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Schlieffen Plan Fails
Admiral von Schlieffen created the Schlieffen Plan, which was a plan for Germany to attack France(on a side note, Belgium and Luxemburg as well) while Russia was in the process of mobilization. The supposed attack on France was supposed to stall Britain from joining the war for a while, so that Germany could move their troops to fight the Russian soldiers. Unfortunately, the Schlieffen Plan failed because everything had moved quicker than the plan allowed. -
Kaiser William ll promised German support
Kaiser William ll promised German support for when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. He basically wrote a "blank check" meaning he would pay for their damages. This is one of the main events that brought Germany into WW1. Got information from second page of notes -
Germany Declares War on Russia, then France just two days later
On August 1st, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia in order to protect Austria-Hungary, because Russia was in the process of mobilization to invade Austria-Hungry. Just two days later, Germany declared war on France because France was in the process of mobilization to help protect their ally, France. This is the biggest event that brought Germany into the war.
Book-Page 761 -
Battle of Ypres-"Race to the Sea"
In October of 1914 the Battle of Ypres took place. Also known as the "Race to the Sea", it was a fight between the allies and Germans to reach the North Sea first and outmaneuver the other. The war went on for over a month while Germans opened their Flanders and the Allies resisted them. This was also the first battle where poison gas, or chlorine gas, was used leaving both sides with many losses and many wounded. -
English Passenger Ship, the Lusitania sinks!
In 1915 a German U Boat sink an English Passenger Liner, and killed about 1200 people and 128 Americans. Germany believed that there was military supplies loaded in the bottom, and so they sank it.February before the attack, Germany developed an unrestricted submarine warfare policy, and made the British Isles a warzone, meaning they could attack anything, anytime. This affected Germany because it brought another country(U.S.) against them, and forced them to end their policy. -
Battle of Jutland-Biggest Naval Battle
The Battle of Jutland was the biggest naval battle on the surface of the water. The warships met and started shooting at each other. It is unknown who truly won the battle, but much damage was done to the German fleet. 11 ships sunk, and they had a total casualty number of around 3,000, much smaller numbers than the British fleet that lost 14 ships and had about 6,000 casualties. After the many ships lost, Germany realized that their best hope was to use submarines for water battles. -
Battle of the Somme-One of the Largest Battles of WW1
Battle of the Somme was one of the biggest battles during World War 1. The Germans lost about 650,000 men. The Allies cut through their wires, destroyed their trenches, and conducted rushed attacks that let them cover more ground and leave Germany helpless. This battle was very expensive and weakened the German side due to a large amount of losses.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/battle-of-the-somme -
Zimmerman Affair
This affair increased tensions between the US and Germany. Alfred Zimmerman, a German Foreign Minister, sent a secret telegram to Mexico, promising Mexico territory they had lost to the US. A British office intercepted the telegram and decoded it. The Germans promised they would support Mexico with money and supplies in an attack against the United States. This is also one of the main reasons that the United States got involved in WW1, yet another enemy against the Central Powers. -
Battle of Argonne Forest brings Germans asking Allies for an Armstice
The Battle of Argonne was the final straw for Germany. The Allies captured and killed great numbers of Germans and pushed them back to Germany. This battle caused Kaiser William ll to flee to Holland about a month(Nov. 9th, 1918) after brutal battle and a plague that had infected many soldiers. He called for an armistice and it was signed two days later. This battle helped to end the war for all nations, including Germany. -
Treaty of Versailles Signed by Germany to bring WW1 to and end
Treaty of Versailles is signed by the Germans, ending World War 1. The treaty forced Germany to take full responsibility of the war and pay 33 billion in damages. It also removed all colonies Germany was controlling, and set up new territory boundaries for countries. This treaty is what brought Germany out of WW1, but into a long road of recovery.
