1911-1915

1911
1911 Tripolitan War -(9/28/11) The Italians declared war on Turkey in September. The Italians were interested in annexing Libya, the only available land in North Africa. All of the European powers opposed the action, but none were sufficiently motivated to take any action. The Italians expected the war to be brief, but it took them over a year to achieve victory against stiff opposition.
1911 Revolution in Central China - (10/10/11) On October 10th, a revolution broke out against the Manchu government. The government was in such disarray and central power was so limited, that it did not take long for it to collapse entirely. By the end of the year, Dr. Sun Yat-sen had been elected President of China by the Revolutionary Provisional Assembly in Yanking.
1911 German Gunboat at Agadir -Morocco continued to be a source of crisis. In April, France was forced to commit substantially more forces to take control of the city of Fez. The Germans decided to challenge the increasing French dominance in Morocco by sending a gunship to a closed port, ostensibly to protect the rights of German citizens. The intervention resulted in crisis throughout Europe. The parties concerned arrived at a resolution of sorts, when the Germans agreed to acknowledge French rights to establish a protectorate in Morocco– in return for France ceding Germany a small area in the French Congo.
1911 Standard Oil Broken-(5/15/11) In the largest and most viable anti-trust case in American history to date, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was ordered to divest itself of its 37 interlocking firms. An appeal to the Supreme Court was turned down.
1911 Triangle Fire -(3/25/11) One hundred and forty-six young female employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company lost their lives in a tragic fire. The fire underscored the poor working conditions in garment factories. As a result of the fire, there were far greater inspections of the safety conditions in factories.
1911 First landing On Ship -(1/18/11) Eugene Ely flew a specially-adapted Curtiss aircraft onto the deck of the USS Pennsylvania, as the ship was anchored in San Francisco Bay. The Pennsylvania deck had been custom equipped with a small landing platform and a series of ropes, which were used to stop the aircraft.
1911 First Coast-To-Coast US Flight -(11/5/11) On November 5th, thousands of people showed up in Pasadena, California, to witness the arrival of Calbraith Rodgers, after a 49-day flight across the United States. Rodgers made 69 stops along the way, and was followed by a special train carrying spare parts. He made 16 crash landings. Rodgers' trip was sponsored by the Armour Meat Packing Company to promote "Vin Fiz", a soft drink. Rodgers received $5 for each mile from Armour, for a total of $21,605.

1912
1912 War in The Balkans -(10/8/12)War in the Balkans had been brewing since the spring, when an alliance was signed between Serbia and Bulgaria. Additional alliances were signed between Greece, Montenegro and Serbia. Together, these countries made demands on Turkey that were guaranteed to lead to war.

Serbia and Greece subsequently declared war on Turkey. A Turkish attack on Bulgaria was a total failure and the Turks fell back to defensive lines outside Constantinople. The Serbs attacked deep into Macedonia. Greeks reached Salonika. With the Turkish empire in Europe overrun, an armistice was signed.
1912 Sun Yat-sen Founds Kuomintang -(1/1/12)In an effort to unify the country, Sun Yat-sen resigned in February to allow Yuan Shih K'ai to be elected President. At the same time, political parties were forming and Sun Yat-sen established the Kuomintang Party. The party was dedicated to the creation of a parliamentary system in China.
1912 Italians Receive Libya -The Italian-Turkish War was officially brought to an end by the Treaty of Ouchy, which gave Libya to the Italians. The Italians had fought a long and hard battle for control of Libya. They encountered unexpectedly strong opposition from the Turks allied with the Arabs and Berbers.
1912 Marines Intervene in Nicaragua -( 8/14/12) On August 14th, American Marines landed in Nicaragua to protect American interests from a popular revolt. The US had already taken over the financial mechanism of the government. US Marines remained in the country until 1925.
1912 Lodge Corollary -After it became known that a Japanese syndicate was negotiating for the purchase of a large strategic site in southern California, the State Department registered its disapproval. This became known as the "Lodge Corollary" of the Monroe Doctrine. It was expanded to include eastern powers and corporations.

