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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie
The archduke & Sophie traveled to Sarajevo when Serbian nationalist Nedjelko Cabrinovic swung a bomb towards the car. The bomb rolled off and injured an officer. Later on their way to visit the injured officer, the archduke's driver took a wrong turn. One of Cabrinovic's partners, Gavrilo Princip, happened to be at the right place at the right time. Gavrilo fired at the car, injuring both the archduke and his wife. A mob swarmed and attacked Gavrilo as the archduke and Sophie died within a hour. -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
After the incident in Sarajevo, tensions rose. The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, Count Leopold von Berchtold, wrote a letter & was issued to the Emperor Francis Joseph to sign & send to Wilhelm ll. The letter was to try & find truth in Serbia's actions & responsibility. On July 6th, Wilhelm ll & his Imperial Chancellor notified Berchtold via telegram that Austria-Hungary could rely on Germany with whatever actions are necessary for dealing with Serbia - hence Germany offering a blank check. -
Russia Mobilizes
Leading up to to this event, Austria-Hungary had severed diplomatic ties with Serbia and begins to mobilize. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had declared war on Serbia and later bombarded the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. In response to this attack, Russia begins full mobilization of its troops to aid Serbia. -
War on Russia, Belgium, & WW1 Begins
On August 1, 1914, Germany declares war on Russia. France mobilizes to aid Russia. On August 3, 1914, Germany declares war on France and proceeds to invade neutral Belgium. Britain decides to send an ultimatum to withdraw from Belgium, which is then declined by the Germans. On August 4, 1914, Britain declares war on Germany. This marks the beginning of World War 1 - now multiple European countries are involved. -
Alliances & Japan
Japan declares war on Germany through their alliance with Great Britain, created in 1902. Prior to this, there was already an abstract web of alliances. WW1 began with the Dual Alliance between Austria-Hungary & Germany. The Central Powers was created with Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, & the Ottoman Empire. The Allies consisted of France, Russia, Britain, and the U.S. and Italy. Many other countries were involved such as Japan, Serbia, etc. -
Lusitania Sinks
Germany suspected that the Lusitania was caring supplies and ammunition. While on route from New York to Liverpool, England, the Lusitania was struck by a torpedo from a German U-boat. Out of the 1,900 passengers and crew members, 1,201 were killed. Out of those 1,201 deceased passengers, 128 were American. The U.S. turned public opinion against Germany. -
Continued Submarine Warfare
After the sinking of the Lusitania, Woodrow Wilson sent a strong-worded letter to Germany demanding to stop the practice of unrestricted submarine warfare. Although after suspending the practice, German navy commanders didn't want to accept this and continued to push for more aggressive submarine tactics. After several debates, Bethmann Hollweg went before the German Reichstag government and announced that unrestricted submarine will be resumed on February 1st. -
Zimmermann Telegram
A message from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, was sent to Mexico proposing a Mexican-German alliance if war broke out between Germany and the United States. In return, Mexico would inherit lost territories: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The telegram was intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence. Woodrow Wilson was informed on February 26th and later proposed to Congress to begin arming ships. On March 1st, the telegram was published to the public. -
United States Enters The War
The United States joined its allies: Russia, France,and Britain. More than 2 million soldiers fought under Major General John J. Pershing in France. 1.3 million soldiers fought at the fronts. The arrival of fresh troops decreased Germany's morale. The United States was also aiding the Allies with supplies and weapons. -
Militarism & Nationalism
(No specific dates: 4/6/1917 - 11/11/1919) Once the U.S. joined the war, there was a need for troops. The U.S. launched a massive campaign from posters, to pamphlets, to motion pictures, to drafts, etc. This campaign called for citizens to unite & fight for their country. Often the campaign advertised the demoralization of the enemy. Foods were renamed to "liberty cabbage", "liberty measles", etc. To conserve food for troops, the nation called for "meatless Mondays", etc. -
WW1 Ends
Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in France, marking the end of the war. -
Effects on WW1
(No dates:6/28/1914-1/30/1933) World War 1 effected the world in multiple ways. It led to the downfall of 4 huge monarchies: Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary, & Russia. It changed economical balance of the world with the U.S. becoming a major industrial power while Europe was in debt. Influenza spread due to traveling soldiers. Technological advances boomed as well as modern warfare. Socially, labor laws were enforced & women had to run businesses. Germany suffered from reparations & bitterness. -
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty was discussed among the Allies with little allowed participation from Germany. It consisted of 15 parts and 440 articles. Germany was assigned new boundaries - giving Alsace-Lorraine back to France, eastern districts to Poland, and most of Schleswig to Denmark. Germany was stripped of all colonies. Germany had to pay reparations as well. Germany signed the treaty under protest, causing tensions and resentment. The treaty seemed to be punishing Germany instead of resolving issues. -
Dawes Plan
Weimar Germany was too economically unstable to pay the reparations that the Treaty of Versailles demanded. Several decisions were made to help Germany be restored with the hopes of making full payment later on. First, Ruhr was returned to Germany's full control. Second, reparations were immediately reduced with growing value later. Third was the restructure of Weimar's bank under the supervision of the Allies. Also, the United States agreed to loan money to be invested into the economy. -
Young Plan
Chaired by Owen D. Young, a new committee met in Paris to reanalyze the Dawes Plan. Germany's owed amount was reduced to 121,000,000,000 Reichsmarks in 59 annuities. Also, the Bank for International Settlements was created in order to handle the transfer of funds and ceased foreign controls of German economics. The Young Plan had barely begun before the world hits a depression in the 1930's. -
The Great Depression Stock Market Crash
This event is remembered as "Black Tuesday". Prior in the summer, the market had reached sky-high levels but declined in September. On October 24, the market declined significantly causing a panic. Later, the market crashed and lost 12% of its value. This means $14 billion of investments vanished and two months later, stockholders lost $40 billion. -
Causes of Great Depression
(10/29/1929-10/29/1939) With the crash of the stock market, banks began to fail. By the end of the decade, more than 9,000 banks failed. Many people tried to withdraw their money before it was lost, causing more banks to close. Unemployment rose by 25%, causing there to be no purchase of consumer goods & an uneven distribution of wealth. Finally, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff imposed high taxes on imported goods. In return, Europe did the same to U.S. goods, causing world trade to fall by two-thirds. -
Rise of Hitler
On his way to the top, Hitler created an alliance with Nationalist Alfred Hugenberg in a campaign against the Young Plan. Due to Hugenberg's newspapers, Hitler was able to reach a nationwide audience. Hitler also formed an alliance with industrialists eager to establish a right-wing antisocialist government. This allowed him to have financial footing & appeal to the lower class. Depression conditions produced an appeal to the Nazis. Later, Hindenburg offers Hitler the chancellorship of Germany.
