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Admiral Alfred Von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Admiral who was responsible for the building up of the German navy. He had a significant amount of support from Kaiser Wilhelm II He introduced two fleet acts in 1898 and 1900 which ordered the construction of a fleet capable of matching the British Royal Navy. Many historians criticize this for being unrealistic. -
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Bismarck and Alliances
Bismarck had made Prussia-Germany very strong in a short amount of time. He wanted to keep the peace he had achieved preserved by forming many alliances and keeping France diplomatically isolated. He also worried about threats form Austria-Hungary and Russia. His main plan to avoid war was a system of alliances ( Timeline of Alliances ) -
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Three Emporors' League
The Three Emperors League was created by Otto von Bismarck. It was an agreement between Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany. It’s main goal was to revive the Holy Alliance that existed in 1815. It was also supposed to block radical sentiments. -
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Alexander III Of Russia's Reign
Alexander III was the emperor of Russia. He ruled from 13 March 1881 until his death on 1 November 1894. He died when he became ill with nephritis. He died at the Livadia Palace and his remains were put at the Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg. -
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Triple Alliance
The Triple Alliance was established in 1882. It consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. In 1914 Italy left the alliance and declared it’s neutrality. One year later Italy joined the Triple Entente with Great Britain France and Russia. Each member of the alliance agreed to provide mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power. -
Russian-German Reinsurance Treaty
After the Serbo-Bulgarian War Bismarck wanted to continue to ally with Russia. His attempt to ally was the Reinsurance Treaty. It stated that Germany and Russia agreed to be neutral if either would be involved in a war with a third country and the Neutrality would not apply if Germany attacked France or if Russia attacked Austria-Hungary. The other point was that Germany declared herself neutral in the event of a Russian intervention in the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. -
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Reign of William II
Wilhelm was the last German Emperor and the King of Prussia. He dismissed Bismarck in 1890 and sent Germany on a new course in foreign affairs that had support for Austria-Hungary. He lost support of the army and fled to exile in the Netherlands in 1918. -
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated with his wife on 28 June 1914. in Sarajevo It was done by Gavrilo Princip on a side street. Franz Ferdinand was shot in the jugular and died within minutes. Sophie was shot in the abdomen and died on the way to the hospital -
Bismarck's Resignation
Bismarck resigned in 1890 because Wilhelm II insisted that he do so. He was promoted to Field Marshal and given the title Duke of Lauenburg. A popular cartoon, shown here, was called “dropping the pilot” showing Bismarck leaving a ship with Wilhelm II watching him. -
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German Naval Policy
The aim of the Germany was to build the second largest navy in the world. This would advance their status as a world power. This caused Britain to see them as a threat and it pushed them away from an alliance with them. -
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The South African Waer
- The South African War was fought between the British and Dutch republics of southern Africa. This war caused an anti-British feeling to spread quickly. It also let the political leaders of Britain realize that they had overextended around the world. This war only lasted two and a half years but it used a variety of modern weapons including quick firing rifles with magazines, machine guns and high explosives that could kill everything within 50 yards of the point of detonation.
