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In 1908 a revolutionary group took power of the Ottoman Empire. Called the Young Turks they promised a restoration of the Ottoman Constitution and elections, but soon became very authoritarian. The group became very non tolerant of races besides the Turks, and accused Armenians of colluding with the Europeans.
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South African Forces are conscripted in 1912, and end up fighting in WW1. Over 6,600 troops were killed in the War.
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In 1914, Canada only had about 3000 troops. Expecting a war in Europe, Canada ASKED citizens to volunteer for the CEF. Immediately 30,000 Men in Canada enthusiastically volunteered ready to fight. Nationalism was so high in Canada that the government didn't even need conscription until the last year of the war.
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British newspapers immediately reported the atrocities of the Belgium invasion, quickly swaying public opinion towards the Germans down and down. After the loss by the Russians of the Tannenberg battle, it was kept secret from the public of the U.K. to keep morale high.
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Most of the war was spent in trenches just trying to pass the time. These poor soldiers had to deal with terrible stale food, low water, cold and wet conditions(or in the east and africa it was the opposite with very hot and dry conditions), and disease. Thank god we never did this again.
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Due to ongoing conflicts between the Serbs and the Bosnians, The Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, was shot and killed while driving through Bosnia.
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Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after blaming them for the assassination of the archduke. This officially starts WWI.
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Germany declares war on Russia after seeing a mobilization of troops in support of Serbia. Germany has an alliance with Austria-Hungary, so when Austria declares war, Germany follows.
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Germany declares war due to France being allied with Russia in the Triple Entente (three-way alliance with Russia, France, and U.K.)
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German invades through neutral Belgium in their offensive on the french homeland. Due to this invasion of a neutral country, U.K. declares war.
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Despite Belgium's neutrality, Germany invaded through their country, and over a quarter of a million Belgiums fled to England and France. Germany went through towns burning them down and murder and raping civilians. Their reasoning was a fear of Belgium guerrilla fighters.
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Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia after Russia mobilizes against Austria. This is due to the Russian alliance with Serbia
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Due to the geographical positioning of the Triple Entente, the Central powers were surrounded by enemies on all fronts. This meant they had to split their army, severely weakening them.
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British and French forces invaded the German colony of Togoland in West Africa. Togoland was a key location between German shipping in the Atlantic so it was a target for the British and French forces.
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The battle of Tannenberg was fought between Russia and Germany in East Prussia(now Poland). Russia mobilized faster than Germany expected, hindering the Schlieffen plan. The Russians invaded East Prussia and after 4 days of battle, the Germans were victorious with only 20,000 losses, while the Russians lost over 140,000. The commander of that army killed himself after hearing the disastrous news of the battle.
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The first naval battle takes place between the U.K. and the Germans near Heligoland Bight bay. The British lured the Germans into an attack and sunk three German cruisers and a destroyer. The Germans were badly outnumbered,so the British only lost one cruiser. 747 people were killed.
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The WPB is founded by the British after hearing of a German Propaganda Agency. It is kept secret until 1935.
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The commander of the Russian army(biggest in the world at the time) was incompetent and had little experience and was replaced with the Tsar who was also incompetent. I can see why the Russians hated their government.
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After the invasion through Belgium, a massive amount of German troops are advancing to Paris. The BEF(British Expeditionary Force) and French forces launched an offensive against the advancing Germans. After the battle was over, over five hundred thousand french soldiers and German soldiers were captured or killed. This was a huge turning point for the allies, and it made the Schlieffen plan look like a massive failure, even after a massive loss of french forces.
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After the Battle of the Marne, German forces set up a defensive position along the northern bank of the River Aisne. A natural ridge provided natural long defense. The British forces attempted to cross the river under a dense fog, but after the fog cleared up they were exposed and mowed down. The river was a problem for the allies, as it left them slow and exposed. These environmental conditions caused a 4 year long stalemate in the Aisne.
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The war may have been terrible, but it resulted in the creation of some pretty cool stuff. Gabriel Voisin was an aircraft designer in WW1 and his planes became standard for the allies. On October 5th, the Voisin III was the first allied plane to shoot down an enemy aircraft.
