clemenceau from France, and Prime
Minister Vittorio Orlando from Italy) dominated the peace
talks.
The Treaty of Versailles was the treaty that Germany signed.
The terms of the treaty were very harsh and disliked by
Germans.
The Treaty of Versailles made many German soldiers, like
Adolf Hitler, bitter about the results of World War I.
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