WW1 KEY PEOPLE

John Pershing

United States
Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
Led U.S. troops in Europe; insisted American forces fight independently, helping turn the side against Germany

Wilhelm II

Germany
German Emperor (Kaiser)

Supported militarism and expansion; abdicated in 1918 after Germany’s defeat

Winston Churchill

United Kingdom
First Lord of the Admiralty
Oversaw the British Navy; strongly supported the Gallipoli Campaign, which ultimately failed and led to his temporary resignation.

Franz Ferdinand

Austria-Hungary
Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne

His assassination in Sarajevo (1914) triggered the chain of events that led to the World War2

Woodrow Wilson

United States
President
Led the U.S. into WW1 in 1917; proposed the Fourteen Points and helped create the League of Nations

Paul Von Hindenburg

Germany
General; later Chief of the General Staff
Led German armies on the Eastern front; with Ludendorff executively ruled Germany during the later war year.

Tsar Nicholas II

Russia
Emperor (Tsar) of Russia
Led Russia into WW1; military failures contributed to the Russian Revolution and his abdication

Gavrilo Princip

Bosnia (under Austria-Hungary)
Nationalist Assassin
Assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, directly sparking WW1

Arthur Zimmerman

Germany
Foreign Secretary
Send the Zimmerman Telegram, proposing an alliance with Mexico against the U.S. helping push the U.S. into WW1

Sir Charles Townshend

United Kingdom
British General
Commanded British forces in mesopotamia; surrendered at Kut (1916)— a major British Defeat

Prince Max Von Baden

Germany
Chancellor of Germany (1918)
Negotiated Germany’s surrender and announced Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication

Alfred von Tirpitz

Germany
Grand Admiral
Built up the German Navy; promoted unrestricted submarine warfare

Alfred Schlieffen

Germany
Chief of the German General Staff
Developed the Schlieffen Plan, Germany’s strategy to quickly defeat

David Lloyd George

United Kingdom
Prime Minister
Led Britain during the latter part of the war; helped negotiate the Treaty of Versailles

Franz Joseph I

Austria-Hungary
Emperor
Issued the ultimatum to Serbia after Franz Ferdinand’s assassination

Vladimir Lenin

Russia
Bolshevik Leader
Less the Russian Revolution; signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, pulling Russia out of WW1

Grigori Rasputin

Russia
Royal advisory and mystic
Influenced the royal family; his role worsened public distrust of the monarchy

Baron Von Richtofen

Germany
Fighter Pilot (ace)

Most famous WW1 pilot, credited with 90 aerial victories

Douglas Heig

United Kingdom
Commander of british expeditionary forces
Led major battles such as the Somme, and Passchendaele, known for high casualties.