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First Balkan War
Each ethnic group around the Ottoman Empire wanted their own autonomy as the Ottoman Empire declined so Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria attacked the Ottoman Empire making South-Eastern Europe incredibly fragile...led to an increase in power for Austria-Hungary -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
He was assassinated by Sarajevo (Gavrilo Princip) from the Young Bosnia Group, Serbia wanted independence and ethnic nationalism had ruined peace in the region...a culmination of the First Balkan War that led directly to a World War -
Germany Responds to Russian Mobilization
Russia decided to support Serbia when it went to war with Austria because of German provoking...Tsar Nicholas II mobilized his army even though Russia was not yet at war which led Germany to create the Schlieffen Plan...the Schlieffen Plan called a German war against France and Russia...more and more countries are getting involved -
Great Britain gets involved waging war on Germany showing alliances role
For Germany to carry out Schlieffen plan they must invade neutral Belgium who is allied with Britain so when they do Great Britain declares war on Germany...alliances get involved -
Battles of Tannenburg & Masurian Lakes
Russia and German battles, Germany wins but both majorly defeated, 2.5 million Russian soldiers killed..Germany installs military bureaucracy as its government...movement toward militant totalitarianism in Germany -
Armenian Genocide
Ottoman Empire orders a Armenian genocide with massive deportations because many Armenians sided with the Russian's...over 1 million Armenians were killed in the Turks...ethnic warfare becomes even more prevalent -
Italy joins Triple Entente
Italy was initially in Triple Alliance with Austria & Germany but left to join the Triple Entente after declaring neutrality to keep Germany from becoming too powerful...shows balance of power that the war tried to ensure -
Lusitania
Germany sinks British ship..128 American passengers on board die, Woodrow Wilson starts American campaign to join the war...gets American citizens invested in stopping Germany -
German Campaign at Verdun
Beginning of total war, German offensive at Verdun to get a few miles of French land...700,000 men lost their lives in the total trench warfare -
Karl Liebknecht bashes cost of war
Socialist goes on the radio despite major censorship and attacks total warfare and the amount of deaths...leads to mass riots worldwide -
Francis Joseph, Austrian Emperor passes away
The Austrian emperor passes away leading Czech and Yugoslav nationalists to demand autonomy...further discontent in Central Europe -
Germany issues Auxiliary Service Law
After Germany is hit hard by the Battle of Verdun & Battle of Somme is issues this law requiring all men to work a war-related job...many Germans starve to death because of its deficit spending and inability to employ enough people in enough sectors...leads to the emergence of Fatherland Party -
Germany begins to internally crack
By this point over 750,000 Germans have starved to death, moderate socialists call for "peace without annexations or reparations", militaristic Germany is not serving its people and the people are over the war...shows a worldwide lack in fighting morale that we feel all throughout Europe -
February Revolution in Russia
A series of strikes that occur to lead to the Tsar abdicating the throne...Tsar ordered soldiers to put down the mass of protestors but the soldiers joined the revolution instead, leads to the instatement of a provisional government...highlights the fragility of Russian government and its susceptibility to new ideas -
Fatherland Party & Totalitarian Government
The new Fatherland Party in Germany (ultra conservative and pro-war) gains traction in Germany and Hindenburg + Lundendorff make a military dictatorship...this is the first totalitarian government in history -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Lenin who is head of a 1-party state in Russia acknowledges that Russia lost to Germany and gave them major consultations to make up for loss...puts the communists in complete control of Russia