The USA Enters World War One

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2017

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

America declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917, tipping the balance in favour of Britain, France and their Allies. The USA had resisted getting embroiled in the war in Europe for almost three years, but after the declaration of war, it sent troops to fight on the Western Front in France and Belgium.

Photo: Postcard of Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (Centre - R), the US Army General who led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, being welcomed in Boulogne, northern France, by French General Peltier . Credit: AFP PHOTO / Historial de Péronne

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC
0:35.4	Sounds.
0:36.4	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:40.9	My name's Linda Davies and I commissioned
0:43.0	podcast for BBC Sounds.
0:45.0	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality,
0:49.0	featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:54.4	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
1:00.9	poltergeist, cricket and conspiracy theories, Cricket, and Conspiracy Theories.
1:04.3	And that's just a few examples.
1:06.2	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected,
1:09.4	find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. Hello, you're listening to the Witness Podcast with me, Vincent Dowd.
1:17.0	History as told by the people who were there.
1:20.0	On April 6, 1917, America joined the First World War, two years and eight months
1:26.8	after it had broken out.
1:28.4	U.S. involvement would prove decisive, but why did it take President Wilson so long to bring his nation into the
1:35.2	conflict? And what did America's soldiers find when they got to Europe?
	...

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