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Francis Ferdinand (arcduke of Austria) assasinated at Sarajevo
Francis Ferdinand (in picture) and his wife were visiting Sarajevo to access the Austro-Hungarian troops. A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, planned to assasinate the arcduke during this visit. The 7 men stationed themselves along the road and would each take their turn throwing their grenades. They all failed. After lunch Francis insisted on returning to meet the wounded. Another terrorist named Gavrilo Princip took this chance and killed Francis and his pregnant wife, Sophie. -
Period: to
World War 1
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Kaiser William II promised German support for Austria against Serbia
The Kaiser's pledge is often refered to as a blank check assurance. Germany falsely pledged their support to Austria-Hungary in its conflict with Serbia. Todays historians refer to this as a huge part of a chain of events because if Germany had remained uninvolved the conflict may have remained localised. This is a picture of Kaiser William II -
Austria gives Serbia an ultimatum
With the support of its allies in Berlin, Austria-Hungary decided to give Serbia an ultimatum. If Serbia signed it they would give Astria-Hungary the right to conduct its own inquiry about the assasination. The ultimatum had to be answered within 48hrs. Serbia also had to suppress any anti-Austrian propaganda and eliminate any terrorist organisations. This is a picture of people from powerful countries leaning on Serbia. This shows how harshly Serbia was treated. -
Austria declares war on Serbia
1 month after the assasination of Francis Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary decided that the proper response was to order a military invasion into Serbia.Serbia had obeyed all rules of the ultimatum except one; allowing Austria to investigate the murder and stop all of their own investigations. After hearing the news Russia (Serbia's supporter) began to mobilise against Austria. This is a poster from Serbia where they are begging for help. -
Germany declared war on Russia
Because Russia decided to support its allies, (Serbia) Germany decided to back Austria-Hungary to even the odds.Declaring war on Russia four days after Austria declared war on Serbia.Because of this France began mobilisation to support Russia bringing in the triple entante alliance (Russia, France and Great Britain) for support. This is a picture of Russian troops preparing to leave. -
Germany implemented the Schlieffen plan
The plan was made in the 20th century Alfred von Schlieffen in case of a war where Germany would have to fight two fronts. The plan was to concentrate troops in the west defeating the French and then rushing the troops by rail to the east to defeat the Russians before they could mobilise. This is a picture of the Schlieffen plan. -
Britain declared war on Germany
Germany had implemented the Schlieffen plan meaning crossing through Belgium, who was neutral. Great Britain had always backed Belgium so when this happened Britain sought action. This is a poster from Britain for troops to help "crush the Germans." -
Battle of Marne
After invading Belgium, Germany had started entering France and were nearing Paris. The French army were tired and were retreating from the Battle of Mons to the River Marne where the first battle on the western front began. Around 250 000 soliders were killed from the French side and Germany had around the same Casualities. This is a picture of French troops defending their land. -
Turkey entered war on Germany's side
Turkey entered the war by helping Germany with a naval bombardment into Russia. This is a picture of Turkish troops. -
Allied troops land in Gallipoli
On April 25th, British, French, Australian and New Zealander troops land in Gallipoli. The Turkish force were well prepared and ANZAC were devastated by some of the best Turkish forces. British and French forces were also met with harsh resistance and suffered two thirds casualities in some locations.This is a poster advertising for people to sign up to fight in Gallipoli. -
Italy declared war on Germany and Austria
On this day Italy enters WW1 on the same side as Britain, France and Russia by declaring war on Austria-Hungary. Up until now they had remained neutral in the WW1. Because of this declaration a new 600km opened up as a front for war between Italy and Austria-Hungary. This is a picture if the Italian flag. -
Battle of Loos
British forces launch an attack on German troops posted at Loos, Belgium.This battle is famous because it is the first time the British used poison gas. Despite being outnumbered German held well against British and French forces. In the end 60 000 Germans were killed and injured whilst in total a quarter of a million French and British were killed or injured. In this picture is a German standing tall above French and British troops. -
Allies started evacuation of Gallipoli
On this day a full retreat began from the shores of Gallipoli, Turkey. The Gallipoli campaign resulted in 250 000 allied casualties and roughly an equal amount of Turks.
In this picture we see the shore of Gallipoli -
Battle of Verdun
The battle of Verdun was the longest conflict of WW1. It was between Germany and France.The plan was to defeat the French in the west instead of Russia in the east. The battle went on for 10 months and in the end both sides lost heavily.
In this picture we see solidiers weeping for the fallen people of this battle. -
British forces surrender to Turkish forces at Kut in Mesopotamia
On this day 13 000 troops give in to Turkish forces.. It was the biggest retreat up to this point in British History. The retreat was after 5 months of being under siege. With the winter rain making everything harder the British had attempted to confront and surround the Turkish 4 times only to suffer 23 000 casualties. In this picture we see troops tired and injured in the trenches. -
Battle of Jutland
The battle of Jutland is famous for being the biggest naval battle of WW1. Germany began the battle because most of Britain naval force were anchored away, at the north-east coast of Scotland. Whilst the Germans were preparing the British found out and prepared ships to leave Scotland and sail towards Jutland. In 72hrs the battle of Jutland engaged 100000 men aboard 250 ships. Germans lost 11 ships and 3058 men whilst Britain lost 14 ships with 6784 casualties. In this picture is a naval ship. -
Battle of Somme
To many this battle represents the horrors of war. It is most known for the horrible casualty numbers. British army has 420 000 casualities, 60 000 on the first day alone. The French lost 200 000 and German nearly 500 000. In this photo we see the trenches that were used. -
USA declared war on Germany
Up to this point USA had remained neutral in this war. Germany had continually sunk many American ships and eventually America could take no more and decided to take action against Germany. This is a picture of an American flag. -
Battle of Caporetto
On this day Germany and Austria-Hungary combined against Italy. The Italians were in the midst of their 11th attack on Austria-Hungary and many of Austria-Hungary's rescources were running low. So Germany came in to help their allies and finished with a brilliant victory for Germany. In this picture we see Germany's troops gathered at Caporetto. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed by Russia
Russia had suffered a number of heavy losses against Germany and signed the treaty to remove themselves from the war. They were forced to because they were to weak to carry on. This is a map of Russia. -
Turkey made peace
On this day Turkey signed an armistice becoming the second great power to retreat from war. This picture is the flag of the Ottoman empire. (Turkey) -
Austria-Hungary made peace
Austria-Hungary made an armistice with Italy. This leaves Germany alone in the war. This is the flag of Austria-Hungary. -
Official end of world war
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 1918, world war 1 ceased with Germany signing the armisitice. The world war one was known as the "war to end all wars." Unfortunately the peace treaty that ended world war 1 also set the groundwork for world war 2. This picture is a poster advertising the end of war.
