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Tensions rise
As nationalism, imperialism and militarism grew so did the tensions bewteen countires in Europe. All of the European countries started to express more nationalistic feelings. A strong sense of imperialism emerged from these countries too because they wanted to expland their territory to be the strongest power in the world. A strong military was seen as something that helped a country be great. -
Alliances form
The first alliance formed was the Triple Alliacnce which included Germany, Austria-Hungary and later Italy (which would eventually become the Central Powers). The next alliance to form was the Triple Entente in 1907 which included France, Russia and Britian (which would become the Allied powers). Their pact was if any other country attacked one of the countries within their alliance, the countries in the alliance would be hostile towards that one country. -
Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife visited Sarajevo they were shot and killed. Austria blammed Serbia for the murder of Ferdinand and his wife because the shooter was a Seriban. Serbian leaders were forced to agree to Austria's demands. In no mood to negotiate, Austria declared war on July 28. -
War in the East Front
The war on the East front contained less stalemates than the battles fought in the West. However, there was still a lot of endless slaughter. For example, Russia tried to attack Austria and Germany at the same time! This prooved to be a bad idea because it resulted in the deaths of 30,000 Russian soldiers. Russia was not as advanced as Germany or Austria, and this was a major setback in the war. -
Period: to
World War I
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The First Battle of Marne
The Germans collided head on with the French in the First Battle of Marne. This was the German's plan. They hoped to gain a quick victory in the West and then rush to the East to finish off the Russians. This was known as the Schieffen Plan. Unfortunately for them, the French defeated the Germans and decimated their plan. -
Gallipoli Campaign
The Gallipoli campaign goal was to take the Dardanelles straight. Britian, Australia, New Zeland and France tried to attack the western side of the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Germans and Turks tried to defend the area. Many months later it remained a bloody stalemate. By December there were over 250,000 deaths and the Allies evacuated. -
Battle of Somme
In 1916 the Germans launched a massive attack near Verdun against France. France and Germany each lost more than 300,000 men. The British came to help the French in July. British forces attacked the Germans near Verdun and after the first battle almost 20,000 British soilders were killed. In November when the Battle of Somme ended each side lost about half a million men. -
U.S. Joins the Fight!
In January of 1917, the Germans started sinking any ship that came close to Britain. This was called unrestricted submarine warfare, and it did NOT go over well with the Americans. President WIlson warned the Germans to stop, but the Germans kept sinking more submarines. Then, in Frebruary, the United States intercepted a telegram from the Germans to the Mexicans saying that they would help the Mexicans regain lost territory. This was the last straw, and the United States decides to join the war -
Russia Retreats
After losing so many soldiers on the battlefield, Russia decided that it would be best for them to back out of the war. This was mainly decided by a man named Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the new communist leader of Russia. The once great country had nearly 5.5 million casualties, fatalities, and people taken prisoner. In March 1918, Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and Russia left the war. -
Influenza Epidemic
In the Spring on 1918 a deathly disease emerged. This disease was called Influenza. It hit England and India in May killing anyone who was diagnosed. In India there were almost 12 million deaths by the fall. This disease killed civilians and soilders. Almost 1,500 people died on one day in Berlin. This disease killed more people than the war. Overall it killed 20 million people. -
Leauge of Nations
The Leauge of Nations was created in the Treaty of Versailles. It was created to be an international association. Their goal was to keep a strong peace between all the countries. The Leauge of Nations didn't last long. Eventually it was replaces with the United Nations, which is the association that we still have today. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, between the Central Powers (specifically Germany) and the Allied powers. This treaty was put in place to promote peace among nations and to try to avoid this kind of conflict in the future. However, this treaty failed because it was extremely unfair and overly-punished Germany for the war. As we all know, the treaty was a "peace built on quicksand" meaning it would last long...