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The CEF(Canadian Expeditionary Forces) sent its first troops to Britain in October. Almost 600,000 Canadian joined the army during the war. 56,000 Canadians never came home.
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Turkey was weak after terrible losses in the Balkan Wars, and was very worried about Russian expansion. Near the outbreak of WW1, Turkey secretly signed a defensive pact with Germany for protection in July, and then made it public by attacking Russian naval bases with Germany. They picked the wrong side to ally with.
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In December, there was a lot of hostility towards killing on both fronts, and both sides made negotiation for a small period of peace on Christmas day. Despite them being the 'enemy' British and German troops all came out of their trenches on Christmas. Everyone was enjoying themselves, even playing a game of football. At the end of the night, all the troops went back in to their trenches, knowing they would be killing each other very soon. Both sides never did this again.
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There were an estimated 1,771,000 casualties in 1914 alone. (at least this picture looks cool)
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Rasputin is a religious mystic and a self proclaimed holy man. He rose to political power and became a close friend of the Russian Royal family, especially to the Tsarina. He influenced the Tsar with a lot of governmental decisions, and the public was not happy that a crazy magic old man was calling the shots. Controversies like this led to the Russian Revolution in 1917.
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Russias army was the biggest in the war, due to conscription laws in place as early as 1880s. These laws let the Russians build a massive reverse of troops, and was why WW1 had mainly Russian deaths.
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Women were subject to heavy propaganda in WW1 on both sides. They called for them to support the country through factory jobs or liberty bonds.
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The Zeppelin was a massive balloon type airship that was used to bomb civilian target cities in WW1 and WW2. Zeppelins were huge in the sky and were extremely threatening. Men aboard would literally drop bombs off a platform on to targets.
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Germany has been in a naval blockade by the british since the start of the year, and it has been affecting their food supply greatly. Over 770,000 Germans die during the war to hunger blockades. To combat this the Germans start sinking any ships heading to britain. This bites them in the ass as it ends up bringing the U.S. into the war.
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On February 25, The Ottoman empire put new documents in to law that forced all ethnic Armenians out of political power and the military. They started putting Armenians into labor camps, and secretly executing them. It got worse from there. The Armenians were brutally exterminated through methods of barbarity. Over 1.5 million Armenians died. The Turkish government today denies it happened to this day. This is why History is important, so we never do stuff like this again.
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The first use of the deadly chlorine gas was used in this battle. French troops reported seeing "yellow-green clouds drifting slowly towards their trenches". The gas destroys the respiratory system and internal organs leading to a very painful death. It also blinded people. Gas masks were used to combat this.
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The British attempted to take the Dardanelle strait from Turkey. Planned by Winston Churchill, it was a complete failure and resulted in over 60,000 death. This was a big win for the Turks.
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German U-boats sunk a passenger ship (secretly) carrying weapons for the Allied Forces. This was after a public warning by the Germans to the U.S. to not trade with Britain. 1,198 people died, and this incident gave more reason for the U.S. to join the war in the allies favor.
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Even though the sinking of the ship was warned about and justified, The U.S. had a field day with and newspapers reported of the atrocities of the incident. Propaganda posters called on people to avenge the Lusitania.
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Italy, under pressure by the italian people and socialists, declines to enter the war. This betrays his allies that he made a pact with, Austria and Germany. Fearing an assault by Austria, Italy switched sides and declared war against the central powers. Cowards.
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Many citizens were very nationalistic and eagerly wanted to support the war. Teens and pre teens all lied about their age to fight in the war. The youngest authenticated British soldier in WW1 was the twelve year old Sidney Lewis who fought at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
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Severe winters on all fronts diminished supplies and caused lots of diseases. For example, the cold wet French weather made life in the trenches terrible with people getting Trench Foot. Trench Foot was a fungal infection on the feet due to constant damp and dirty conditions. This usually resulted in a amputation.
