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The Triple Alliance
In 1879 Otto von Bismarck first formed a dual alliance with Austria-Hungary. A year later Italy joined and was known as the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance is very important because Germany had two allies and France had zero at the time, so this made France less of a threat to Germany and made Germany a bigger threat. In 1881 Bismarck made another ally for Germany, by making a treaty with Russia. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Two years after Kaiser Wilhelm II became ruler of Germany, force Otto von Bismarck to step down. Kaiser did not want to share the power of Germany. Kaiser believed that he and the army were born for each other. In 1890 Kaiser let the nations treaty slip with Russia. This was very important because without the treaty with Russia anymore they might become allies with another country. Russia does not really like Germany anymore because they just “ left them out in the cold”. -
The French and Russian Alliance
When Germany let the treaty between them and Russia, Russia was not happy at all. Since they did not like Germany anymore they formed an alliance with France. This is what Bismarck had feared; it was now possible to have a two front war on Germany. This was very important because France had an alley and this make Germany fell more threatened and less powerful to France. -
Militarism
The role of militarism as a cause of World War 1 was because it led to the arms race between major European countries. Militarism is when a country's military receives a high degree of attention from the government. When there is a lot of militarism there are a lot of citizen that are patriotic. With a lot of patriotism the country starts to have a lot of nationalism. Nationalism is when one has deep devotion to their country. -
Creation of Triple Entente
After Kaiser Broke the treaty with Russia, Kaiser started a shipbuilding program to build the Germany navy to match the British fleet. Stunted the British formed an alliance with France. In 1907 Great Britain made another alliance, but this time with both France and Russia. This alliance is known as the Triple Entente. But this Alliance did not mean the Great Britain would have to fight with France and Russia, it only meant that they would not fight against them. This was an important event bec -
The Austrians Take Over Bosnia and Herzegovina
In 1908 Austria took over Bosnia and Herzegovina. These were the two provinces the Serbia officials sought out to rule because Bosnia and Herzegovina had very large Slavic populations. Over the years the tension between Austria and Serbia staidly rose. Serbia vowed that they were going to take over these two provinces. Austria-Hungary vowed that they would crush the efforts made by the Serbs. This is very important because this is what made the Serbs be very mad at the Austrians. -
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
It was June 28, 1914; the Archduke Ferdinand heir to Austro-Hungarian Throne was on a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. This would be the last visit ever. The archduke and his wife were shot in the streets of Sarajevo by 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip a Serbian nationalist and a member of the terrorist group the Black Hand. This assassination is known as the spark of World War 1. Which is very important because World War 1 lead to World War 2. -
Austria-Hungry and Serbia’s Negotiations
On July 23, Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum containing numerous demands. Serbia knew that refusing the ultimatum would lead to war against the more powerful Austria. Serbian leaders agreed with some of the demands. But Austria was not about to negotiate; the nations leaders were set on the idea of war. This was important because it was when Serbia had time to agree to all the demands or go to war. Which meant that there was a war on its way. -
First Declaration of War
On July 28, Austria rejected Serbia’s offer and declared war. That same day, Russia, an ally of Serbia took action. Russian leaders ordered the mobilization of troops toward the Austrian border. Leaders across Europe suddenly took notice. The British foreign minister, the Italian government, and even Kaiser Wilhelm himself urged Austria and Russia to negotiate. But it was too late. The machinery of war had been set in motion. This was the official start of World War 1. -
Great Britain Declares War on Germany
After Russia declared war on Austria, Russian troops started heading towards Austria’s borders. Russia expected that Germany (Austria’s alley) would join in to, so troop head to Germany’s boarder as well. On August 1st German government declared war on Russia. Russia looked to France for help. But Germany did not wait for French to respond, and two days after declared war on Russia Germany declares war on France. After that Great Brittan declares war on Germany because Germany thinks it would be -
Great Britain Declares War on Germany part 2
The fact that Great Britain declared war on Germany was a big event because in the begging Great Britain just wanted to stay out of the war. But it was when Germany invade Belgium, who was neutral at the time, Great Britain did not to deal with Germany anymore. -
Battle Lines are Drawn- The Central Powers
By mid-august 1914 the battle lines were pretty clear. One side was Austria-Hungary, which is newly called the Central Powers. They called themselves that because they are located in the center of Europe. Later Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire join the Central Powers in hope of gaining more land. This was important because the Central Powers gained more allies and help from other countries. But this war was splitting up Europe in Alliances. -
Battle Lines are Drawn- The Allies
On the other side were England, France and Russia, who were known as the Allied Power of the Allies. About two week later Japan joins the Allies, Italy joined later. Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance. However, the Italians joined the Allies after accusing their former partners of unjustly starting a war. Italy noticed that they could end up in some trouble and other countries around the world stopped and turn to look at Europe to see what was going