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Theophile Delcasse
Theophile Delcasse was a French statesman who was one of the main creators of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale of 1904. He was forced to resign in 1905 in the wake of the Moroccan Crisis. He later returned as Navy Minister in 1911 and worked to secure an agreement with Britain to defend the French Atlantic coast in the event of war. He resigned for good on 12 October 1915, ending his government career. -
Algeciras Conference
The Algeciras Conference was held in Algeciras, Spain to settle a dispute over Morocco with France And Germany. Germany was attempting to prevent France from establishing a protectorate over Morocco because they believed German interests were violated when they were ignored in the Anglo-French Entente of 1904. It resulted in the Act of Algeciras which opened Moroccan trade to all nations. It also gave France and Spain control of the Moroccan police force. -
Anglo-Russian Agreement
The Anglo-Russian Agreement was an agreement where Britain and Russia decided to settle their colonial disputes in Afghanistan, Tibet and Persia. It stated that neither country would interfere in Tibet’s internal affairs, weakened influence in Persia, and recognized Britain’s influence in Afghanistan. It later led to the formation of the Triple Entente. -
Anglo-Russian Entente
The Anglo-Russian Entente solidified the boundaries that identified Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet. The agreement crushed any chance of Persian autonomy but the powers wanted Persia to stay stable and controlled the way is was. The agreement also prevented a sole control over various parts of central Asia. -
The Balkans and Balkan Nationalism
Balkan nationalism was a main cause of war. Balkan nationalism was rising and it caused some tension. Serbia started in 1903 by becoming openly hostile toward Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. When Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia was enraged but could not do anything about it because they did not have Russian support. In 1912 the First Balkan War broke out and Serbia , Greece, and Bulgaria attacked the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. This led to the Second Balkan War in 191 -
Balkan Wars
The First Balkan War was in 1912 Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria attacked the Ottoman Empire. Later they fought with Bulgaria over the spoils of war. This kicked off the Second Balkan War in 1913. This forced Serbia to give up Albania. This was successful in destroying the Ottoman Empire. -
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Submarine Warfare
Submarine warfare during World War I mainly consisted of fights between German U-Boats and supply convoys on their way to Great Britain. The German submarine attacks on merchant ships gave the Americans a reason to enter the war in April 1917. In early 1917 Germany declared the water around the British Isles a War Zone and sank one-fourth of the shipping entering the Isles. -
War Raw Materials Board
The War Raw Materials Board was created to ration and distribute all of Germany’s war materials. They rationed everything to use in the military even items like barnyard manure and fruit peels. The War Raw Materials Board was very successful in keeping Germany from starving and getting all of the supplies they needed. -
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Triple Entente/ Allied Powers
The Triple Entente was created after the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907. It was an alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia. It showed that France Russia and Britain’s status as a world power was growing while Germany’s status was severely dropping. It was also formed as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance. In 1915 Italy joined the Triple Entente after leaving the Triple Alliance where it had been since 1882. -
Gavrilo Princip
He was the man who attempted to assasinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He failed the first time but later the Archduke's driver took a wrong turn and Princip took advantage of it. He shot Ferdinand's wife in the abdomen and Franz in the jugular. Franz died within minutes and his wife died on the way to the hopital. -
Hindenburg and Ludendorff
Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff were the very powerful leaders on the battlefield. they commanded the Eastern Front, focusing on Russia, and gained a victory in the east before concentrating on the west. Halfway through the war they switched their focus against France and Britain and won the West. -
"Blank Check"
William II and his chancellor gave Austria-Hungary a “Blank Check” saying they would provide unconditional support. Germany also encouraged aggressive measures even with the high probability of war in the near future between Austria and Russia. -
Austria-Hungary's Unconditional Ultimatum
The Austro-Hungarian ultimatum was to Serbia to attempt to remove anything that shows hatred toward Austria-Hungary. It called for the removal of all propaganda from schools and public. It also called for the arrest of the two participants in the assassination plot of Franz Ferdinand. -
Russian Mobilization
On July 28, 1914 Austrian armies bombarded Belgrade. The partial mobilization of Russia was ordered by Tsar Nicholas II. He quickly found that this was not at all possible because he could not mobilize against Austria without mobilizing against Germany as well. The next day, 29 July 1914 Tsar Nicholas II ordered the full mobilization of Russia and declared general war. -
Subordination of Political considerations to military strategy (Germany and Russia)
Germany believed that the only way they could succeed would be to think in terms of a two front war. Their plan involved knocking out France through Belgium, which was neutral. After doing this they would be able to turn all needed attention to Russia. -
Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes
The Battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes were between Russia and Germany early in World War One. In The Battle of Tannenberg The Russian First and Second Armies were badly beaten by the German Eighth Army. In the first Battle of the Masurian Lakes Germany pushed the Russian First Army back out of Germany. The second Battle of the Masurian Lakes ended the German offensive in the north and left Russia with severe losses of soldiers and ground. -
