World
War I
1914-1918
by Neal McLaughlin -- August 2004
It was a gorgeous sunny morning in Sarajevo as Archduke
Francis Ferdinand and his beautiful wife Sophie left an
Austrian troop exercise and began their motorcade through the
capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite the warning
that a rebellion was in the air, The Archduke and his wife
decided to tour the capital on their way to a reception at
city hall.
Unbeknownst to the Royal Party and their entourage, the Serbian
terrorist party, the Black Hand, had plotted to assassinate
Ferdinand. Seven Serbian assassins were strategically located
throughout the town, each waiting for the opportunity to
eliminate the Archduke before he had the opportunity to ascend to
the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from where he could
continue to persecute the Serbs who were living within the
Austro-Hungarian regions.
Having gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878
the Serbs settled into the regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
fires of anger were lit when the Berlin Congress allowed
Austria-Hungary to occupy the regions, including those settled by
the Serbs. To further antagonize the Serbs, in 1908,
Austria-Hungary authoritatively annexed all of occupied Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
The Motorcade continued its journey through the Bosnian streets
oblivious to the fact that they were targets for the Black Hand.
Eventually, as was hoped, the motorcade traveled a street where
one of the assassins had been placed. Upon seeing the convoy,
Gabrinovic singled out the Royal car and tossed an explosive
device. The driver quickly applied the gas; the Archduke
deflected the bomb, sending it to the car behind where it
exploded, demolishing the following sedan and severely injuring
his aides.
Students and Teachers of US History this is a video of Stanley and Christopher Klos presenting America's Four United Republics Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The December 2015 video was an impromptu capture by a member of the audience of Penn students, professors and guests that numbered about 200.
The remaining 5 cars then sped towards city hall passing other
members of the terrorist group, who let the convoy pass safely
by. Following the reception at city hall it was time for the
Archduke and Archduchess to leave the town of Sarajevo. General
Oskar Potiorik urged Ferdinand and his escorts to leave the city
as quickly as they could and by the shortest route
possible.
Alarmed by the General's intense warning the motorcade quickly
left city hall and headed out of town back to the site of the
military maneuvers. The cars quickly sped through the city
streets until it came to the "V" like turn at the bridge spanning
the Nilgacka River. To safely negotiate the sharp turn the cars
had to slow considerably, offering the assassins the opportunity
they so desired.
Nineteen year-old Serb Nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, stepped from
the curb, drew his automatic pistol and fired, The first round
striking the pregnant Archduchess Sophie in the abdomen, killing
her instantly. The second bullet struck the Archduke near his
heart, moments after crying out to "Sophie" he too, succumbed to
his injury.
The already strained relationship between Austria-Hungary and
Serbia had now been snapped into the fragments of war. The
ensuing Great War was said to be the War to end all Wars and
would become the most destructive war in modern history.
Following the June 28, 1914 assassination of the Archduke and his
wife, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. Almost as quickly
the diplomatic relationships began to turn to dust.
With the unconditional backing of Germany assured by Emperor
William II, Austrian foreign minister, Count Leopold von
Berchtold, determined to use the assassination to once and for
all squash the Serbian Nationalist movement, issued an ultimatum
to Serbia with a 48 hour clause. Serbia, assured of Russian
support by Sergei Sazonov, refused to acknowledge the ultimatum
thus inciting Austria to declare war on Serbia.
On July 28, 1914 the theater was set and World War I was under
way. By the 31st of July the Russian military had began to
mobilize its troops. This action infuriated Germany who issued an
ultimatum to the Russian Government. Russia, who had already
promised to support Serbia, ignored the correspondence and on
August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia.
Following the declaration of war on Russia, Germany had convinced
itself that France had been preparing her troops for an attack
along its Western Front that the German Government declared war
on France. Germany, wanting to get her troops to engage the
French as quickly as possible took advantage of Britain's
neutrality by sending her troops through Belgium and Luxembourg.
This violation so enraged the people of Britain that they throw
their support to the British government whom then choose to enter
World War I.
Within a matter of weeks the allied forces were composed of
Monknegegro, Japan, Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia and
Belgium. The Central Powers were comprised of the Ottoman
Empire, Germany and Austria- Hungary. These military forces
were to become engaged in the most costly and aggressively
fought battles in military history.
