World War 1

Triple Alliance -Central Powers

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire

Triple Entente

Britain, Russia, France

Neutral at Start

US and Italy

Schlieffen Plan

strategy to avoid 2 front war against France and Russia, thought that they could defeat France quickly and invade through Belgium forgetting about their new alliances

Balkans

power keg of Europe, was wanted by austria hungary and serbia, annexed by AH

New Warfare

trench warfare, tanks, explosives and chemical weapons, machine guns - led to high number of casualties

Lusitania

british passenger ship sunk by German U-boats, sinking turned US public opinion against Germany - wanted to protect economic interests

Sussex Pledge

pledged to stop sinking merchant ships without warning, passenger ships wouldn’t be targeted, merchant ships would be searched before sunk, provisions made for safety of crew and passengers

Wilson’s Initial Neutrality

favored neutrality because he was worried about divided loyalty with immigrants, “he kept us out of war”, called for “peace without victory” - no one loses or gains anything, German resumption of unrestricted sub warfare

Factors that pushed US into war

german submarine warfare threat, zimmerman telegraph, “make the world safe for democracy”, economic ties to britian and france, US propoganda

Groups against War