Race to the Sea
The Race to the Sea was the term given to the earlier part of the war prior to trench warfare. It was when the opposing sides were trying to outflank each other. It started in Champagne, France and ended in Belgium. After it was changed to trench warfare there was a continuous front line of trenches for more than two hundred miles. -
Battle Of Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was September 6-12, 1914. The French found a gap in the German line and attacked. They threw everything they had at Germany during this battle even to the point of using the taxis from Paris to move reserves to the front line. -
Trench Warfare
Trench warfare began in 1914 after the race to the sea. Both sides began digging fortified trenches for miles. The trenches started out small and improvised and over a few months became deeper and more complex. they eventually went for more than two hundred miles. The British used a system of three parallel trenches with small communications trenches connecting them. -
Total war introduced
Most of Europe mobilized to wage World War I. Many of the young men were sent off to serve in the military so the women would take their spots in the production line. Bulgaria had the highest percentage by mobilizing a quarter of its people. Britain used a lot of propaganda posters to bring attention to the war. they also went as far as having the music hall transformed to sing recruitment songs. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania sank in 1915. It was hit by a torpedo that was shot by a U-20 Submarine. Of the 1,959 people that were aboard the ship when it departed 761 survived. The last survivor was Audrey Lawson-Johnston. She was only three months old when the ship went down and she passed away on January 11, 2011. -
Battle of Verdun
The battle of Verdun was one of the longest and most devastating battles in the history of warfare. It was mainly an artillery battle with about forty million artillery shells exchanged. It left 698.000 deaths on the battlefield. The battle was fought between the German and French armies. It was a French tactical victory. -
Battle of Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded. In the first day alone the British had almost 60,000 casualties. It was an offensive war with the British Army and the French army (along with many contingents form British territories) against the German Army. The French and British gained ground but lost almost 300,000 more people than Germany. -
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George was made the Minister of Munitions in May 1915 where he was very successful. The department was created after a munitions shortage. Lloyd George was not happy with the progress of the war and he wanted to attack Germany’s allies. In June 1916 he became Secretary of State for War then, two years later, became Prime Minister -
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau was the Prime Minister of France two times and was one of the main voices in the designing if the Treaty of Versailles. He was nicknamed “Le Tigre” meaning the tiger. It was decided that he would make a good president of the conference because he spoke both English and French, which were the official languages of the conference. -
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a letter from the United Kingdom’s Foreign secretary to a leader of the British Jewish community. It stated that Palestine would be established as a national home for the Jewish people. The document is now currently being kept at the British Library. -
Second Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne was July 15 to August 5, 1918. It was the last major German offensive of the World War One. The attack failed because France overwhelmed the Germans leaving many casualties. It is considered the turning point of the war. -
German Revolution
The German Revolution lasted from November 1918 until the Weimar Repulic was established in August 1919. The civil conflict resulted in the imperial government being replaced with a republic. -
Armistice
The armistice to end World War 1 went into effect at eleven am on November 11, 1918. It was between the Allies and Germany. It stated that the war was a victory for the allies and a complete defeat for Germany. It also stated that Germany must surrender 5,000 cannons 25,000 machine guns, 3,000 minewerfers (mine launchers), 1,700 airplanes, 5,000 locomotive engines, and 150,000 railcars.. -
Peace conference of Paris
The Paris Peace Conference was a meeting with all of the Allied Powers after the end of World War I. It set the peace terms for the Central Powers after the armistices. They developed a system of treaties known a s the Paris Peace Treaties for the world. They established the new borders and countries and imposed the war guilt and financial penalties on Germany. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the many peace treaties at the end of World War I. Although the Armistice ended the fighting between Germany and the Allied Powers the Treaty of Versailles ended the state of war. It was signed exactly five years after Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. The most important provision in the treaty stated that Germany had to accept responsibility for causing the war with Austria and Hungary. -
War Guilt Clause
The War Guilt Clause was article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles. It stated that Germany was responsible for the war and they had to accept the paying of war reparations. It also stated the same for Austria and Hungary. The clause also justified all of the reparations that Germany and their allies would have to pay. -
League of Nations
The league of nations was founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference. It was an organization with the principal mission of world peace. It was created as a proposed remedy for the things that cause wars similar to World War I in an attempt to avoid another one. -
"All Quiet On The Western Front"
“All Quiet on the Western Front” is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque. It is a description of the German soldiers’ lives and the physical and mental stress during the war. It also describes the feeling of detachment from civilization they felt once they returned home. It was originally published in November and December of 1928 in a newspaper.
