Podcasts about entente powers

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Best podcasts about entente powers

Latest podcast episodes about entente powers

World War 1 Stories & Real Battles
Battle of the Isonzo - May 23, 1915 - November 9, 1916 - [WW1 Stories & Real War Battles]

World War 1 Stories & Real Battles

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2023 49:50


In the early hours of a gray dawn, as the first light of day brushed the tops of the jagged Julian Alps, a fearsome thunder reverberated across the chasms, gorges, and swift, icy waters of the Isonzo River. It was not the fury of nature but the eruption of human conflict that had descended upon this once tranquil terrain. It was the year 1915, and Europe, ensnared in the clutches of a conflict unlike any before, had opened yet another front in its Great War. This was the opening scene of the Battle of the Isonzo, a series of violent clashes that would span two and a half years and witness twelve brutal engagements. Caught in the throes of a world at war, Italy, initially part of the Central Powers, had joined the Entente Powers, seduced by the promises of territorial gain from the dismembered Austro-Hungarian Empire. As the Italian troops descended upon the formidable Austrian defenses along the Isonzo River, little did they realize that they were about to enter one of the most punishing contests of World War 1. It was a battle not only against a well-entrenched enemy but also against the rugged, unforgiving landscape itself. This tale is as much about the generals and soldiers who directed and fought in the battle as it is about the ordinary civilians whose lives were indelibly marked by it. From the strategic scheming in the command tents to the bloodied and muddied boots in the trenches; from the lofty promises of politicians to the broken dreams of a generation, the Battle of the Isonzo echoes through the annals of history, a somber testament to the relentless and unforgiving machinery of war. Join us as we traverse this treacherous historical landscape, from the specter of conflict that loomed over Europe, through the long-drawn stalemate and attrition along the Isonzo, to the Battle's resounding impact on the broader events of World War 1 and its enduring legacy. This is a story of ambition, courage, despair, and the cost of conflict, forever etched into the mountains and valleys of the Isonzo River.

World War I Podcast
Ottoman and Turkish Perspectives on Gallipoli

World War I Podcast

Play Episode Play 49 sec Highlight Listen Later Apr 21, 2023 45:24


The Battle of Gallipoli was fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula from February 19, 1915 to January 9, 1916. The Entente Powers hoped to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war by seizing control of the Dardanelles and then putting the capital city of Constantinople in the crosshairs. The goal was to break the stalemate on the Western Front, relieve pressure on Russia, and ensure access to the Black Sea. The operation was a brainchild of Winston Churchill and the landings on April 25, 1915, involved the use of ANZAC troops. After months of difficult fighting, the Allied troops were withdrawn in defeat. Despite this defeat, historians point to Gallipoli as a pivotal moment in the formation of a national consciousness in Australia and New Zealand. Similarly, the Ottoman victory had a profound impact on the formation of modern Turkey.  To examine the Battle of Gallipoli from the Ottoman and Turkish perspectives the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Yucel Yanikdag, Professor of History at the University of Richmond and an expert on Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and World War I.  Follow us: Twitter: @MacArthur1880 Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial www.macarthurmemorial.org

US History Repeated
The First World War: Part 1

US History Repeated

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2023 37:38


Welcome to our coverage of World War One. (The Great War, WW1, WWI) This is also the 61st podcast with Jimmy & Jean! 30 countries in 6 continents were involved in the conflict. We broke this into two parts.  We have a special guest podcaster, Lora Vogt, Curator of Education and Interpretation at the World War One Museum and Memorial.  On one side of the war you have the Central Powers: German Empire, Austrian Hungarian Empire, The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. The Allies or Entente Powers was coalition of countries led by France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States when we enter in 1917. We discuss the beginnings of the war, US Neutrality, and how the United States enters the war.  It was more than Arch Duke Ferdinand getting assassinated, as you will see. Lots of reasons, but that was the spark that lit the powder keg for sure! The Lusitania, and the Zimmerman Note are what eventually ends US neutrality. Find out why! Notes and source links mentioned in the podcast: Secret Coded Words List Seating Chart from Paris Peace Conference Animation video of global changes as a result of WW1 Before and After Maps  See you on the other side,  Jimmy and Jean

The Institute of World Politics
1918: Germany wins and collapses

The Institute of World Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2021 12:55


