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April 6, 1917-House of Representatives declares

war.

April 8, 1917-Austria-Hungary breaks off diplomatic relations with the United States. April 22, 1917-British and French war missions arrive in America.

The German reply to the peace overtures of the United States came as a shock to the American public, which had believed that peace in Europe was near and that in any case the danger that the war would spread to this side of the Atlantic was safely past. More than once had the German submarine warfare against neutral and enemy merchant ships strained diplomatic relations to the breaking point, but when, in May, 1916, Germany pledged not to sink passenger ships without warning, this promise, altho conditioned on the eventual modification of the British blockade and violated in certain individual instances, was relied upon to enable us to keep out of the war. The Federal Government was better informed than the nation at large and the repeated and zealous efforts which it made to end the war were partly inspired by a well-justified belief that if the war continued much longer Germany would renew her submarine campaign. On the last day of January the German Government announced the establishment of a barred zone in the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the northeastern Atlantic thru which no ships whatever would be permitted to pass in safety.

President Wilson at once dismissed the German Ambassador and refused to renew diplomatic relations with the German Government. His attempted compromize between peace and war, "armed neutrality," was frustrated by the obstinacy of a little group of Senators who in the closing hours of the session talked to death the bill authorizing the arming of merchantmen. When Germany followed the proclamation of ruthless submarine warfare by overt acts against American lives and American ships, President Wilson requested from the new Congress the

authority to make war. The Senate by a vote of 82 to 6 and the House of Representatives by a majority of 373 to 50 approved the declaration of war. The action of the United States was soon followed by Cuba's declaration of war and by the severance of diplomatic relations between Germany and Brazil, Bolivia, Hayti, San Domingo, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. All the other nations of South and Central America, in one way or another, showed strong sympathy with the American cause and only in Mexico was there any possibility of action in the interests of Germany.

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The German Government knew, and even overestimated, the strength of Mexican resentment against "the Colossus of the North," as Latin-American writers sometimes States, and the German Foreign Secretary, Alfred Zimmermann, counted on the support of Mexico in a war with the United States. He offered the Mexican Government Texas, New Mexico and Arizona as the spoils of victory and further suggested that Mexico detach Japan from the Entente Allies by timely mediation. But the note containing this suggestion was intercepted and its publication had much to do with converting the American public to a belief in the necessity of war.

OUR PART IN THE GREAT WAR June 5, 1917-Ten million men registered for military service.

June 15, 1917-Liberty loan oversubscribed. June 26, 1917-American army contingent reaches a French port.

When the German Government resumed its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare it reckoned with the possibility of American intervention but did not consider that it would seriously diminish the chances of victory. Indeed it was freely predicted that the United States would be more of a help to the Entente Allies as a neutral than as a belligerent, because the war might be ended before this country could raise and equip a large

army and in the meantime the effort to do so would curtail our export of war munitions upon which England, France and Italy largely relied. This was, perhaps, the most serious miscalculation that Germany made during the course of the entire war.

Congress promptly authorized the Government to borrow $7,000,000,000 for the prosecution of the war and to loan a large part of this sum to the Entente Allies. The first $2,000,000,000 "Liberty Loan" was oversubscribed by about fifty per cent within a few weeks of the opening of subscriptions. The President appointed Mr. Hoover, the man who saved Belgium from starvation, as food administrator and laid before Congress a far-reaching plan of food conservation. To frustrate the submarine blockade the Administration undertook the building of a great merchant fleet of steel and wooden ships and placed the work under General Goethals, the builder of the Panama Canal. A war mission under Mr. Root was sent to Russia to reorganize the transportation system of that country and to assure the people that we would not desert the task we had set ourselves until it was accomplished.

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Not content with throwing the financial, industrial and agricultural sources of the nation into the war, the United States began, without delay, to create an army for European service. The men of the country, from twentyone to thirty years of age inclusive, were enrolled as a body from which as many soldiers as were necessary could be drafted. While arrangements for the draft were being completed, a part of the regular army under General Pershing was conveyed to France and volunteers were enlisted in the regular army and the National Guard to bring these organizations up to full war strength. The National Guard was transferred from state to Federal control and consolidated with the rest of the army.

IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE WAR

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October 26-Brazil declares war on Germany. October 27-Second Liberty Loan oversubscribed. American soldiers reported in trenches for first time. October 28-Austro-German forces take Gorizia and Cividale. Italians retreat to Udine. October 30-Hertling succeeds Michaelis as German Chancellor. November 1-German advance against Italy continues; Italians retreat across Tagliamento river. British occupy Beersheba in Palestina.

November 2-Germans retreat north of the Aisne.

November 4-Temporary Polish cabinet takes office.

November 7-Bolsheviki riots in Petrograd. November 8-Kerensky flees from Petrograd. Austro-German army strikes Italian line at the Livenza river.

November 9-Russian revolutionary movement spreads to Moscow. General Diaz succeeds General Cadorna as head of Italian army. November 12-Lowest week's record of sub

marine destruction, six British ships sunk. November 13-French cabinet resigns. Germans drive Italians across Piave river. November 15-Georges Clemenceau appointed new French premier.

November 16-Bolsheviki bombard Moscow. November 17-British and German cruisers engage in gun duel near Heligoland.

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A SPECTACULAR BATTLE OVER NO MAN'S LAND. THE ZEPPELIN HAS BEEN STRUCK BY A SHELL FROM THE ALLIED
AEROPLANE, WHICH IS MAKING ITS SAFE ESCAPE. TWO GERMAN OFFICERS WATCH
THE FIGHT FROM A CAVE BEHIND THEIR LINES

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Looking over a battlefield on the western front while the artillery blasts the

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How Verdun looked after being shelled for five months by heavy German fire for "political" and "sentimental" reasons

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Fighting in the dark-star shells from the German lines at the left and from the Belgians at the right. To the eye they appear as a shooting ball of fire that for a moment lights up the terrain. The camera records them as a streak of light

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Ghostly enough is this Zeppelin over darkened London A bursting star shell suddenly silhouettes a French lookout

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