United States
The United States in the First World War →Tag
(199)1914
1915
January
February
- 11
- US note on neutral flagsOn 11 February 1915 the US ambassador in London delivered a note urging the British not to let their ships fly the American flag in the war zone.
- Dacia sails for BremenIn February 1915 the steamer Dacia, bought from a German shipowner by an American, set off across the Atlantic with cotton intended for Bremen.
March
April
May
- 09
- Wilson on the sinking of the LusitaniaAfter the Lusitania was sunk President Wilson long kept silent. On 10 May 1915 in Philadelphia he said that a man could be "too proud to fight".
- China accepts Japan's demandsOn the night of 8–9 May 1915 Yuan Shikai's government accepted the Japanese ultimatum. In China 9 May was named the Day of National Humiliation.
June
August
September
October
November
December
1916
January
- 15
- Möwe captures the AppamOn 15 January 1916 the raider Möwe captured the British liner Appam off Madeira. A German prize crew took her with prisoners to the United States.
- Publication of the Papen papersIn mid-January 1916 the papers taken from Papen by the British at Falmouth were made public. The stubs of his cheques pointed to the agents he had paid.
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
October
November
- 22
- Resignation of JagowOn 22 November 1916 Gottlieb von Jagow left the head of German diplomacy, officially for his health, in reality over the dispute about submarine warfare.
- Zimmermann becomes foreign secretaryOn 22 November 1916 Arthur Zimmermann of Marggrabowa took charge of German diplomacy, the first commoner ever to head the Reich's Foreign Office.
December
1917
January
February
March
April
May
- 18
- Selective Service Act comes into forceOn 18 May 1917 Wilson signed the draft law and set 5 June for registering men aged 21 to 30. He also refused Roosevelt his volunteer divisions.
- Nicaragua breaks off relations with GermanyOn 18 May 1917 Nicaragua's Congress broke off relations with Germany and let President Chamorro offer the US the country's ports and territorial waters.
June
July
August
September
- 21
- The Bernstorff affairOn 21 September 1917 Lansing released a cable in which Ambassador Bernstorff asked Berlin for $50,000 to influence Congress. Washington was in uproar.
- Costa Rica breaks off relations with GermanyOn 21 September 1917 Federico Tinoco's government, not recognised by Washington, broke off relations with Germany, hoping to win over Wilson.
October
November
December
- 07
- Key eventUnited States declares war on Austria-HungaryOn 7 December 1917 Congress, at Wilson's request, declared the United States at war with Austria-Hungary. Only one congressman voted against.
- Ecuador breaks off relations with GermanyOn 7 December 1917 Ecuador broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, following Peru and Uruguay, which had done so in October.
- American battleships join the Grand FleetOn 7 December 1917 Rear Admiral Rodman's four American dreadnoughts entered Scapa Flow. They joined the Grand Fleet as the 6th Battle Squadron.
1918
January
February
March
April
- 23
- Key eventGuatemala declares war on GermanyOn 23 April 1918 President Estrada Cabrera promulgated a decree by which Guatemala adopted towards Germany the same belligerent attitude as the United States.
- Motono resignsOn 23 April 1918 Japan's ailing foreign minister Ichirō Motono resigned. He was replaced by Shinpei Gotō, also a supporter of intervention in Siberia.
May
June
July
- 19
- Key eventHonduras declares war on GermanyOn 19 July 1918 President Francisco Bertrand declared a state of war with Germany by decree. Honduras was the last of eight Latin American states to do so.
- Sinking of the San DiegoOn 19 July 1918 off Fire Island near New York the armoured cruiser San Diego struck a mine laid by U-156. Six sailors were killed.
August
- 02
- Allies in ArchangelOn 2 August 1918 conspirators overthrew Bolshevik rule in Archangel and General Poole's ships sailed into the city. Nikolai Chaikovsky formed a government.
- Japan decides to interveneOn 2 August 1918 Japan announced it would send troops to Vladivostok at the US request to help the Czechoslovaks, but would not fix their number in advance.
- 07
- Second Battle of the Marne endsOn 6 August 1918 Pétain halted attacks on the German line beyond the Vesle; on 7 August he proclaimed victory. The Americans still fought for Fismette.
- Sinking of the Dupetit-ThouarsOn 7 August 1918 U-62 torpedoed the French armoured cruiser Dupetit-Thouars in the Atlantic as it escorted a convoy from New York. About a dozen sailors died.
September
- 04
- The Allies take ObozerskayaOn 4 September 1918 the Allies took Obozerskaya station on the Archangel–Vologda railway. Its defence collapsed when a Red regiment went over to them.
- Americans arrive in ArchangelOn 4 September 1918 about 4,500 Americans, mainly of the 339th Infantry Regiment, arrived in Archangel. The British sent them straight to the front.
- Xu Shichang elected president of ChinaOn 4 September 1918 the Peking parliament, dominated by Duan Qirui's supporters, elected Xu Shichang president of China. The South rejected the vote.
- 12
- Key eventStart of the Battle of Saint-MihielOn 12 September 1918 Pershing's American First Army attacked the German Saint-Mihiel salient. In the rain it got through the wire and advanced about 8 km.
- Fighting at ChamovoIn mid-September 1918 the British, supported by a river flotilla, drove the Bolsheviks out of Chamovo on the Dvina. The monitor M25 disabled a Red steamer.
October
- 08
- Key eventBattle of Cambrai beginsOn 8 October 1918 the British Third and Fourth Armies and the Americans attacked between Sequehart and Cambrai. At Niergnies the Germans used captured tanks.
- Wilson's first replyOn 8 October 1918 Wilson asked Germany whether it accepted the Fourteen Points and for whom the chancellor spoke. On 12 October Berlin answered yes.
- 14
- Wilson's second noteOn 14 October 1918 Wilson demanded guarantees of Allied superiority, an end to attacks on passenger ships and a change of rule. Berlin gave way on 20 October.
- Turkish peace noteOn 14 October 1918 President Wilson received, via Spain, an Ottoman government note asking for an armistice and peace on the basis of the Fourteen Points.
- Ironside takes command at ArchangelOn 14 October 1918 General Poole sailed from Archangel for England and never returned. Command of the Allied forces passed to his chief of staff, Ironside.
- 18
- Wilson's reply to Austria-HungaryIn October 1918 Wilson rejected Austria-Hungary's request for an armistice. Autonomy for its peoples was no longer enough; they were to decide their own fate.
- The Washington DeclarationOn 18 October 1918 Masaryk handed in Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence in Washington. It proclaimed a republic and broke with the Habsburgs.