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After heavy losses, Britain passed the Military Service Act. Single men above or at the age of 18 were forced to serve in the military. Later, married men under 50 were conscripted
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German troops attempted to take the city of Verdun to destroy French morale. The French troops defended it viciously and the Germans suffered losses they could not recover from.
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Germany decided to attack the British navy (what a dumb idea). The Germans called it a victory as more British ships were destroyed but the German navy was crippled and let the British naval blockade country, starving the country.
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A group of conservatives, worried of a coming revolution, assassinated Rasputin to try to make the Tsar's public opinion from going down less.
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The U.S. joined the war very late and this was due to many reason. One was the huge populations of ethnic Germans and Austrians in the U.S. and isolationism.
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People estimate over 6 million war time refugees fled to Russia. Citizens were angered by this, and the crisis ended being one of the events that lead to the Tsar being overthrown.
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U.S.A joining the Allied forces in WW1 was seen as the final thing that cemented the Allied Victory. Germany was very worried about U.S. getting involved in the war. They tried to not involve with them, even stopping sinking of boats to Britain for a short while after they asked. But the U.S. joining was inevitable.
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Pablo Picasso was in Neutral Spain during the war, and was pacifist. He was disturbed by the war and found it barbaric and evil. People saw him as a traitor and a coward for not fighting. His art is recognized by millions around the world and is hanged up in the most prestigious museums.
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Factory jobs became very common, and most woman in the War were in factories making ammunition for both sides. Women workers started having more of a say in WW1 and started advocating for worker rights in Russia.
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Germany attempted to send a telegram to Mexico city, enticing Mexico to declare war on USA over lost territories. In return, Germany said they would supply troops. Due to Britain's domination of the sea, they were able to intercept the telegram and show it to the U.S.
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Workers go on strike over participation in the war. Strikes like these cause food shortages for the Russian army
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In Russia, the workers were sick of having all their food sent to the army, and many workers went on strike. Starvation and famines caused resentment of the government and caused many to turn to radical revolutionary parties like the Communists.
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The Tsar of Russia finally abdicates and is replaced with a provisional government. The new government decides to stay in the war, contrary to public opinion.
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The U.S. declares war on Germany, after a telegram sent to Mexico by the Germans enticing a war against them. The U.S. joining the war against the Central powers effectively sealed the fate of the war as the U.S. was becoming a world super power.
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Due to horrible conditions of the trenches and the prolonged war, mutiny's occurred in the French army. Luckily, The U.S. troops arriving gave them a boost of morale.
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An estimated 8.5 million soldiers died in WW1. 13 million civilians were killed.
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Nationalism has been rising in Europe and the Middle east since early 1800s. WW1 helped nationalism rise, as countries opposed each other more and more. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles humiliated the Germans and the Italians, increasing their hatred of the allies.
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Due to the Russian revolution and the new Bolshevik government, Russia withdraws from the war and surrenders parts of their territory to the Germans.
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Wilson's fourteen points were a list of principles that were for peace. He believed the Allies should go easy on the Central powers. The most important point was point 14 which advocated for the League of Nations.
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Most of the Allies agreed with the points, except for some like Freedom of the Seas. German media saw the points as an instrument of allied propaganda.
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Hungary splits from the Austria-Hungary union after the bad outcome of the war for Austria people strived for independence.
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After Germany lost the war, they gave all their annexed territory back, and countries like Poland and East Prussia were formed from Germany.
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The massive cost of the war on all fronts put everyone involved (except the U.S.) into a financial crisis. This resulted in the Great Depression.
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Italy, being on the winners side, felt like they deserved a decent reward at the Treaty. Most of their demands for territory were ignored and this angered the Italians.
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Due to most of the war being in the French homeland, France was devastated and wanted revenge.At the Treaty of Versailles. France wanted extreme punishments for Germany, with massive reparation costs and shrinking their army to nothing.
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When Germany signed the armistice, they just wanted peace and a stop to the fighting. They were not invited to the talks of the treaty and Germany was continued to be blockaded by the British navy, possibly causing an extra 100,000 famine deaths in Germany a full YEAR after fighting stopped.