From the deeply dug trenches, one side would peer over at the
other and then all hell would break loose as each side tried to
over-run the position of the other. Each assault brought the
death toll higher and higher as the troops were met with rapid
machine gun fire, mortars, hand-grenades and the most fatal of
all elements; poison gas, which the German Army had first used
against the Canadians at Ypres, Belgium.
As the war raged on with heavy death toll, the United States
was striving to remain neutral. Perhaps America was attempting
to follow the advice offered by President George Washington's
1776 farewell address, where he urged the United States to
remain out of the affairs of Europe, and to steer clear of any
alliance with any part of the foreign world.
By: Stanley Yavneh Klos
- First United American Republic: United Colonies of North America: 13 British Colonies United in Congress was founded by 12 colonies on September 5th, 1774 (Georgia joined in 1775) and governed through a British Colonial Continental Congress. Peyton Randolph and George Washington served, respectively, as the Republic's first President and Commander-in-Chief;
- Second United American Republic: The United States of America: 13 Independent States United in Congress wasfounded by 12 states on July 2nd, 1776 (New York abstained until July 9th), and governed through the United States Continental Congress. John Hancock and George Washington served, respectively, as the Republic's first President and Commander-in-Chief;
- Third United American Republic: The United States of America: A Perpetual Union was founded by 13 States on March 1st, 1781, with the enactment of the first U.S. Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and governed through the United States in Congress Assembled. Samuel Huntington and George Washington served, respectively, as the Republic's first President and Commander-in-Chief;
- Fourth United American Republic: The United States of America: We the People was formed by 11 states on March 4th, 1789 (North Carolina and Rhode Island joined in November 1789 and May 1790, respectively), with the enactment of the U.S. Constitution of 1787. The fourth and current United States Republic governs through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in Congress Assembled, the U.S. President and Commander-in-Chief, and the U.S. Supreme Court. George Washington served as the Republic's first President and Commander-in-Chief.
America and her desire to remain neutral would soon be tested
when in May of 1915 a German U-boat sunk the Lusitania as she
slowed to await the arrival of the Juno, which was to escort
her from the English Channel. Following the sinking of the
Lusitania, Germany has issued a warning that they would utilize
unrestricted submarine warfare to sink any and all merchant
ships, crew and content.
Seething with rage at the sinking of the Lusitania, the
American populace was now urging for the U.S. Government to
justify the hideous act, which cost 138 Americans their lives.
President Woodrow Wilson issued a protest to Germany, who
temporarily suspended their sub-campaign fearing that they did
not have enough subs to do the job if America decided to enter
the war at that time.
By 1917 Germany had increased her submarine force substantially
and feeling that they no longer needed to fear the U.S., once
again declared unrestricted submarine warfare, and that this
time all ships, including those of neutral America would fall
prey. This proclamation plucked at the final nerve of America
and on April 6th she declared war on Germany.
By inciting the Americans into the war, Germany had in essence
slit her own throat. The allied forces, which had been taking a
severe beating and were nearing submission to the Central
Powers, were now assured a victory as America offered unlimited
resources and manpower. President Wilson planned to weaken the
Central Powers even further by encouraging revolutionary groups
to take action in their hometowns.
While the Western Front became locked in a bloody stalemate,
the forces of the Middle East were making great progress in
their push forward. The British troops not only stopped the
Turkish assault on the Suez Canal they pushed even further and
destroyed the Ottoman Empire.
Germany, obsessed with getting into Paris attempted a second
counteroffensive strike at Marne, their strike met with heavy
resistance and the German troops were stopped before they could
enter Paris. In response, Marshal Foch regrouped his soldiers
and and issued the command for a counter-attack which succeeded
in pushing the German army back to the Hindenberg
Line.
With the initial counterattack effective the allies continued
the push with the British advancing in the north and the
Americans attacking through the Argonne region of France. The
determination of the battling allies was beginning to soften
the Central Powers. The Germans were quickly loosing their hold
on the Western Front as Bulgaria fell to the invasion of ally
General Franchet d'Espery and his troops.
By instigating a revolt among the Arabs, T.E. Lawrence has
been credited with the March 1917, fall of Baghdad, and in
December of that year, Field Marshall Allenby took Jerusalem
The war was beginning to see an end, however, there were
still pockets of resistance which need to be eliminated
before total peace could be restored.
Following their landing in France in June of 1917, General
John Pershing and the 1st American Expeditionary Forces were
rapidly deployed to the Chateau-Thierry where it would help
to squash a new German offensive.
