The United States of America was neutral and did not join its allies (Great Britain, France, and Russia) until April 6, 1917. General John J Pershing led the U.S. army and more than 2 million soldiers fought on the French side during WWI. When the war started in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality, meaning the US would neither support nor participate in WWI. Wilson’s idea was greatly supported and appreciated by US citizens.
Conflicts and tensions emerged between the USA and Germany when the latter attempted to isolate Britain. Great Britain was a great partner for the USA, this pushed it to join the Great War. German mines destroyed and wrecked many US ships travelling to Great Britain. In 1915, Germany declared unrestricted Warfare, which means submarines would wreck ships for trading, even if not involved in the war, that entered any zone around Great Britain. One month later, Germany sank an American merchant ship, which made President Wilson extremely angry, but the German government apologized and explained that the attack was nothing but a mistake.
On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania ocean liner was attacked and sunk by Germany again, not far from the coast of Ireland. Nearly 2,000 passengers aboard the ship sank, 1198 were killed among whom were 128 Americans. The German authorities justified saying that the Lusitania was carrying military weapons and ammunition. However, the US was extremely upset and asked for an immediate ending of attacks on trading ships. In August, Germany promised to check ships before sinking them, but in November, it would sink another Italian ship without warning or taking the safety of passengers into account. Therefore, 272 passengers died among whom there were 27 Americans. Not only did Germany break its promises to the USA, but killed nearly 155 Americans during both attacks. These attacks caused the US to have a very negative view of German authorities and the Army and pushed it to take part in World War 1.
In February 1917, Germany continued the unrestricted Warfare policy, pushing America to break its relationship with Germany. This latter would sink another American cargo ship on the same day, which led the US to join World War 1. On February 22, 1917, Congress passed a $250 million to support the US Army prepare for the war. In March 1917, Germany sank four more US ships, and this was the drop that caused the flood.
Most historians agree that the American involvement in World War 1 was inevitable by the eve of 1917, but joining the war was accelerated by a notorious letter sent by German Foreign Secretary called Zimmerman on January 16, 1917, to Mexico. This was known as the Zimmerman Telegram. However, this message was encrypted and showed that Germans would provide military and financial support for a Mexican attack on the US and in return, Mexico would be rewarded by annexing lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson requested Congress that the USA would join the Great War against Germany and Congress accepted his request. The USA thus would join the Allied Forces and on June 26, 1917, the first 14,000 troops would arrive in France to start training for battle. On May 28, 1918, the US fought its first battle in World War 1 (the Battle of Cantigny against the German army. Nearly 200 American soldiers were killed and 200 weakened by German gas attacks. However, the battle ended in US Victory. By the end of the battle, almost 1,000 soldiers were killed or injured.
To conclude, we may say that after four years beginning on July 28th, 1914 and ending on November 11th, 1918, the Allied forces which included the United States of America gained the victory of World War 1.
References
- De Groot, Gerard J. (2001). The First World War. Basingstoke: Palgrave. ISBN 978-0333745342.
- Ellis, Robert, John, and Mike Cox. The World War I Databook: The Essential Facts and Figures for All the Combatants (2002)
- Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed. 1922) comprises the 11th edition plus three new volumes 30–31–32 that cover events since 1911 with very thorough coverage of the war as well as every country and colony