The sinking of the Lusitania was one of the events that brought the United States into World War I. The topics in this section cover some of the major concepts and events related to the start of the First World War.
Versailles, Treaty of, the peace treaty at the end of World War I, signed on June 28, 1919, by Germany and by the Allied and Associated Powers. See more »
World War I, also known as the Great War, left Germany and other countries humiliated and angry. Germany viewed the armistice that ended World War I as a truce, rather than a surrender. This view was ignored. Learn about events that led to World War II.
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Gallipoli Campaign, an Allied attempt in 1915, during World War I, to seize the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey and thus gain control of the Dardanelles strait, opening a supply route from the west to Russia through the Black Sea.
See more »Algeciras Conference a meeting of European powers held in Algeciras, Spain, in 1906 to settle a Franco-German dispute over Morocco.
See more »American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), the official designation for United States troops serving in Europe in World War I.
See more »Balfour Declaration, a British policy statement made in 1917 concerning Palestine.
See more »Belleau Wood, Battle of, June 6-July 1, 1918, the second important engagement by United States troops in World War I.
See more »Constantine I (1868–1923), a king of Greece (1913–17 and 1920–22). He was born in Athens, received a military education in Germany, and was married to the sister of Kaiser William II.
See more »Zeppelin, Count Ferdinand von (1838–1917), a German army officer and originator of large rigid airships with multiple-balloon gas compartments.
See more »Curzon Line , the basis for the eastern boundary of Poland. It was first suggested in 1919 at the Versailles Peace Conference by Lord Curzon of Great Britain, who hoped to settle a long-standing border dispute between Russia and Poland.
See more »Dirigibleor Airship, a balloon that is self-propelled and that can be steered. There are three types: (1) the rigid dirigible, which holds its shape by means of a rigid metal framework around the gas cells; (2) the semirigid dirigible, which has a rigid keel along the bottom inside a single fabric gas bag, known as the envelope, but no framework around the envelope; and (3) the nonrigid dirigible, which holds its shape only by the pressure of the gas inside the fabric envelope.
See more »Cavell, 'l, Edith (1865–1915), an English nurse. She was put to death by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers to escape German-occupied Belgium during World War I.
See more »Rickenbacker, Edward Vernon (“Eddie”) (1890–1973), a United States aviator and America's top flying ace in World War I.
See more »Fourteen Points, The, a set of 14 principles proposed by President Woodrow Wilson as a basis for ending World War I and for keeping the peace thereafter.
See more »Gas Mask, a device that covers the face to protect the wearer from poisonous gases.
See more »Lausanne Conference, 1922–23, an international meeting held at Lausanne, Switzerland, from November, 1922, to July, 1923.
See more »League of Nations, the association of countries formed at the end of World War I to prevent war and to promote international peace and security.
See more »Liberty Loans, a series of loans by the people of the United States to their government to provide funds for the conduct of World War I and to make possible loans to the Allies.
See more »Lusitania, a British transatlantic liner sunk by a German submarine off Kinsale Head, Ireland, on May 7, 1915.
See more »Mata Hari (1876–1917), the stage name of a Dutch dancer who was convicted and executed by the French for espionage during World War I.
See more »Neutrality, in international law, the state of noninterference and of peaceful relations that one nation maintains with two or more nations at war with each other.
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