World War I Perspective Map of the Western Front Showing the Furthest German Advance (September, 1914) and the Armistice Line of November II, 1918.
The severely weakening Central Powers had hoped to gain new
strength with the signing of the Brest-Litovsk treaty of
1918. With the resources from the Ukraine they were hoping to
be able to balance, to some degree, the effects of the allied
blockade and concentrate their efforts on the Western Front.
This last ditch effort at being victorious was not to be. The
powers of the allied forces. which grew to include Italy,
Portugal and Romania proved to be just too much.
Following the invasion of ally General Franchet d'Esperey,
Bulgaria surrendered on September 30th, followed by Turkey on
October 30th. By November 4th the Austria-Hungary army was
disintegrating so badly that their defeat at Vittorio Veneto
forced them into surrendering to the Italian army .
By now, the German army had exhausted their resources, her
morale had collapsed and all hopes of a victory had been
obliterated. German Chancellor Maximillian, Prince of Baden
accepted President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points as a
basis of a peace negotiation.
Any reservations that may have existed by Germany in the
signing of a peace agreement were nullified after a brief
revolution broke out in Germany. Following this up rise
Germany finally signed the armistice on November 11th 1918,
which basically ended all hostilities. As per the terms of
the armistice, the German Army was immediately removed from
the territory West of the Rhine, and the previously
Brest-Litovsk treaty became void.
World War I officially ended with the signing of the
Versailles Treaty on June 28, 1919. The total cost of the
4-year war was astonishing in both manpower and resources. Of
the Central Powers, their total causalities were 37,508, 686
or 57.6 % of their immobilized forces. The Allied Powers who
mobilized a total of 42,188,810 troops experienced 52.3%
causality or 22,104,209.
The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Sept. 5, 1774 to July 1, 1776
September 5, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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October 26, 1774
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May 20, 1775
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May 24, 1775
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May 25, 1775
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July 1, 1776
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Commander-in-Chief United Colonies & States of America
George Washington: June 15, 1775 - December 23, 1783
Continental Congress of the United States Presidents
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
July 2, 1776
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October 29, 1777
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November 1, 1777
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December 9, 1778
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December 10, 1778
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September 28, 1779
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September 29, 1779
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February 28, 1781
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Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781
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July 6, 1781
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July 10, 1781
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Declined Office
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July 10, 1781
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November 4, 1781
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November 5, 1781
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November 3, 1782
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November 4, 1782
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November 2, 1783
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November 3, 1783
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June 3, 1784
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November 30, 1784
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November 22, 1785
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November 23, 1785
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June 5, 1786
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June 6, 1786
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February 1, 1787
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February 2, 1787
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January 21, 1788
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January 22, 1788
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January 21, 1789
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Presidents of the United States of America
D-Democratic Party, F-Federalist Party, I-Independent, R-Republican Party, R* Republican Party of Jefferson & W-Whig Party
(1789-1797)
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(1933-1945)
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(1865-1869)
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(1797-1801)
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(1945-1953)
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(1869-1877)
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(1801-1809)
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(1953-1961)
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(1877-1881)
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(1809-1817)
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(1961-1963)
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(1881 - 1881)
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(1817-1825)
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(1963-1969)
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(1881-1885)
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(1825-1829)
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(1969-1974)
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(1885-1889)
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(1829-1837)
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(1973-1974)
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(1889-1893)
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(1837-1841)
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(1977-1981)
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(1893-1897)
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(1841-1841)
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(1981-1989)
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(1897-1901)
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(1841-1845)
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(1989-1993)
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(1901-1909)
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(1845-1849)
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(1993-2001)
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(1909-1913)
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(1849-1850)
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(2001-2009)
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(1913-1921)
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(1850-1853)
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(2009-2017)
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(1921-1923)
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(1853-1857)
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(20017-Present)
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(1923-1929)
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*Confederate States of America
