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The Assassination of Archduke Franz
A group of young nationalists hatched a plot to kill the archduke during his visit to Sarajevo, and after some missteps, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip was able to shoot the royal couple at point-blank range, while they traveled in their official procession, killing both almost instantly. -
Trench Warfare
Trench Warfare was used back then and it came back for WW1. The trenches allowed soldiers some protection from enemy fire but also hindering troops from readily advancing and thus prolonging the war. -
Nationalism
Nationalism led to WW1 because it was responsible for pushing countries to expand their influence in Europe. -
Austria declared war on serbia
On the 28th of July 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. The reason for this is that the declaration of war was made after Serbia rejected the terms in an ultimatum sent to them by Austria on July 23, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, had been assassinated by Serbian student, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo. -
Gemany declared war on Russia
Austria blamed Serbia, which then looked to Russia for support. Germany declared war on Russia in support of Austria and on France because of its alliance with Russia. Britain declared war on Germany in support of Belgium and France, and on Turkey because of her alliance with Germany. -
Germany declares war on France
Germany declared war on France because France teamed up with Russia and Germany wanted to support Serbia. -
Great britain declares war on Germany
The reason Great Britain declared war on Germany is because they wanted to to defend the balance of power in Europe and safeguard Britain's position in the world. -
Militarism
Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in the time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. -
Imperialism
The expansion of European nations as empires can be seen as a key cause of World War I because as countries like Britain and France expanded their empires, it resulted in increased tensions among European countries. -
Alliances
By 1914 over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull them into battle.
These treaties meant that if one country was attacked,
allied countries were bound to defend them.
The following alliances existed:
Russia and Serbia
Germany and Austria-Hungary
France and Russia
Britain and France and Belgium
Japan and Britain -
The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman army entered the war in 1914 on the side of the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and was defeated in October 1918. Following the Armistice of Mudros, most Ottoman territories were divided between Britain, France, Greece and Russia. -
The United States Joins the battle
Despite the stalemate on both fronts in Europe, two important developments in the war occurred in 1917. In early April, the United States, angered by attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic, declared war on Germany. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
In May 1915, a German U-boat sunk the British passenger ship Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. Over 1,000 passengers were killed, including 128 Americans. In addition to straining diplomatic relations between the US and Germany, the Sinking of the Lusitania further increased anti-German sentiment in America. -
The war between Germany ended
Although both sides launched renewed offensives in 1918 in an all-or-nothing effort to win the war, both efforts failed. The fighting between exhausted, demoralized troops continued to plod along. In August – September, an Allied offensive along the Meuse River and through the Argonne Forest succeeded in driving an exhausted German army backward toward the German border. -
The Treaty of Versailles
the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, France. The treaty was one of several that officially ended five years of conflict known as the Great War World War I.