About the lecture: Germany's final thrust to the east, coupled with revolutionary turmoil in Russia, which Berlin exacerbated greatly by its support of the Bolsheviks, brought victory to the Second Reich. The treaty of Brest Litovsk of March 1918 was an unmitigated triumph for the Germans. It not only allowed them to dominate most of the European part of the collapsing empire of the Tsars but also to establish a springboard to the future domination of the Caucasus and the Middle East. All that collapsed, however, because the United States entered the war and came to the rescue of the beleaguered and wavering Entente Powers. By August 1918 it became obvious that Germany had lost the war. Alas, instead of taking Berlin, the Powers agreed unwisely to an armistice in November 1918. Accordingly, hostilities terminated in the west, but they continued unabated in the east. About the speaker: Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz currently serves as a Professor of History at The Institute of World Politics, where he holds the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies. He also leads IWP's Center for Intermarium Studies. At IWP, Dr. Chodakiewicz teaches courses on Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy, Geography and Strategy, Mass Murder Prevention in Failed and Failing States, and Russian Politics and Foreign Policy. He was formerly an assistant professor of history of the Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He also served as a visiting professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

World War I Podcast
Mutilated Victory: Italy in WWI

World War I Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2019 26:38


Arriving in Paris in 1919 for the Peace Conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson made it clear that he believed Italy entered World War I in a Machiavellian spirit of “cold-blooded calculation.” Italy’s leaders disagreed – arguing that their participation in the war was about liberation and self-determination. Regardless of the argument, like most of the combatants, Italy’s decision to go to war lay somewhere between practical and opportunistic. A member of the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany when the war started, Italy renounced this alliance in 1915 and joined the Entente Powers on the battlefield. Italy emerged as one of the victors in November 1918, but it’s complicated road to war, devastating casualties on the Italian front, and the disappointments of the Treaty of Versailles would lead the Italian’s to label the victory the “mutilated victory.”

New Books in World Affairs
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

New Books in World Affairs

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:17


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans’ national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O’Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy’s role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books in Military History
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

New Books in Military History

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:17


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans’ national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O’Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy’s role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books in History
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

New Books in History

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:17


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans’ national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O’Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy’s role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books in German Studies
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

New Books in German Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:17


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans’ national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O’Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy’s role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books in European Studies
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

New Books in European Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:30


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans’ national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O’Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy’s role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books Network
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:17


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans’ national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O’Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy’s role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exchanges: A Cambridge UP Podcast
Mahon Murphy, “Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919” (Cambridge UP, 2017)

Exchanges: A Cambridge UP Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2018 58:17


The First World War was not limited the trenches on the Western Front. Nor was the system of internment camps it spawned. In his new book, Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914-1919 (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Mahon Murphy looks at the experiences of German colonial settlers interned by the Entente Powers, particularly the British, during World War I. Challenging Europe-centric interpretations of the conflict and internment, Murphy uses a wide range of sources, illustrating both the global integrated camp network, and how experiences of internment varied according to social class, gender and race. He also explores the effects of internment on Germans' national identity, and how their experiences of post-colonial, Weimar Germany led many to believe that true Germanness was only to be found in the colonies. A must read for anyone interested in the global dimensions of internment and First World War. Anyone in London on 19 March is cordially invited to attend the launch of the book at the London School of Economics. Speakers include William Mulligan and David Stevenson. Information available here. Darren O'Byrne is a PhD student in History at Cambridge University, where he is researching the Ministerial Bureaucracy's role under National Socialism. He can be contacted at obyrne.darren@gmail.com or on twitter at @darrenobyrne1.  

WW1 Centennial News
WW1 Centennial News 2-PART SPECIAL : Episode #38 - “In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace” Part 2 - America Declares War.

