World War I

World War I. . , World War I, also known as the "Great War" and "The War to end All Wars", engulfed the world from 1914 to 1918 in bloody conflict among numerous nations due to European Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism and Entangling Alliances. The Allies; Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Serbia fought the Central Powers; of Imperial Germany, Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. A total of 30 nations were involved in world war one., For three years the United States suffered violations of its rights including Neutrality and Freedom of the Seas through Imperial Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare. On April 6, 1917 the United States joined the Allies declaring war on Imperial Germany and on December 7, 1917 declared war on the Austrian-Hungarian Empire., President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the US would have its own American Sector at the front. General John J. Pershing commanded the US Expeditionary Forces in Europe. 2,000,000 people volunteered and 2,800,000 were drafted under the Selective Service Act of 1917 during the war., The Western Front was characterized by multiple parallel zig-zagging trenches dividing the armies on average by just 250 yards (750 feet). The trench warfare in Europe was dominated by artillery, machine guns and chemical weapons used by both sides. US forces were instrumental in turning the tide during subsequent offenses including the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that ended in Germany's desire for an Armistice., Germany's submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships, thought to contain munitions for the allied forces, forced the United States to become involved. At sea, the war was dominated by submarine attacks on convoys and anti-submarine warfare. America's entry into the war provided the industrial and military strength needed to bring victory to the Allies., On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918, the guns went silent and fighting ended after Germany signed an armistice agreement. Today, this is celebrated as Veterans Day. While the Treaty of Versailles ended the war among the Allies and Central Powers, the US was not a party to it. The US Congress and President passed the Knox-Porter Resolution on July 2, 1921 declaring the war over and celebrated by minting the only coin dedicated to peace, the 1921 Silver Peace Dollar., It is estimated that 116,516 American soldiers were killed, 204,002 were wounded and 3,350 were missing. Many of the wounds could not be seen and were not understood. They called it Shell Shock at the time. Today, we call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Sadly, "The War to End All Wars" was not the last war, something our US Veterans and their families are very aware of.