United States declares war on Germany

India’s contribution of soldiers, labor, funds, and supplies intensified calls for political change. British wartime promises of gradual self-government were met with limited reforms and continued...

The first contingent of Chinese recruits sailed from Weihaiwei to work for Britain’s war effort. Labourers built roads and railways, unloaded supplies, repaired facilities, and later cleared...

Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, attacking merchant shipping in the war zone. The decision aimed to weaken Britain but helped bring the United States into the conflict. Naval blockade...

A German submarine torpedoed the French transport Athos while it carried Chinese laborers and Senegalese soldiers toward the European war. At least 543 Chinese laborers died, alongside Senegalese...

Following strikes, food protests, and the mutiny of soldiers in Petrograd, Nicholas II abdicated. The collapse of the monarchy was driven by long-standing autocratic rule and social inequality as well...

The first British-recruited Chinese laborers reached Plymouth after a dangerous journey across the Pacific and Canada. Their arrival marked a largely hidden contribution to Allied logistics. Workers...

China entered the war after years of pressure and in hopes of recovering German-held Shandong and strengthening its standing in the postwar settlement. Chinese leaders also sought to end unequal...

The British government expressed support for a Jewish national home in Palestine while stating that the rights of existing non-Jewish communities should not be prejudiced. Palestinians had no...

Bolsheviks took power in Petrograd amid mass opposition to the war, land inequality, and hunger. The revolution led to Russia’s withdrawal from the war and inspired socialist movements worldwide,...

The influenza pandemic spread through a world reorganized by troop movements, crowded camps, censorship, and disrupted public health. Its exact mortality remains debated, but it killed millions...