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Period: Sep 5, 914 to
Germany Army Is Stopped Going Into Paris
Germany's army is stopped by the British and French at the first battle of the Marne. The Germans begin to dig trenches which began four years of Trench Warfare. During Trench Warfare the military dug holes from which they lived and fought in them. -
The Schlieffen Plan
Germany believed there would more than likely be a war between them and Russia. Germany knew if this war actually happened France would attack Germany because they were on the same side as Russia since they were both Allies. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by the Serbian terrorist group the "Black Hand," this started the beginning of World War I. Ferdinand and his wife had accepted an invitation to visit the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. He had been warned about terrorist activity but decided to ignore all the warnings. He and his wife arrived in the second car with the top rolled back in order to give the crowd a great view. Ferdinand and his wife both died before reaching the hospital after being shot. -
Austria Declares War Against Serbia
Exactly one month after Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated Austria declared war on Serbia. On July 23, 1914 demanding, among other things, that all anti-Austrian propaganda within Serbia be squashed. Austria-Hungary wanted to conduct their own investigation into the Archduke's assassination. -
Britain Declares War on Germany
Germany invades Belgium. Belgium had previously signed a treaty with Britain so that Britain would protect Belgium. This caused Britain to declare war on Germany. -
Zeppelins
The Zeppelins were used to attack London. They also used the Zeppelins to get naval information. They couldn't be stopped until airplanes shot them down. -
Lusitania Sinks
German submarines attacked the Lusitania which was a US ship. This killed 130 US citizens. The US citizens were angered by this attack even though the majority of the victims weren't US citizens. This began the thoughts of joining the war. -
Battle of Jutland
It was the only large scale battle. The German forces were trapped in port by a British leet and was destroying the fleet. The German captain knew the taptics but the British navy was too strong so the Germans had to withdraw. -
Period: to
Battle of Verdun
The Germans mounted an attack on the French. The fighting continued for nine months. The Germans lost many men, but the French lost even more. -
The New War Commander
Loyd George persuaded the cabinet to appoint a French general. He was assured that if the British army was misused he could appeal to the British government. -
German U-boat campaign
There were orders to step up the U-boat campaign. All ships that were not part of Central Powers were to be sunk and in a one months span nearly a million tons of shipping was sunk. Loyd George then ordered all ships carrying provisions. -
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W. Front Passchendaele
The operation commanded by Nivelle, went wrong and caused many French soldiers to lose their lives. Haig protested to the British government for a breakthrough. At the battle of Passchendaele, Haig broke his promise to end the battle.