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Japan was a very small player in WW1, but helped the Allies by taking over German islands. They demanded more territory from china and to keep the territory they annexed from Germany and China.
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The U.S. was one of the big three in the Treaty. The U.S. wanted to implement a league of nations as it was Woodrow Wilson plan for peace. But the Europeans were looking for retribution.
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Germany was blamed for most of the war, even for starting it. The Germany had to pay billions in reparations while already being devastated economically by the war. Their Military was reduced to less than 100,000 troops, and were not allowed to declare war.
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The main terms of the Treaty were the return of all annexed territory to France or to the League of Nations, 6.6 billion in reparations to the Allies, and a ban on the union of Germany and Austria.
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Japan had to give back territory to China as part of the Treaty, as China was part of the Allies. Japan was angered by this and thought they deserved more than just the islands they were given.
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The US senate was bitter about the Treaty of Versailles and in practicing their traditional policy of isolationism, rejected to sign it.
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700,000 US African american troops were conscripted in WW1. Due to Rapid industrialization caused by the war, millions of African Americans migrated to the north in to cities. They created the urban black community and more.
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The results of the Armenian Genocide in WW1 scattered the Armenians. They were deported to different parts of the country or to Labor camps. Thousands fled to Russia to escape.
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Many Belgiums fled to France and the Netherlands after the invasion of their country. Many stayed for good.
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After the defeat of Serbia at the hands of the Austrians led many Serbians to flee to the mountains into Albania. Over 200,000 refugees died trying to flee.
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The U.S.S.R was formed after the former Russian empire was dissolved. They gave up some of their territory to the League of Nations but in reality they were Russian puppet states. The failure of the Russian Tsar government increased support for totalitarian leaders in Russia.
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East Prussia, was formed from the remains of The German empire. It was separated from Germany by the Polish Corridor. Due to so many ethnic Germans in Prussia, Germans were very angry about the separation, and that hate led to the Invasion of Poland in WW2.
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After the U.S. rejected to join the League of nations, many considered the League of Nations to be a failure. Many countries like the U.S. declined to join the League, making it weak. It failed its primary purpose to stop wars in the 1930 when WW2 broke out.
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The Lost Generation is a generation of people coming of age during WW1. Its also the name of a group of American literary nobles who lived in Paris in the 1920s. They were said to be a disillusioned by the senseless slaughter of WW1.
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WW1 rapidly increased industrialization in the world. Innovations changed the world forever and set the stage for the next war with inventions like the telephone, airplane, and cinema being revolutionary.
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America had little involvement in the war so faced little debts or damage. In fact they were better off then before the war due to them selling weapons and supplies to the Allies. And they rejected the League of Nations so they didn't have to deal with any economic sanctions or taxes from being in that. The economic balance shifted and the U.S. started its rise to be an Economic superpower.
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The U.S. declined to join the League of Nations because of their policy of isolationism. This promoted strong nationalism and showed to other countries that being independent is better. They should have joined as more would have followed.
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The war greatly increased industrialization, and as a result the economy became more industrialized and less agriculturally. Russia started to slowly replace farmland with factorys, slowly becoming a global powerhouse.
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Italy was humiliated in the war and felt cheated by the treaty. They felt like they deserved more, and nationalistic feelings rose greatly in Italy. This resulted in the rise of the radical Fascist Party.
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Because of the massive reparation debts they owed, Germany's economy was bust. The ratio of gold to dollar went from 1:1 to 1:1,000,000,000,000. No that's not a joke. Germans realized they were worse off then they were during the war. This grew hatred towards the Allies and gave rise to radical groups like the Nazis.
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Due to political divide in the country and the occupation of Constantinople by British forces, The Ottoman Empire broke away, with the Turks being confined to Asia Minor (turkey).
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F. Scott Fitzgerald was a literary artist inspired by WW1 who was in the Lost Generation group. He wrote The Great Gatsby which became a best seller and is taught in schools around the world.
