Text C   U.S. Entry into World War I

1.    On January 31, 1917, the German government resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. After five U.S. vessels were sunk, Wilson asked for a declaration of war on April 2, 1917. Congress quickly approved. The government rapidly mobilized military resources, industry, labor, and agriculture. By October 1918, a U.S. army of over 1,750,000 had been deployed（部署） in France on the eve of Allied victory.

2.    In the summer of 1918, fresh American troops under the command of General John J. Pershing played a decisive role in stopping a last-ditch（最后一搏） German offensive. That fall, Americans were key participants in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, which cracked Germany's vaunted（吹嘘的） Hindenburg Line.

3.   President Wilson contributed greatly to an early end to the war by defining American war aims that characterized the struggle as being waged not against the German people but against their autocratic government. His Fourteen Points, submitted to the Senate in January 1918，called for: abandonment of secret international agreements, freedom of the seas, free trade between nations, reductions in national armaments, an adjustment of colonial claims 3 in the interests of the inhabitants affected, self-rule for subjugated European nationalities, and, most importantly, the establishment of an association of nations to afford“mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.”

4.    In October 1918, the German government, facing defeat, appealed to Wilson to negotiate on the basis of the Fourteen Points. After a month of secret negotiations that gave Germany no firm guarantees, an armistice (technically a truce, but actually a surrender) was concluded on November 11. 

Questions for Discussion or Reflection

(1) What event made January 31，1917 worthwhile to be 

     commemorated? 

(2) How did President Wilson contribute to the ending of the war?

(3) What was the main aim in Wilson's Fourteen Points?

(4) What happened in October 1918 in particular?

Proper Names

Archduke Franz Ferdinand  费迪南大公

Austria Hungary  奥匈帝国

German militarism  德国军国主义

the League of Nations  国际联盟

The Treaty of Versailles  《凡尔赛条约》

the unrestricted submarine warfare   无限制潜水艇战 

the Zimmerman Note   齐默尔曼电报

Notes

1. The League of Nations: It was an international organization established after World

War I to encourage countries to work together and achieve international peace. It was replaced in 1946 by the United Nations.

2. The Treaty of Versailles: It was a peace agreement made in 1919 at Versailles in France, following the defeat of Germany in World War I, between Germany and the allies. According to the treaty, Germany lost some of its land and had to agree to pay large amounts of money to the allies for damage caused by the war. The treaty also established the League of Nations.

3. The unrestricted submarine warfare: Submarines had been free to attack only armed targets of belligerent nations. By removing this restriction, submarines were free to attack any ship of any nation they encountered without concern for the cargo they carried, or the flag that they flew.