Austria-Hungary: America's Forgotten Foe In The Great War

On December 7, 1917, eight months after declaring war on Germany, the United States declared war on Austria-Hungary, an ally of Germany. This declaration of war was enacted at the request of US President Woodrow Wilson, who stated that such a declaration was necessary to clear away with a thorough hand all impediments to success. The US House of Representatives voted 365-1 in favour of the declaration, with the Senate voting 74-0. The US had entered World War I on the side of the Allies in April 1917, following Germany's attacks on American ships and its attempts to form an alliance with Mexico. However, the US did not formally declare war on Austria-Hungary until December 1917.

The US declared war on Austria-Hungary in 1917

On December 7, 1917, eight months after declaring war on Germany, the United States declared war on Austria-Hungary, an ally of Germany. This declaration, officially House Joint Resolution 169, was enacted and came into effect the same day. The resolution was adopted by the United States Congress, declaring a state of war between the United States of America and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The United States' entry into World War I was influenced by a series of events that shaped public opinion and diplomatic relations. On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress, requesting a declaration of war against Germany. He cited Germany's violation of the Sussex Pledge, which promised to refrain from attacking passenger and merchant ships, and its attempts to form an alliance with Mexico against the United States. On April 6, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany, with Congress voting in support of the measure.

Austria-Hungary's role in World War I began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on June 28, 1914. This assassination sparked a series of events that led to the outbreak of World War I. Austria-Hungary, with German encouragement, declared war on Serbia, which led to Russia, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Serbia forming an alliance against them. Germany's violation of Belgian neutrality and its growing dominance in Europe further escalated tensions.

The United States' declaration of war on Austria-Hungary in 1917 was influenced by several factors. Firstly, Wilson addressed Congress on December 4, 1917, during the State of the Union Address, requesting a declaration of war. He argued that Austria-Hungary was acting as an "instrument of another nation," referring to Germany. Additionally, there were concerns about the situation in Italy, where American military planners believed it was necessary to deploy American forces to support Italian defenses against Austrian gains. Furthermore, there were allegations of industrial sabotage by the Austro-Hungarian ambassador and suspicions of Austrian involvement in the sinking of an American schooner, the SV Marguerite.

The House Joint Resolution 169 was introduced by Henry D. Flood and unanimously recommended by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution passed with overwhelming support in both the House of Representatives (365-1) and the Senate (74-0). The declaration of war was signed by President Wilson on December 7, 1917, marking the United States' official entry into World War I against Austria-Hungary.

The US entered World War I in 1917

The US entered World War I on April 6, 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. The US Congress voted to declare war on Germany, and US troops began major combat operations on the Western Front under General John J. Pershing in the summer of 1918.

In the years leading up to the US entry into World War I, public opinion in the country was largely in favour of neutrality. However, tensions arose between the US and Germany due to the latter's attempted quarantine of the British Isles, which resulted in several US ships travelling to Britain being damaged or sunk by German mines. In February 1915, Germany announced unrestricted warfare against all ships entering the war zone around Britain, and in May, the British-owned Lusitania ocean liner was torpedoed without warning, resulting in the deaths of 128 Americans. This incident strained diplomatic relations between the two countries and helped turn public opinion against Germany.

In January 1917, Germany decided to resume unrestricted submarine warfare in war-zone waters, despite knowing that this decision would likely lead to war with the US. On February 3, the US severed diplomatic relations with Germany, and on April 2, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. Congress approved the declaration on April 6, and the US officially entered World War I.

The US declaration of war on Austria-Hungary, an ally of Germany, came eight months later, on December 7, 1917. By this time, the US had already been at war with Germany for eight months and had suffered the sinking of several merchant ships by German U-boats. The declaration of war on Austria-Hungary was made at the request of President Wilson, who stated that such a declaration was necessary to "clear away with a thorough hand all impediments to success". Wilson accused Austria-Hungary of being "the vassal of the German government" and acting as "the instrument of another nation". The US Senate voted 74-0 in favour of the declaration, while the House of Representatives approved it by a vote of 365-1.

The US terminated the war with Austria-Hungary in 1921

The US entered World War I in 1917, declaring war on Germany in April and Austria-Hungary in December. The US Congress voted in favour of the latter declaration on December 7, 1917, and it came into effect the same day. However, the state of war between the US and Austria-Hungary continued even after the war had effectively ended in 1918 with the capitulation of Austria-Hungary and the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Treaty of Trianon. This was because the US Senate declined to ratify the treaties, which established peace between the Allied Powers and Austria-Hungary and led to the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It was only in 1921 that the state of war was officially terminated by the US–Austrian Peace Treaty and the US–Hungarian Peace Treaty, which were signed by Austria-Hungary's successor states: Austria and Hungary. This brought an end to the state of war that had technically been ongoing for three years following Austria-Hungary's capitulation.

The Zimmermann Telegram influenced US opinion

The Zimmermann Telegram was a coded message sent by German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt, on January 17, 1917. The telegram proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event that the United States entered World War I against Germany. With German aid, Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The British intercepted and deciphered the telegram, and presented it to US President Woodrow Wilson on February 24, 1917. News of the telegram was published in the American press on March 1, causing outrage among the American public. The revelation of the telegram's contents helped to generate support for the American declaration of war on Germany on April 6, 1917, and influenced Wilson's request for a declaration of war against Austria-Hungary on December 4, 1917.

The United States had maintained a policy of neutrality since the outbreak of World War I in 1914, but public opinion began to shift following the sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people, including 128 Americans. The Zimmermann Telegram, along with Germany's resumption of submarine attacks, further fuelled anti-German sentiment in the United States and contributed to the country's decision to join the war.

On December 7, 1917, the United States Congress adopted House Joint Resolution 169, declaring that a state of war existed between the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This declaration came eight months after the US entered World War I by declaring war on Germany, and was influenced by Wilson's address to Congress, in which he stated that a declaration of war against Austria-Hungary was necessary to "clear away with a thorough hand all impediments to success." Wilson characterised Austria-Hungary as "the vassal of the German government" and accused the country of acting as an "instrument of another nation."

The US severed diplomatic ties with Austria-Hungary

The US entered World War I in April 1917, declaring war on Germany and later Austria-Hungary. In the years leading up to the conflict, President Woodrow Wilson pursued a policy of neutrality, but public opinion began to shift after the sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915, which resulted in the deaths of almost 2,000 people, including 128 Americans.

Following the US declaration of war against Germany in April 1917, Austria-Hungary terminated diplomatic relations with the US on April 8, 1917. Two days after the US declared war on Germany, Austria-Hungary requested, in a diplomatic note delivered to the US embassy in Vienna, that American diplomats depart the country. This was a significant development, as it indicated a breakdown in the relationship between the two nations and set the stage for further hostilities.

Eight months later, on December 7, 1917, the US officially declared war on Austria-Hungary. This declaration of war was enacted by a vote of both chambers of the US Congress and was part of the US's broader involvement in World War I. The US recognized that Austria-Hungary was an ally of Germany and sought to address the situation in Italy, where American military planners believed it might be necessary to deploy US forces to support Italian defenses against robust Austrian gains.

The US declaration of war against Austria-Hungary was not without opposition, however. In the Senate, Robert M. La Follette did not vote on the resolution, intending to propose an amendment to guarantee that the US would not participate in the postwar dismemberment of Austria. Additionally, Meyer London, a Socialist representative from New York, cast the sole vote of opposition in the House, citing his constituents' opposition to the war and his preference for an arms embargo against Europe.

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