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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Autro-Hungary is assasinated by members of the Black Hand gang in Sarajevo.
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The First World War
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Austria declared war against Serbia in response to the assination. Serbia requests help from Russia.
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Germany comes to Austrias aid and declares war against Russia.
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Germany invades Luxembourg, first action on the Western front. Germany also captures French fort Logwy opening up france for a mass invasion.
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Germany declares war on France and implement the Schlieffen Plan but Belgium deny Germany access to their territories and so Germany invades Belgium.
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Britain threatens war if Germany does not withdraw its troops from Belgium lands. Germany does not comply and Britain declares war.
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The BEF lands in France and moves out to meet the oncoming German force in Belgium. During the Battle of the Frontiers all the armies attempted to catch each other out by trying to outflank their opponent. However the armies were much larger than ever before and commanders were much more nervous and slower to respond to the changing circumstances on the battlefield.
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Despite numerical superiority the Russian forces are defeated by the superior German armies while over 90,000 Russians surrendered at Tannenberg.
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The Battle took place in France as the German forces approached the outskirts of Paris. This Battle lasted from the 5th to the 13th of September and resulted in the halting of the German advance on Paris and the development of trench warfare.
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The Battle of the Frontiers ends with the Germans managing to drive back the British and French Forces. However the Schlieffen plan failed as the Germans did not manage to capture Paris.
The Race to the sea begins. -
This action took place in France and Belgium between the two opposing forces from the 17th of September to the 19th of October as each army again attempted to outflank the other. This wa the last of large armies moving through open field until the the German offensive of 1918.
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This Battle took place from the 19th of October to the 22nd of November as British and German Forces attempted to control the town. However it ended in a stalemate and would remain that way for years to come.
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So forces along the Western front formed a truce for Christmas day, meeting their enemy in no mans land and exchanging gifts, collecting their dead and having a game of football. However the officers were outraged and the men were forced back to their positions and fighting resumed the following day.
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Germans launch their first Zeppelin raid on the Great Britain
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This battle again took place as oppossing German and Allied forces attempted to gain the advantage in the area. However at the end of the battle on 25th of May neither side had gained much ground for the staggering losses on both sides with the Allies losing over 70,000 men killed, wounded or missing.
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In an attempt to take the pressure off Allied forces in France the British land at Gallipoli and attack Turkish forces there. They also attempted to create a supply line to Russia who badly needed resources in order to keep up the fight against Germany and Austria
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Attack launched in Galicia region. After two days the Russian army is shattered and begin to retreat. The Russians are lacking in munitions and rifles.
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U20 sunk the Lusitania off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,153 passengers and crew, 128 of whom were American.
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Russian army is beaten back to its starting position in 1914 and is incapable of launching any effective offensives against the German and Austrian forces.
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By this stage the Russian army has suffered over 1,400,000 casualties whilst a further 750,000 have been captured. The populace begin to become unnerved.
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First major offensive by the Allied Armies. However despite their numerical superiority and better equipment the German forces managed to contain the Allied armies and the assault was called off on the 14th of October
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After 9 months of fighting and continuous defeat the British retreat from Gallipoli and the Third Front fails. The Allies suffered 200,000 casualties during the campaign with many of the casualties being from New Zealand and Australia.
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German forces attempt to destroy the fortifications at Verdun and defeat the French forces there. This would have opened the way for the German army to make a renewed assault on Paris. However by the 20 December the attack was called off with the Germans having very little to show for it. The Germans suffered over 400,000 casualties while the French suffered over 500,000.
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In response to French calls for an offensive to ease the stress of the attacks on Verdun the Russians launch an offensive Vilna and at Lake Naroch. However the attack is repulsed as it is badly organised and supplied.
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Under new commander Brusilov, Russians launch and offensive along a 500 mile wide front until August of the same year. Favouring to not use traditional attacking methods the Russians gain large amounts of territory and the Austrian forces in the region begin to crumble. Germany is forced to send forces from Verdun to the area in order to support their Austrian Allies
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Allied forces launch a major offensive against the German positions near the Somme river in France. This was the largest battle of the war with over 1,000,000 men wounded or killed in the action. At the end of the offensive on the 18th November the Allies had adcanced along a 30mile strip that had only managed to penetrate 7miles into German territory at the most.
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This was the beginning of the end of the old cavalry and the intorduction of the tank as the new cavalry.
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Due to lack of reserves and over 1 million casualties the Russians are forced to give their gains. This disheartens the troops and causes unrest among the populace.
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After suffering a string of defeats and losing many men as a result of the British push on Ancre the Germans fell back to a string of fortifications known as the Hindenburg line with the withdrawals completed by the 5th of April.
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British and French forces attempt to drive back German forces around the town of Arras. However heavy losses the Allies were unable to make any great gains from the assault and by the 16th of May the assault was called off.
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British launch attack on Gemran Forces on Messines ridge. They used mines which were placed under the German lines to begin the attack. The mines caused panic and many Germans died in the blast or were left too stunned by the explosions to fight back.
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The Germans are told of the plans and lie in wait. the aasault is crushed and the Germans counter attack in the hope of breaking the Russian resolve to fight
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Nicknamed the battle of the mud by the soldiers who fought it, the battle of Ypres was launched by Haig in an attempt to break through to Flanders and the U-Boat pens along the Belgian coast. However although the town of Passchendale was conquered the allies did not make any significant gains and paid dearly for it, 310,000 were either killed or wounded by 10th November. Heavy rains turned the battle field into a swamp with soldiers struggling to move and tanks becoming stuck.
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Germans launch an offensive with aim of capturing the city of Riga. Utilizing new storm trooper tactics the Russian army is quickly over run and forced into a full retreat.
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British launch attack on German positions but fail to make any head way and attac ends in stalemate by 3rd December
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With peace being made on the Eastern front, 44 divisions are able to be transferred to the Western Frotn in time for the Spring offensive there.
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Germans launh spring offensive after receiving reinforcements from the East as the war there is finished. The Germans gain large amounts of territory but due to lack of reserves are unable to push through and complete their objective of cutting the BEF off from the rest of the Allied armies in France. However by the 5th the attack was called off and many of the elite stormtroopers were killed and could not be replaced.
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However it did not make many gains and was called off by the 29th of April.
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German advance halted by June 6th after minor gains.
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Despite large gains early on the Germans fail to reach key objectives by the 12th of June.
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This was the Germans last roll of the dice and despite early gains the French counter offensive drove the Germans back and ended the offensive by the 6th August.
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The last Offensive of the Great War drove the Germans back beyond the Hindenburg line to the Borders of Germany. The German Empire collapsed and the First world war ended on the 11th of November at 11 am with an armistice.
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