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Triple Alliance forms
First there was a dual alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. Then a few years later Italy had joined them making a triple alliance. Bismarck wanted to gain alliances to take away possible allies from France -
Russian workers protest for better conditions
About 200,000 workers and their families petitioned at their czar's palace. They wanted better working conditons, more personal freedom, and an elected national legislature. Military generals opened fire on the crowd killing thousands, giving this event the name "bloody Sunday". Their ruler acccepted some of the terms. -
Triple Entente Forms
After feeling threatened by Germany's efforts to match their navy fleet, Great Britain formed an alliance with France. This alliance made it so that they would not fight against France or Russia, but would not necessarily fight with them. There were now two rival groups in Europe. -
Chinese nationalists oust the last Qing emperor
The Revolutionary Alliance overthrew the last Qing emperor. A republic was established and the Nationalist Party leader Sun Yixian became president. The government was based upon three principles: nationalism, democracy, and economic security. -
World War I begins as Austria declares war on Serbia
A Serbian member of the Black Hand assassinated Austrian royalty. Austria demanded an apology from Serbia but when they never recieved one, they gave them an ultimatum. When Serbia tried to negotiate some of the demads, Austria declared war. -
Trench Warfare Began
Armies dug miles of parallel trenches to protect themselves from the enemy. Each side fought each other from trenches. Armies traded huge losses of people's lives for very gains of territory. The soldiers had to live in the muddy trenches for periods of time. -
French and Germans engage in battle at Verdun
Both sides suffered a great amount of lives lost. The British army had stepped in to help out the French a few months later. Each side lost more than one million lives in the battle. The Germans and the British gained a few miles of territory. -
Russian Bolsheviks rebel in October Revolution
A strike was started by women textile workers in Petrograd. Soon more workers stepped in to form riots. Hundreds of thousands of workers stormed the streets. Soldiers soon sided with them instead of shooting them as they were commanded to do. The riots successfully brought the czar out of power. -
Russia withdraws from war
The new Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central powers signed a peace treaty. This ended Russia's participation in World War I. They withdrew from the war because they realized it was the only way to make peace. -
Armistice signed as allies defeat Central Powers
The Central Powers began to fall apart. Some nations surrended and others had many problems happening in their countries. The Germans and the French signed an armistice to stop fighting. After it was signed World War I came to an end. -
Treaty of Versailles
Germany and the allied powers signed the treaty of Versailles. A League of nations was formed by the treaty. It was to be a national association who had to keep peace among all nations. It also punished Germany greatly. It took away much of their territory and had huge military restrictions. -
Gandhi leads campaign of civil disobedience
Gandhi influenced the Indian National Congress to not cooperate with the British government. The civil disobedience was the deliberate and public refusal to obey unjust laws, and nonviolence as the way to achieve independence. He tried to weaken the British Government's authority. -
Mustafa Kemal transforms Turkey into a republic
Mustafa Kemal led Turkish nationalists to fight the Greeks and the British. They won their peace and overthrew the last Ottoman Sultan. He became the president of the countries new republic. He made many reforms and improved the country greatly. -
Stalin becomes dictator of Soviet Union
Joseph Stalin became dictator of the soviet union after Lenin died of a stroke. He built a totalitarian state. He was a man of steel and destroyed all of his enemies. He gained complete control of the economy and society. -
Mao Zedong heads Long March
Mao Zedong led a long march from the south of China to the caves of Shaanxi. They traved about six thousand miles to reach their destination. Thousands died from the long dificult journey. They managed to keep one step ahead of Jiang's forces.