1913
1913 Balkan War Resumed -(2/3/12) On February 3rd, war resumed in the Balkans. Peace talks were taking place in London, but the Young Turks had staged a coup d'état and deposed the Turkish government. The Balkan allies renounced the armistice and attacked Turkish positions. Under increasing pressure from the European allies, the Balkans agreed to peace in May. On May 30th, the Treaty of London was signed. Under its terms, Turkey ceded all territory west of a line between Enos and Midia.
1913 Suffragettes In England - (4/3/13) Suffragette Emily Davisons dashed onto a track at the running of The Derby; and was killed by a horse as she protested, in the line of duty.
1913 Mohanda Gandhi Arrested In Natal-Rioting broke out in Natal after the arrest of Mohandas Gandhi for protesting the recently enacted immigration laws, which restricted the freedom of movement of Asians. In the course of subsequent rioting, two were killed.
1913 Suffragettes March On Washington -(3/3/13) Preceeding the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, there was a near riot as 5,000 women marched, demanding the vote for women. The march was led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns.
1913 Underwood Tariff -(10/14/13) The first major reduction in tariffs occured under the Underwood Tariff Bill. The average tariff was decreased from 41 percent to 27 percent. One hundred items became free of tariff. To replace the lost income, a graduated income tax was imposed. This was the first income tax since the Civil War.
1913 Federal Reserve Act -(12/23/13) Strong backing of Wilson resulted in the Congress passing a bill creating the Federal Reserve Banking System. Under the new law, the country was divided into 12 districts, each with its own federal reserve bank. All of the federal reserve banks would be supervised by the Federal Reserve Commission, which would control the money supply.
1913 Senators Elected Directly -(2/25/13) The Sevententh Amendment was ratified, providing for the direct election of Senators. Until this time, Senators had been chosen by the State Legislature.
1913 Ford Begins First Moving Assembly Line-(10/7/13) The Ford Motor Company began the first moving assembly line in the world. The line assembled Ford "Model–T" cars.
1913 First Home Electric Refrigerator-The first home electric refrigerator was put on the market. It was called "The Domelre" and it was put on the market in Chicago for $900.
1914
1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand Assassinated -(6/28/14) Prince Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo. The Archduke had been on a visit to Bosnia. The assassin was a Serbian nationalist whose co-conspirators were in Belgrade. The Serbians wanted to detach Bosnia from the Austro- Hungarian Empire.
1914 Austria Declares War on Serbia -(7/28/14) In the aftermath of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Austria made ten demands of Serbia. These included the suppression of all publications critical of Austria-Hungary and the withdrawal of schoolbooks filled with propaganda against the Empire. Army officers, school teachers and government officials holding these views would have to be dismissed. Specific individuals would be targeted for arrest. Finally, an Austrian official would be appointed to monitor the fulfillment of these demands. The Serbians accepted all but the last demand.
1914 Germany Declares War -(8/1/14)When the Russians came to the defense of the Serbs, the Germans had no choice but to go to war to defend their Austrian allies. Their strategy for war against Russia was the Schefffein Plan which called for an initial attack against France, Russia's ally. So, even though Germany had no dispute with France at the time, it still declared war against France.
1914 Germany Invades Belgium -(8/3/14) The German invasion plan for France called for an attack through Belgium, instead of through the heavily defended Franco-German border. Belgium was neutral and its neutrality was protected by treaty with Great Britain. The Germans attacked on August 3rd. The next day, Great Britain declared war on Germany.
1914 Japan Declares War On Germany -(8/15/14) On August 15th, Japan issued Germany an ultimatum demanding that the German fleet be withdrawn from the Far East and that Kiaochow be surrendered within the week. When no answer was forthcoming, Japan declared war on Germany.
1914 US Intervenes In Mexico -(4/21/14)The United States intervened in the Mexican Civil War. The United States intervened decisively on the side of General Obregon. Because of American forces, Mexican President Victoriano Heureto was forced to surrender.
1914 Panama Canal Opened -(6/7/14) After 10 years of work, and at a cost of $366 million, the Panama Canal was completed. The canal decreased the length of the sea voyage between the east and west coasts of the United States by 7,000 miles. Six thousand workers died over the course of the construction of the canal.
1914 Clayton Anti-Trust Act -(10/15/14) The Clayton Anti-Trust Act significantly expanded government powers to act against anti-trust violations. It also made corporate officers personally responsible for violations. In addition, it exempted unions and labor cooperatives from the provisions of the act.
1914 Germany Invades Luxemboug -German forces following the "Shlieffen Plan" invaded Belgium and Luxembourg. They engaged the heavily defended Belgium forces at Liege and overran it. By August 20th the Germans had entered Brussels.
1914 Russians Invade Prussia -The Russians invaded East Prussia, winning their initial engagement against the Germans. At the same time, the Russian Army attacked Galicia, where they faced the Austro-Hungarian army. The Russians were victorious at the Battle of Lemberg and the Austro- Hungarians were forced to withdraw.
1914 Battle of Mons -The Battle of Mons was a series of battles that took place around the River Marne. It lasted seven days and in the course of the battle the British and French broke the German advance. They forced a German withdrawal and thus destroyed the "Shlieffen Plan" that was based on a rapid German victory.
1914 Germany Victors vs. Russians in Battle of Tannenberg -The Germans broke the Russian attack on East Prussia at the battle of Tanneberg. Greatly aided by intercepted Russian communications, the Germans surrounded parts of the Russian army and captured over 100,000 Russian prisoners.
1914 First Battle Marne -The Allies counterattacked against the German forces, with little success. The Germans then attacked the French lines, but their attack failed. As German forces were spread thin, they were forced to withdraw. It soon became clear that this war was not going to be one of sweeping battlefield victories, but a long drawn out struggle.
1914 First Battle of Ypres -The battle lasted almost four weeks, and the Germans came close to breaking through the Allied lines. A last minute counterattack by Allied forces stopped the German breakthrough. Over 50,000 British troops died in the fighting, and almost double that number of Germans died.
1914 Germans Capture Lodz -The Germans attacked the Russian forces in Poland. Battles raged across Poland both in the north, around Warsaw, and in the south, around Cracow. On November 25th, the Germans captured Lodz.