WW1 Centennial News

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2017 21:58


WWI Centennial News SPECIAL This is another special feature presentation of the WW1 Centennial News Podcast. Welcome to PART II of  “In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace”. This two part special is an adaptation from a live staged event the Commission produced on the April 6, 2017 centennial of America’s entry into: “ war that changed the world”. Edward Bilous as the artistic director, and Chris Christopher as the US WW1 Centennial Commission’s executive producer pulled together an amazing group of artists, historians musician, actors, and others for a live performance staged at the National WWI Museum and Memorial  in Kansas City to an audience of over 3,000 attendees. For this 2-part special we have excerpted key moments from the story that unfolds, the music that was performed and the readings from a cast of amazing actors, orators, musicians and other luminaries. In Part 1 we examined the great debate in America about getting into the war, and today, in Part 2, we present how events overtook the debate and as America declared its entry into WW1.----more---- Talent Credits This podcast was adapted from the live event In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace: Centennial Commemoration of the US entry into WWI Credits for the live event include: Edward Bilous Artistic Director John Rensenhouse Narrator Michelle DiBucci Music Director Sarah Outhwaite Video Designer   Carlos Murillo Script and Adaptation Greg Kalember Music Producer, Mix Engineer, Sound Design   Portia Kamons Executive Artistic Producer For Virtua Creative Shelby Rose Producer, Media and Special Events For Virtua Creative   Dale Morehouse Speaker   Carla Noack Speaker   David Paul Pre-Recorded Speaker   Janith English Principal Chief of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas   Sergeant Debra Kay Mooney Choctaw Nation   Col. Gerald York Grandson of Sergeant Alvin C. York   Deborah York Great-Granddaughter of Sergeant Alvin C. York   Noble Sissle Jr. Son of Noble Sissle   Featuring Musical Performances by 1st Infantry Division Band Michael Baden John Brancy Francesco Centano Billy Cliff Peter Dugan Ramona Dunlap Lisa Fisher Samantha Gossard Adam Holthus Christopher T. McLaurin Chrisi Poland Aaron Redburn Reuben Allen Matt Rombaum Alan Schwartz Yang Thou Charles Yang Alla Wijnands Bram Wijnands   Cast (In Alphabetical Order) Freddy Acevedo Yetunde Felix-Ukwu Jason Francescon Khalif Gillett Emilie Karas Chelsea Kisner Christopher Lyman Marianne McKenzie Victor Raider-Wexler   Artillery Master Charles B. Wood MEDIA CREDITS National World War I Museum and Memorial:  TheWorldWar.org Library of Congress: LOC.gov New York Public Library: DigitalCollections.nypl.org National Archives: Archives.gov National Historic Geographic Information System: NHGIS.org State Library of New South Wales: SL.nsw.gov.au Imperial War Museums: IWM.org.uk National Museum of African American History and Culture: NMAAHC.si.edu The Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation and the York Family: SgtYork.org Australian War Memorial: AWM.gov.au National Media Museum: NationalMediaMuseum.org.uk Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Archive: WoodrowWilson.org Mathers Museum of World Culture: Mathers.indiana.edu Front Page Courtesy of The New York Times Company   PODCAST   THEO MAYERWW1 Centennial News is brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. I’m Theo Mayer - the Chief Technologist for the Commission and your host. Before we get into the main part of the show - - Let me try to set it up: [SOUND EFFECT - WAYBACK MACHINE] We have gone back in time to January 1917. Late last year, in 1916, Woodrow Wilson ran for president under the slogan “He Kept us Out Of War” and “America First” and he won - by a slim margin. In Western  Europe, Eastern Europe, the middle east and other areas around the world -  All tied together by colonial imperialism - the war rages on! NARRATOR Not long after the election of 1916, events would unfold at a rapid pace, until the United States reached a tipping point where isolationism could no longer be an option. January 19, 1917 – Arthur Zimmerman, Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, sent a telegram to German Ambassador to Mexico, proposing an alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of US entry into the War. ZIMMERMAN "We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance... make war together, make peace together... and an understanding... that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.... You will inform the President of the above... as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain...." NARRATOR The British Admiralty, which had cracked German diplomatic cipher systems, decoded the message within hours. Seeking to influence the American government, the British provided the Americans a copy of the telegram. On the 28t h  of February, President Wilson released the telegram to the press. The appearance of the news nationwide on March 1s t  galvanized American support for entry into the war. January 31, 1917, Robert Lansing, Secretary of State, received a note from the German Ambassador to the United States. GERMAN AMBASSADOR A new situation has... been created which forces Germany to new decisions.... England is using her naval power for a criminal attempt to force Germany into submission by starvation. In brutal contempt of international law, the... powers led by England..., by ruthless pressure, compel neutral countries either to altogether forego every trade not agreeable to the Entente Powers, or to limit it according to their arbitrary decrees. From February 1, 1917, sea traffic will be stopped with every available weapon and without further notice.... NARRATOR This message from the German Ambassador directly contravened the German guarantee to Wilson   that ended unrestricted submarine warfare following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Coupled with the Zimmerman telegram, Germany’s renewed aggression decisively changed American attitudes about the war.    