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World of Empires
Germany became a unified nation -
Germany's Power
Following it's defeat, the Austrian Empire reorganized as Austria Hungary and accepted Germany's leadership. France's defeat caused it to lose status and territory to Germany. As it was surrounded by potential enemies, Germany used its industrial might to build a powerful new army and navy. -
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Shift in the Great Powers
Germany surpassed Britain to become the world's leading Industrial Power. -
Serbia
Great Powers recognized the independence of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire and put Austria-Hungary in charge of Bosnia-Herzegovina -
Triple Alliance
To reduce the Russian threat, Bismarck formed an alliance with Russia and Austria Hungary called the Three Emperor's Alliance. Bismarck formed an alliance the following year with Austria-Hungary and Italy forming the Triple Alliance. This deprived France of possible Allies. The Three Emperor's Alliance dissolved due to tensions. Bismarck kept France isolated by forming a separate German-Russian alliance called the Reinsurance Treaty. -
Wilhelm II takes the Throne
Wilhelm was more interested in creating an overseas empire. To help achieve this goal, Germany began strengthening its navy. Bismarck was forced to resign and the Reinsurance Treaty was allowed to expire. -
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Triple Entente
France formed an alliance with Russia in 1894. In 1907, Great Britain joined because of its growing concerns of Germany. -
Trans Siberian Railroad
Russia's Trans Siberian Railroad was complete and it was the first link to Europe and Asia. -
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Russia vs Japan
Russia and Japan went to war over Manchuria and Korea. The war ended in 1905 when the U.S, Britain and Germany forced a settlement. Manchuria was returned to China, and Russia agreed to respect Japan’s control over Korea. This marked the U.S's emergence as a major player on the world stage. -
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United States and Latin America
U.S took charge in Latin American nations that "could not handle their own affairs." -
An Assassination
Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb who had been trained by a Serbian secret terrorist organization called the Black Hand, shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. This led to the Great War. -
Ottoman Empire joins the war
It joined the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary -
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Western Front
The Western front was a brutal killing field. The Western Front moved around 3 miles per year in any direction -
Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia
When Serbia didn't agree to all of Austria-Hungary's demands, it declared war on Serbia seeing it as a chance to crush its nationalism. -
Germany Declared War on Russia
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Germany Declared War on France
After it didn't pledge it's neutrality, Germany declared war on France -
Great Britain declares war on Germany
After violating Belgium's neutrality, Britain declared war on Germany. -
Japan Declared War On Germany
Hoping to gain Germany's colonies in Asia -
Serbia Joins Austria,Germany and Ottoman-Empire
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Italy joins the Allies (Britain, France, Russia)
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Armenia
The Three Pashas order Turkish troops to disarm the Armenian components of the Ottoman Empire. This was meant to spark a revolt among the Armenians which it did. Russia's intervention stopped the siege but created the belief that Armenians were spies for Russia. The Three Pashas used this as a reason for the Armenian Genocide. -
Lusitania
One of Germany's U-boats sank the British Passenger ship Lusitania. It carried cargo and passengers, some of which were American. To avoid war, Germany promised that its U-boats would warn merchant ships before sinking them, to give those on board time to launch lifeboats. -
Constantinople
A naval force landed French, British, and colonial troops at Gallipoli, a peninsula in the European part of present-day Turkey. The goal was to capture Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire’s capital, and gain access to the Black Sea. In December, after suffering more than 200,000 casualties, the Allies withdrew in defeat from Gallipoli. Turkish losses were even greater, a total of about 250,000. -
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Russia's Collapse
While the Austrians were conquering Serbia (1915) and Romania (1916), German forces advanced deep into Russia. In 1917, the huge number of lives and resources lost caused Russia’s government to collapse. Months of unrest followed until, in December, a new government signed a peace agreement with the Central Powers and pulled Russia out of the war. -
South Africa
A rebellion by South African officers who fought against the British and were pro-German stalled the fighting there. The rebellion ended in February 1916, but the German colony was not defeated until November of that year. -
Jerusalem
Britain captured Jerusalem -
Germany becomes desperate
Germany resumed it's act of unrestricted submarine warfare. It also allied with Mexico, promising that if it went to War with the U.S it would reward Mexico with land in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. -
U.S Declares war on Germany
after Germany's alliance with Mexico -
U.S Enters the War
By July, the U.S was helping the British navy combat German U-boats. -
East Africa
In German East Africa, some 12,000 African soldiers defended against 130,000 Allied troops for three years until finally being forced to surrender in November 1918. -
Fourteen Points
President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement of war goals called the Fourteen Points. It called for an association of nations to be formed. -
Germany Surrenders
German leaders knew that only surrender could save them so they signed an armistice agreeing to stop the fighting. -
The Paris Peace Conference
It was an international conference began at Paris, France, to set the terms of the peace. Twenty-seven nations were represented. However, the conference was dominated by the leaders of the most powerful Allies. The Treaty of Versailles was made demanding Germany take blame, limited the German Army, took some of its land and made it pay $33 billion dollars.