1915
1915 First Zeppelin Bombing of England -On January 15th, the Germans launched the first air raids against London. Using Zeppelins as bombers, the Germans launched numerous raids against Great Britain. While the Zeppelin raids caused damage, their greatest effect was psychological.
1915 Gallipoli Campaign Begins - The Russians were in desperate need of war supplies. The only route to them was blocked by the Turkish blockade of the Dardanelle Straits. The British decided to land troops to capture the heights overlooking the straits. In a campaign that lasted eight months, the British failed to capture the straits, and were forced to withdraw without accomplishing anything.
1915 Second Battle of Ypres -The Allies planned a major counter-offensive. Their attack was stopped in its tracks by the German use of chlorine gas. Although the Allies knew of German plans, they were unprepared, and there troops were forced to withdraw in disarray.
1915 Lusitania Sunk -(5/12/15) Some 128 American citizens were among the 1,200 passengers of the liner Lusitania, sunk by a German submarine. The sinking of the Lusitania poisoned relations between the United States and Germany, but did not immediately result in US intervention in the war.
1915 Vilnius Falls To Germans -On September 19th, the Germans ended their offensive against the Russians by capturing Vilna. Thus, they completed their capture of all of Poland.
1915 Third Battle of Artois -The Third Battle of Artois was the final part of an ambitious Allied plan to force the Germans out of Northern France. The French and the British attacked between Ypres and Arras. The battles lasted throughout the fall. Tens of thousands of people died, but little ground changed hands.
1915 First Transcontinental Telephone Conversation -(1/25/15) Alexander Graham Bell recreated his first telephone conversation in a call between New York and San Francisco.