America Arrives

The United States had sat upon the sidelines for three years of the Great War. American policy was one of non-interest in European affairs. Although they were not politically interested, the United States sold ammunition, steel and other types of war materials to England, France and Russia. She also was lending huge sums of money to the Allies so that they could buy more American materials.

Public opinion in America began to change with the sinking of the Lusitania, a civilian passenger ship, which was sunk by German U-Boats. The loss of 128 Americans onboard caused a large-scale public outcry against Germany. Ships from the United States were being sunk during the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign conducted by the German Navy. As more and more American ships were sunk, the public outcry became stronger.

The final push that drove the United States to war was a telegram. The German Foreign Mister, Authur Zimmerman, ent the telegram to a German agent in Mexico. The Zimmerman telegram suggested that if Mexico were to join Germany in an alliance, and attack the United States, they would get Texas and Arizona in return.

Although there exists some historical controversy over the legitimacy of the telegram (British intelligence gave the intercepted message to the Americans), it was published in all major newspapers. The American President, Woodrow Wilson, had no choice but to declare war on Germany on April 6,1917.
Unfortunately for the Allies, the Americans only had a small and poorly equipped army. It was to take over a year before they were able to get to Europe, train and be ready to fight. The most important thing about America's involvement was that they promised to send over two million troops in the next few years. In addition, the powerful economy and industry of the United States was now part of the Allied effort.

America's entry into the Great War was bad news for Germany. They realized that they would have to win before the United States arrived to fight. German planning reflected this pressure and they prepared to launch a major attack in 1918.

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"Over There" Song