On February 3, 1917, the United States formally ended diplomatic relations with Imperial Germany. On February 25, 1917, the Cunard Line ship Laconia was struck by German Torpedoes. Floyd Gibbons, an American correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, was on board and lived to describe the scene: FLOYD GIBBONS At 10:30 p.m., there was a muffled noise. Five sharp blasts – the signal to abandon. We walked hurriedly down the corridor ... to the lounge which was amidships. We moved fast but there was no crowding and no panic. ...we looked down the slanting side of the ship and noticed ... her water line ... was a number of feet above the waves. ... the lifeboats... rested against the side of the ship.... I could see that we were going to have difficulty in the descent to the water. ‘Lower away!’ someone gave the order and we started downward ... toward the seemingly hungry... swells. The stern of the boat was down; the bow up, leaving us at an angle of about 45 degrees.... The tiers of lights dimmed slowly from white to yellow, then to red, and nothing was left but the murky mourning of the night..... The ship sank rapidly at the stern until at last its nose stood straight in the air. Then it slid silently down and out of sight.... NARRATOR Austin Y. Hoy, a Chicago machinery company executive working in London, cabled President Woodrow Wilson after the sinking of the LACONIA: AUSTIN HOY My beloved mother and sister, passengers on the LACONIA, have been foully murdered.... I call upon my government to preserve its citizens’ self-respect and save others of my countrymen from such deep grief as I now feel. I am of military age, able to fight. If my country can use me against these brutal assassins, I am at its call. If it stultifies my manhood and my nation’s by remaining passive under outrage, I shall seek a man’s chance under another flag. NARRATOR Events abroad also served to tip American opinion. The fall of the Russian Tsar's regime on March 15, 1917 resulted in a greater moral clarity for the Allied cause: the war was now a struggle of democratic nations against autocratic empires. Despite the passions aroused by the Zimmerman telegram and the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson himself had no personal desire to bring the US into conflict in Europe. Wilson told a journalist off the record: WILSON If there is any alternative, for God’s sake, let’s take it! NARRATOR March 20. Wilson confers with his cabinet. They unanimously vote for War. March 21. Wilson calls Congress into special session for April the 2n  d . On the evening of April the second, 1917, President Wilson addresses a joint session of Congress asking for a Declaration of War. WILSON “While we do these momentous things, let us make very clear to all the world what our motives are. Our object, now as then, is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice as against selfish and autocratic power. Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the world is involved and the freedom of its peoples, and the menace to that peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic governments. We have seen the last of neutrality. We are at the beginning of an age in which it will be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for wrong done shall be observed among nations and their governments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized states.” NARRATOR The Congress rose to its feet and applauded enthusiastically. Cheering crowds lined the streets as Wilson departed from the Capitol. As author Byron Farwell wrote: FARWELL QUOTE It was the greatest speech of Wilson’s life. At about 10:00, when the president had returned to the White House, he and his wife had dinner with friends, after which Wilson wandered into the empty cabinet room. His secretary, Joseph Tumulty, found him there: ‘Think what they were applauding,’ he said to Tumulty. ‘My message today was a message of death for our young men. How strange it seems to applaud that.’ He put his head down on the table in the Cabinet Room, and sobbed.’ NARRATOR Still, in the face of aggression, there were voices of opposition. Arkansas Senator George Norris: SENATOR NORRIS Belligerency would benefit only the class of people who will be made prosperous should we become entangled in the present war, who have already made millions..., and who will make hundreds of millions more if we get into the war. To whom does the war bring prosperity? Not to the soldier. Not to the broken hearted widow. Not to the mother who weeps at the death of her brave boy.... I feel that we are about to put the dollar sign on the American Flag.” NARRATOR The Senate passed the War Resolution with only three Republicans and three Democrats opposed. The House voted 373 for, with 50 opposed. Jeanette Rankin, the first woman to serve in Congress, and the lone female Representative, voted against the resolution. The approved Declaration of War was sent to President Wilson on April 6, 1917. At 1pm that day he signed: “Approved 6 April, 1917, Woodrow Wilson.”   