US.28 Identify and explain the impact of the following events and people during World War I: (G, H, P, TN) Major turning points: Impact of trench warfare, Use of new weapons and technologies, Herbert Hoover, John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Force, Doughboys, Alvin C. York
Lesson 19. (US.28) World War I: Key People, Technology, & Events
a. Trench Warfare
b. New Weapons
c. Herbert Hoover
d. John Pershing
e. The AEF
f. Doughboys
g. Alvin C. York
Alvin Cullum York (1887 – 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor during World War and also earned decorations from several allied countries during WWI, including France, Italy, and Montenegro.
York was born in rural Tennessee. His parents farmed, and his father worked as a blacksmith. The eleven York children had minimal schooling because they helped provide for the family, which included hunting, fishing, and hiring out as laborers. After the death of York's father, he assisted in caring for his younger siblings, and found work as a logger and on construction crews. Despite being a regular churchgoer, York also drank heavily, and was prone to fistfights. After a 1914 conversion experience, he vowed to improve, and became even more devoted to the Christian Church.
York was drafted during World War I; he initially claimed conscientious objector status on the grounds that his religion forbade violence. Persuaded that his religion was not incompatible with military service, York joined the 82nd Division as an infantry private, and went to France in 1918.
While in France, York led an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 35 German machine guns, and killing at least 25 enemy soldiers. York and his also captured 132 Germans. Later on during the United States-led offense in France, York led soldiers that breached the Hindenburg line and forced the Germans to surrender. York was immediately promoted to sergeant, and after the war he was given the Medal of Honor. His feat made York a national hero and international celebrity amongst allied nations.
Businessmen in Tennessee organized the purchase of a farm for York, his new wife, and their growing family. He later formed a charitable foundation to improve educational opportunities for children in rural Tennessee. In the 1930s and 1940s, York worked as a project superintendent for the Civilian Conservation Corps and managed construction of the Byrd Lake reservoir at Cumberland Mountain State Park, after which he served for several years as park superintendent.
A 1941 film about his World War I exploits, “Sergeant York”, was that year's highest-grossing film; Gary Cooper won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of York, and the film was credited with enhancing American morale as mobilization for World War II began in earnest. In his later years, York was confined to bed by health problems. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964 and was buried at Wolf River Cemetery in his hometown of Pall Mall.
New Ways of Warfare
Trench warfare, poison gas, and tanks able to cross difficult terrain and engage the enemy at close range, were popularized during World War I.
Airplanes played a special role in aerial "dogfights." Newly designed German submarines, called U-boats, proved especially deadly for the Allies.
In February 1915, Germany warned that it would sink any vessel entering or leaving British ports. On May 7, 1915, the passenger liner Lusitania was struck by a German torpedo off the coast of Ireland. The ship sank within 18 minutes, killing almost 1,200 people, including 128 Americans. Congress responded to the attacks on passenger liners by passing the National Defense Act of 1916. It increased the size of the army and released $6 million to build naval warships. On February 23, 1917, the British gave the Americans a copy of a telegram that they had intercepted, which was written by German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann Addressed to the German ambassador in Mexico, it proposed an alliance with Mexico if the United States abandoned neutrality. It also promised the return of land relinquished to the United States in the 1840s once the war was won. On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany.