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Start 0f War
Heir to the Austrian Throne, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife are shot dead by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the terroist group the Black Hand. This assassination caused Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia. Serbia had an alliance with Russia, causing Russia to come to Serbia's aid, starting World War I. -
Period: to
Start to End of World War I
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The Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was a plan made by the Germans long before World War I started to prepare themselves for war against France and Russia, who would fight them on both sides. The plan thought that the French army would be weak and the Russian army would be strong but would take a long time to moblise it's force, but Russia only took 10 days and it's forces were moblised which was bad for Germany. German soldiers would pass through Belgium unwelcome to only have Britain comes to Belgiums aid. -
The Staelmate of the Western Front
The western front was a battlefront that stretched from the shores of Belgium, through France to just outside the borders of Switerzland. Roughly 25,000 miles of trenches were dug across the Western front. The trenches were mainly located on the French-Belgium border. Life in the trenches was hard and riddled with disease. Gas bombs were used alongside heavy mechanical artilary. -
The Battle of Mons
The Battle of Mons was a battle of movement not trench warfare, making it a unique battle in the war. It was also the first engagement of British and German forces on the Western Front. The battle took place in Belgium. British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) lead by Sir John French joined up with French forces. The Germans were trying to pass through Belgium and it was the Allied Powers job to stop them. -
Battle of Ypres
One of the most notable battles of WWI, the Battle of Ypres started when the British had arrived in October 1914. The British were out numbered by the Germans but the Germans had students as soldiers who were up against Britain's proffesional British soldiers. Adolf Hitler was fighting against the British in this battle. He rescued a wounded comrade and received the Iron Cross, the highest honour a German soldier could receive. Both sides had many casualties but they could not overrule eachother -
Battle of Artois
in October of 1914 the Germans occupied and fortified the area of Motre Dame. From 17 December the French consisently attacked the Germans which made up the first battle of Artois. The second battle began in 9th of May which lead tp the fall of Motre Dame on the !2th of May. The battle consisted of hand to hand fighting in the ruins and trenches. The third battle started on the 25th of September. It rained heavily and the casualties were high. -
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle was fought between10th and 13th of May 1915. Neuve Chapelle was the intial target, but Sir John French also intended on capturing on capturing a village at Auber. Douglas Haig's Army, which consisted of 40,000 men, led the attack on March 10th. It took four hours to capture. -
The Gallipoli Campaign
Argueably one of the most important militray campaigns in Australia's history, the Gallipoli campaign took place on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) were placed on the beach. Due to miscommunications they landed a mile too far North. Many soldiers were slaughtered on arrival. The campaign was doomed from the start, and the ANZACs could do little but hold their positions. The ANZACs were known for their bravery and enthusiasm. -
Germans Destroy the passenger ship known as the Lusitania
The Germans sunk the passenger ship known as the Lusitania which was unarmed and occupied by civilians. Germans torpedoed the ship along with many other passenger ships in World War I. The ship carried American citizens, which helped contribute to America's decision to later join the war. -
The Somme
The Battle of Somme was a series of battles that took place between the 1st of July the 13th of Novemeber 1916. The battle took place in the Somme valley in France. Britain had had 60,000 casualties oon the first day, the most costly day in Britain's history. The Germans defenses were far too strong and Britain had to abandon the offensive. -
Battle of Mouquet Farm
The Battle of Mouquet Farm was the Australians attempt to capture the farm. It consisted of two periods that went through the 8th and 12th of August and the 29th and 31st f August. The Australians were primarily from Western Australia and it was their first time in action since Gallipoli. Private Martin O'Meara was a distinct among the men, saving roughly twenty soldiers from no-mans land under heavy fire. -
U.S Declares War
The U.S declared with Germany on April 6th 1917. They joined with the Allied powers and brought in 2 nillion soldiers who were not weary from battle. Woodrow Wilson was the American president primarly because Germany continuely destroyed unarmed civilian passenger ships with American citizens on board. -
The Battle of Arras
The Battle of Arras commenced on the 9th of April and finished on the 16th of May 1917. The British attacked the German trenches located east of the French city of Arras. General Nivelle of France's plan was to attack the Germans on the Chemin-des-Dames ridge. British Field Marshal Haig wanteed to direct the forces north to clear the Belgian Coastline but he was overruled by British PM Lloyd George. The battle had a mix of British, Cananadian, French and Australian forces. -
Mutinies in the French Army
Mutinies rose in the French Army after a large number of their soldiers were killed in the Nivelle Offensive. The soldiers flew red flags and sung the infamous "Internationale," both signs of support for communism. The first mutiny started on April the 17th 1917. The French hated the conditions they lived in and started having bad relationships with their senior officers who were responsible for strategy and tactics. -
The Battle of Polygon Wood
The Battle of Polygon Wood was one of a series of well planned attacks made by the British general Herbert Plumer. The name Polygon wood wa made by the I ANZACs that was beside them as they advanced. The battle was planned to take place on the 26th of Septemeber 1917. The ob jectives were captured with ease and the German's counter-attacks were without success. This battle had 5,770 Australian casualties. -
Operation Michael
Operation Michael was the Germans plan to divide the German and French forces. Planning started in March 14 1918 and the plan was iniated in March 21 1918 the plan was intiated. They wanted to also capture the strategically important area of Amiens. They needed to weaken alllies as the Americans had also joined, bolstering their strength. On March 25th the 3rd and 4th Australian divisions stopped them from attacking. -
Le Hamel
The battle of Le Hamel was claimed to have taken 85 minutes. The Australian troops led by Sir John Monash started at 3;10am on the 4th of July 1918 and had cleared the Germans out by 4;3ram. They managed to capture all of their objectives. -
The Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was made of three highly-fortified trench defences. It was the last but strongest of the German's defenses. it was established in 1917. On September 18th 1918 the first attack on the Hindenburg Line was led by Sir John Monash. He sent in Australian troops who took 4,300 German prisoners while onl;y suffering 1,000 casualties. The second attack took place on the 29th September where the line was broken by Australian and U.S forces. -
Battle of Montbrehain
This was the last battle involving Australian Infantry on the Western Front. They attacked the German defences on the Beaurevoir trench line. They attacked in the morning of the 5th of October 1918. The battle was succesful with 430 Australian casualties and 400 Germans taken prisoner. -
End Of World War I
World War I offically ended at 11am on November 11 1918. The Allied Powers had defeated the Central Powers and signed a peace treaty in France.