Tolling of the bells 19 gun canon salute   DEBORAH YORK As the country mobilized, we leave you with the voices of two soldiers: PERSHING Major General John J. Pershing to President Woodrow Wilson, April 10, 1917:  “Dear Mr. President: As an officer of the army, may I not extend to you, as Commander-in-Chief of the armies, my sincere congratulations upon your soul-stirring patriotic address to Congress on April 2d. Your strong stand for the right will be an inspiration to humanity everywhere, but especially to the citizens of the Republic. It arouses in the breast of every soldier feelings of the deepest admiration for their leader. I am exultant that my life has been spent as a soldier, in camp and field, that I may now the more worthily and more intelligently serve my country and you. With great respect, Your obedient servant, JOHN J. PERSHING Major General, U.S. Army DEBORAH YORK And from the diary of Sergeant York serialized in  Liberty magazine in 1927: SERGEANT YORK I had no time to bother much about a lot of foreigners quarrelling and killing each other over in Europe. I just wanted to be left alone to live in peace and love. I wasn’t planning my life any other way. ... I figured that if some people in the Wolf River Valley were quarrelling... it wasn’t any of my business to go and interfere, and Europe was much further away.... I never dreamed we’d go over there to fight. So I didn’t pay much attention to it. I didn’t let it bother me until I received from the post office a little red card telling me to register for the draft. That’s how the war came to me, in the midst of all my peace and happiness and dreams, which I felt all along were too good to be true, and just couldn’t last.” THEO MAYER In the meantime, the popular music of the time begins to address the American soldier, his image and his place in the world. IF HE CAN FIGHT LIKE HE CAN LOVE, GOOD NIGHT, GERMANY! If he can fight like he can love, Oh what a soldier boy he’ll be! If he’s just have as good in the trench As he was in the park or on a bench,   Then ev’ry Hun had better run And find a great big linden tree I know he’ll be a hero ‘over there’ ‘Cause he’s a bear in any Morris chair And if he fights like he can love Why, then it’s goodnight, Germany!   Verse 2 Ev’ry single day all the papers say, Mary’s beau is, oh, so brave With his little gun, chasing ev’ry Hun He has taught them to behave Little Mary proudly shakes her head, And says, “Do you remember what I said?”   Chorus If he can fight like he can love, Oh what a soldier boy he’ll be! If he’s just have as good in the trench As he was in the park or on a bench, Then ev’ry Hun had better run And find a great big linden tree I know he’ll be a hero ‘over there’ ‘Cause he’s a bear in any Morris chair And if he fights like he can love Why, then it’s goodnight, Germany! ANNOUNCER I Have A Rendezvous With Death (POEM: No Music or Sound) I have a rendezvous with Death At some disputed barricade, When Spring comes back with rustling shade And apple-blossoms fill the air— I have a rendezvous with Death When Spring brings back blue days and fair. It may be he shall take my hand And lead me into his dark land And close my eyes and quench my breath— It may be I shall pass him still. I have a rendezvous with Death On some scarred slope of battered hill, When Spring comes round again this year And the first meadow-flowers appear. God knows ‘twere better to be deep Pillowed in silk and scented down, Where love throbs out in blissful sleep, Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath, Where hushed awakenings are dear... But I’ve a rendezvous with Death At midnight in some flaming town, When Spring trips north again this year, And I to my pledged word am true, I shall not fail that rendezvous. THEO MAYER And so America goes to war and takes her place on the world stage. Nothing would be same again as the country heads into the most rapid and profound transformation of her young existence. World War 1 Centennial news is here to tell you the story - We will explore WW1 Centennial News THEN - what was happening 100 years ago this week. And we will explore WW1 Centennial News NOW - what is happening today with the centennial commemoration of the war that changed the world. And so it begins [MUSIC] That was Part 2 of our special feature presentation of “In Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace” our 2-part special of America’s reluctant entry into World War 1. The US World War One Centennial Commission was created by Congress to honor, commemorate and educate about WW1. Our programs are to-- inspire a national conversation and awareness about WW1; Our podcast and these specials are a part of that endeavor We are bringing the lessons of the 100 years ago into today's classrooms; We are helping to restore WW1 memorials in communities of all sizes across our country; and of course we are building America’s National WW1 Memorial in Washington DC.   If you like the work we are doing, please support it with a tax deductible donation at ww1cc.org/donate - all lower case Or if you are on your smartphone text  the word: WW1 to 41444. that's the letters ww the number 1 texted to 41444. Any amount is appreciated.   We want to thank commission’s founding sponsor the Pritzker Military Museum and Library for their support. The podcast can be found on our website at ww1cc.org/cn   on  iTunes and google play ww1 Centennial News. Our twitter and instagram handles are both @ww1cc and we are on facebook @ww1centennial. Thanks for listening to this special presentation of WW1 Centennial News… A full list of the many talented people who contributed to this production is in the podcast notes.   [OVER THERE]   So long.

World War I Podcast
Embattled Neutrality: The Western Hemisphere, Europe, and Woodrow Wilson

World War I Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2016 30:01


In October 2016, the World War One Historical Association hosted a World War I Centennial Symposium at the MacArthur Memorial. Historian Paul Walsh examined American neutrality and the political difficulties faced by President Woodrow Wilson from 1914-1917. Keeping America out of war during that period grew increasingly difficult, and Walsh explains how public opinion gradually began to swing in favor of backing the Entente Powers. ) To learn more about the World War One Historical Association, visit https://ww1ha.org/.