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The Start of World War 1
Their has been tension going through Europe a long time and it finally broke out. It all broke out when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death along with his wife by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history
Kaiser Wilhelm, German leader had secretly pledged his support. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary Germany, and Turkey, that's when World War I had begun. -
Western Front
Germany began fighting World War I on two fronts, invading France through neutral Belgium in the west and confronting mighty Russia in the east. On August 4, 1914, German troops under Erich Ludendorff crossed the border into Belgium, in violation of that country’s neutrality. -
Eastern Front
Russian forces invaded East Prussia and German Poland, but were stopped short by German and Austrian forces at the Battle of Tannenberg. The Red Army assault had forced Germany to move two corps from the Western Front to the Eastern, contributing to the German loss in the Battle of the Marne. Combined with the fierce Allied resistance in France, the ability of Russia’s huge war machine. -
Eastern Front and Revolution in Russia
German and Austrian forces at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914. Despite that victory, the Red Army assault had forced Germany to move two corps from the Western Front to the Eastern, contributing to the German loss in the Battle of the Marne. Combined with the fierce Allied resistance in France, the ability of Russia’s huge war machine to mobilize relatively quickly in the east ensured a longer, more grueling conflict instead of the quick victory Germany. -
First Battle of the Marne
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-historyFrench and British forces confronted the invading Germany army, which had by then penetrated deep into northeastern France, within 30 miles of Paris. Under the French commander Joseph Joffre, the Allied troops checked the German advance and mounted a successful counterattack, driving the Germans back to north of the Aisne River. The defeat meant the end of German plans for a quick victory in France. -
Gallipoli Campaign
Allies attempted to score a victory against the Ottoman Empire, which had entered the conflict on the side of the Central Powers in late 1914. After a failed attack on the Dardanelles. -
Lusitania
Widespread protest over the sinking by U-boat of the British ocean liner Lusitania in May 1915 helped turn the tide of American public opinion steadfastly against Germany, and in February 1917 Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill intended to make the United States ready for war. -
Battles of the Isonzo
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/296437/Battles-of-the-Isonzo
The Italian general Luigi Cadorna launched his first attack against the Austrians on June 23. For 14 days the Italian army attempted to cross the river and scale the heights beyond, but they were beaten back.The Austrian sector at the cost of heavy losses. In the end it was one of Italy's most defeats in history. -
World War I at Sea
Battle of Jutland left British naval superiority on the North Sea intact. Germany would make no further attempts to break the Allied naval blockade for the remainder of the war. Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships the following month and on April 2 President Woodrow Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. -
Revolution in Russia
Over the next two years, the Russian army mounted several offensives on the Eastern Front but were unable to break through German lines. One of Vladimir Lenin’s first actions as leader was to call a halt to Russian participation in World War I. Russia reached an armistice with the Central Powers in early December 1917, freeing German troops to face the other Allies on the Western Front. -
Battle of Caporetto
Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, German reinforcements helped Austria-Hungary win a decisive victory. After Caporetto, Italy’s allies jumped in to offer increased assistance. British and French–and later American–troops arrived in the region, and the Allies began to take back the initiative on the Italian Front. -
Toward an Armistice
German troops under Erich von Ludendorff launched what would become the last German offensive of the war, attacking French forces (joined by 85,000 American troops as well as some of the British Expeditionary Force). Turks signed a treaty with the Allies in late October 1918. Austria-Hungary, dissolving from within due to growing nationalist movements among its diverse population, reached an armistice on November 4. -
Second Battle of the Marne
Was a war decisively towards the Allies, who were able to regain much of France and Belgium in the months that followed. By the fall of 1918, the Central Powers were unraveling on all fronts. Despite the Turkish victory at Gallipoli, later defeats by invading forces and an Arab revolt had combined to destroy the Ottoman economy and devastate its land. -
World War I’s Legacy
World War I took the life of more than 9 million soldiers; 21 million more were wounded. Civilian casulties close to ten million. The two nations most affected were Germany and France, each of which sent some 80 percent of their male populations between the ages of 15 and 49 into battle. At the peace conference in Paris in 1919, Allied leaders would state their desire to build a post-war world that would safeguard itself against future conflicts of such devastating scale.
