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WW1
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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is known as the spark that caused WW1. Franz was heir to the imperial throne of the Austro - Hungarian empire. Many disagreed with his ideas causing hatred to build up against Franz. Franz and his wife were invited to go visit the capital of Bonsia. On the way to the capital Franz and his wife were attemped to be killed by a grenade. This grenade missed, but on the way back to the palace a wrong turn was made leading to the shooting death of Franz. -
Austria - Hungary declares war on Serbia
Austria - Hungary wanted to punish Serbia because a Serbian person was responsible for killing their leader. They felt like the only way to assert dominance was to go to war against Serbia. One of their goals was to kill all Serbian nationalism. Austria - Hungary was encouraged by Germany to go to war because they were close allies. -
Germany declares war on Russia
Serbia's allies, Russia started mobilizing for war to help fight for Serbia in the war against Austria - Hungary. Although, Austria - Hungary's allies, Germany demanded Russia to stop preparing for war. Germany wanted Russia and France to stay neutral and not get involved. Both countries refused and not too soon later Germany declared war on Russia. -
Germany declares war on France
Once Germany and Russia went to war, France began to prepare to go to war. France and Russia were allies so France immediately began to get involved for the support of Russia. This led to Germany declaring war on France. -
Germany invades Belgium
Germany began to execute its plan was which to defeat France first then defeat Russia. In order for Germany to execute it's war plan, Germany had to invade Belgium to get to France. Belgium refused to allow Germany to invade because this would be in direct conflict with their neutral treaty. Germany then concluded to invade Belgium, ignoring their wishes. Britain declared war on Germany soon after because Britain had a treaty to defend Belgium's neutrality. -
Battle of the Marne
This battle was fought between the allies, but it was mostly France, Britain, and Germany. This battle stopped further advance for the Germans to get to France. It also ended the hopes that the war would end quickly and Germany would have victory. The battle also began the defensive mechanism of trench warfare. -
Trench Warefare begins on the Western Front
Trench warfare began following the Battle of the Marne. After Germany failed to advance into France, both sides dug into the ground creating trenches. The trenches were used as a defensive mechanism. They helped keep soldiers more safe in an effective way. Ensuring that they could have a spot that they could rest in. Although, the people in the trenches faced horrible living conditions. It was surely no resting spot for any soldier. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
A German submarine torpedoed a British ship called the Lusitania, killing 1,200 people including 128 Americans. Germany claimed that they warned everyone about traveling in the war zone. At the time Germany was throwing armed fire randomly in the war zone. Germany accused Britain and America of transporting military supplies in their ships. The sinking angered the U.S and they demanded that Germany stopped firing randomly, Germany agreed. Not too soon later Germany resumed unrestricted warfare. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun is known as the longest, bloodiest battle of WW1. It was between France and Germany. The Germans used total war to destory French morale. There was over 400,000 French casualties in 10 months of fighting. The purpose of Germany's attack was to drain the French army and resources, not to win. It's known as the deadliest battle of WW1 because total war was used and there was no purpose so everyone just kept killing. No winner was determined. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was between British and French forces intending to achieve victory over the Germans on the Western Front. The British launched attack in the Somme River area to pull German troops away from Verdun. Both sides lost a great number of troops. There was over 1 million casualties on both sides at the end of the 5 month battle. The Germans retreated leading to the victory of the allies. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a coded message sent from Germany to Mexico. It asked Mexico to join Germany in the war if the U.S entered. In return, Germany would help Mexico regain land that the U.S took away from them. The Zimmerman hoped that conflict with Mexico would move away American supplies and troops from Europe if the U.S was near its southern border. Mexico refused this offer and continued to stay neutral. This angered the Americans even more. -
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution occured because Russia was suffering major social, economic, and political factors. The country's people just wanted peace, so the leader of Russia decided to withdraw from the war. This meant that the Eastern Front would be gone. Russia leaving the war caused a big impact in how the war ended. -
America enters the War
America strongly believed that they should stay neutral in the war and not get involved. Although, Germany kept provoking them. With the combined anger of the "Zimmermann Telegram" and the renewal of unrestricted submarine warfare, America's outrage caused them to join the war. The U.S was not prepared for the war and had to promote Americans to help fight. With the entrance of well supplied forces into the war, it greatly helped defeat the enemy. -
Armistice
The Armistice was the official end to the fighting in WW1. The war caused many devastating effects for Europe. There was millions of casualties, the effect of the empire breaking up, and world economy damages. Nine new countries were developed as a result. The allies wanted payback for all of the damages casued. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the treaty that officially ended WW1. It was declared in the Paris Peace Conference which included USA, Great Britain, France, and Italy. There was no participation from the Germans. Germany accepted responsibility for starting the war. The war guilt clause reparations went all to Germany and they accepted to pay for all the damage caused by her armies during the War.