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(1857-1861)
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(1929-1933)
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(1861-1865)
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United Colonies Continental Congress
|
President
|
18th Century Term
|
Age
|
Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745-1783)
|
09/05/74 – 10/22/74
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29
| |
Mary Williams Middleton (1741- 1761) Deceased
|
Henry Middleton
|
10/22–26/74
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n/a
|
Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745–1783)
|
05/20/ 75 - 05/24/75
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30
| |
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
|
05/25/75 – 07/01/76
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28
| |
United States Continental Congress
|
President
|
Term
|
Age
|
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
|
07/02/76 – 10/29/77
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29
| |
Eleanor Ball Laurens (1731- 1770) Deceased
|
Henry Laurens
|
11/01/77 – 12/09/78
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n/a
|
Sarah Livingston Jay (1756-1802)
|
12/ 10/78 – 09/28/78
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21
| |
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
|
09/29/79 – 02/28/81
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41
| |
United States in Congress Assembled
|
President
|
Term
|
Age
|
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
|
03/01/81 – 07/06/81
|
42
| |
Sarah Armitage McKean (1756-1820)
|
07/10/81 – 11/04/81
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25
| |
Jane Contee Hanson (1726-1812)
|
11/05/81 - 11/03/82
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55
| |
Hannah Stockton Boudinot (1736-1808)
|
11/03/82 - 11/02/83
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46
| |
Sarah Morris Mifflin (1747-1790)
|
11/03/83 - 11/02/84
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36
| |
Anne Gaskins Pinkard Lee (1738-1796)
|
11/20/84 - 11/19/85
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46
| |
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
|
11/23/85 – 06/06/86
|
38
| |
Rebecca Call Gorham (1744-1812)
|
06/06/86 - 02/01/87
|
42
| |
Phoebe Bayard St. Clair (1743-1818)
|
02/02/87 - 01/21/88
|
43
| |
Christina Stuart Griffin (1751-1807)
|
01/22/88 - 01/29/89
|
36
|
Constitution of 1787
First Ladies |
President
|
Term
|
Age
|
April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
|
57
| ||
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
|
52
| ||
Martha Wayles Jefferson Deceased
|
September 6, 1782 (Aged 33)
|
n/a
| |
March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
|
40
| ||
March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
|
48
| ||
March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829
|
50
| ||
December 22, 1828 (aged 61)
|
n/a
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February 5, 1819 (aged 35)
|
n/a
| ||
March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
|
65
| ||
April 4, 1841 – September 10, 1842
|
50
| ||
June 26, 1844 – March 4, 1845
|
23
| ||
March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
|
41
| ||
March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
|
60
| ||
July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853
|
52
| ||
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857
|
46
| ||
n/a
|
n/a
| ||
March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
|
42
| ||
February 22, 1862 – May 10, 1865
| |||
April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
|
54
| ||
March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
|
43
| ||
March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
|
45
| ||
March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881
|
48
| ||
January 12, 1880 (Aged 43)
|
n/a
| ||
June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
|
21
| ||
March 4, 1889 – October 25, 1892
|
56
| ||
June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
|
28
| ||
March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
|
49
| ||
September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
|
40
| ||
March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
|
47
| ||
March 4, 1913 – August 6, 1914
|
52
| ||
December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921
|
43
| ||
March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
|
60
| ||
August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
|
44
| ||
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
|
54
| ||
March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
|
48
| ||
April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
|
60
| ||
January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
|
56
| ||
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
|
31
| ||
November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
|
50
| ||
January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
|
56
| ||
August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
|
56
| ||
January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
|
49
| ||
January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
|
59
| ||
January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
|
63
| ||
January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001
|
45
| ||
January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
|
54
| ||
January 20, 2009 to date
|
45
|
Capitals of the United Colonies and States of America
Philadelphia
|
Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774
| |
Philadelphia
|
May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776
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Baltimore
|
Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777
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Philadelphia
|
March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777
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Lancaster
|
September 27, 1777
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York
|
Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
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Philadelphia
|
July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783
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Princeton
|
June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783
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Annapolis
|
Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784
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Trenton
|
Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784
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New York City
|
Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788
| |
New York City
|
October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789
| |
New York City
|
March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790
| |
Philadelphia
|
Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800
| |
Washington DC
|
November 17,1800 to Present
|
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| U.S. Dollar Presidential Coin Mr. Klos vs Secretary Paulson - Click Here |
The United Colonies of North America Continental Congress Presidents (1774-1776)
The United States of America Continental Congress Presidents (1776-1781)
The United States of America in Congress Assembled Presidents (1781-1789)
The United States of America Presidents and Commanders-in-Chiefs (1789-Present)
The United States of America Continental Congress Presidents (1776-1781)
The United States of America in Congress Assembled Presidents (1781-1789)
The United States of America Presidents and Commanders-in-Chiefs (1789-Present)
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