Existing comment:
The Yanks are Coming!
The United States remained neutral when the war began in 1914. By early 1917, a combination of actions taken by the German government caused America to abandon neutrality.
The first action was the sinking of the British passenger liner, Lusitania, off the coast of Ireland by a German submarine in 1915. Over one thousand passengers died, including 128 Americans. President Wilson protested. In response, the German government stopped U-boat attacks on nonmilitary targets.
Other German actions included sabotage. The Black Tom Munitions factory in New Jersey was destroyed. The Statue of Liberty was damaged in this attack. In January, 1917, two events happened that changed America's view of the war. The German foreign minister sent the German ambassador in Mexico the "Zimmerman Telegram." It was intercepted by the British intelligence and decoded. The telegram proposed that Mexico join the Central Powers and make war on the United States. In return, Germany would give lands lost in 1848 back to Mexico. When German began a strategy of unrestricted submarine warfare and sunk several US cargo ships, America had to make a decision.
Public sentiment finally swung over to the support of the Entente (Allies). Congress approved a declaration of war on April 6, 1917. The production of war goods began to increase, but it took time to reorganize US industry to support the war effort. American soldiers began to deploy overseas to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) under the command of General John J Pershing. The AEF used weapons and equipment provided by the British and French armies, including their tanks. |