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World War 1
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The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Bosnia on June 28th, 1914 by a Serbia-backed terrorist. One of the members threw a bomb at Archduke and end up missing, exploding behind him seriously injuring members of the entourage. A couple hours after escaping the bomb, around the street corner, the terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, shot Archduke and his wife Sophie, the duchess of Hohenberg, and end up killing them. A month later after the assassination, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War On Serbia
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian-backed terrorist, Austria-Hungary felt it had no choice but to assert its dominance. Austria-Hungary sets out to punish Serbia, it wants to quash support for Serbian nationalism. This was the first battle that caused World War 1. -
Lusitania
A German U-boat torpedoed the British-owned steamship Lusitania, killing 1,195 people including 128 Americans, on May 7, 1915. The sinking of the Lusitania caused a huge impact of World War 1 as it lends to The United States joining the war. -
The Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun was one of the longest battles during WWI. This battle was fought along the Western Front between the French and the Germans. 10 months into the battle, more than 305,000 were killed and 400,000 casualties on both sides approximately. The Battle of Verdun began when the German army began pounding the forts and trenches with artillery fire.The sheer scope and violence of the fighting here made it one of the major battles of the First World War. -
The Battle of The Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, well over 1,000,000 casualties and over 300,000 fatalities. The battle was fought to take pressure off the French, but also start wearing down the German army as part of grand allied strategy with pulling the German troops away from Verdun. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
A message from a German foreign secretary proposing that Mexico side with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States. In return, Germany promises to return to Mexico the "lost provinces" of Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest. Mexico declines the offer, but the outrage at this interference in the Western Hemisphere pushes The United States to support entering the war. -
The United States Joins World War 1
The United States provoked when the Lusitania sinking and Germany attacked their ships and attempted to gain Ally with Mexico. That leads to the U.S to join the Allied Powers and declare war on Germany. -
The Russian Revolution
After two years of defeat, the Russian population grew discontent with the war and were unhappy with Russia's leaders. They then revolted, led by Vladimir Lenin, which forced Russia to form an armistice with the Central Powers, therefore, allowing them to move their forces towards Russia's allies on the Western Front. -
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Germans sign a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government of Russia. The terms of the treaty give Germany huge tracts of land that had been the Ukraine and Poland, and peace on the Eastern Front allows Germany to shift soldiers to the Western Front, causing serious problems for the French, British, and Americans. -
The World Guilt Clause
the 'War Guilt Clause', Germany had to accept complete responsibility for the war. Germany lost 13% of its land and 12% of its population to the Allies. This land made up 48% of Germany's iron production and a large proportion of its coal productions limiting its economic power. -
The Treaty of Versailles
On November 11th, 1919, everyone stopped fighting. Negotiations began in January of 1919 and continued to June of the same year. The Big 4 of the treaty had their own goals for the treaty. They blamed Germany for causing the damages of the war and they accepted responsibility. Germany had to pay the damages caused by their armies and also demilitarize them. On June 28th, 1919, The Treaty of Versailles was signed officially ending the first World War, adding 9 new nations in Europe.