-
The Triple Alliance is Formed
• The Triple Alliance was the military alliance between Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy. • Each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great powers, or for Germany and Italy, an attack by France alone. -
The Triple Entente is formed
• Consists of Britain, Russia, and France.• Promised to help each other if they were under attack • The Anglo-Russian Entente combined with the Entente Cordiale created what is called the Triple Entente between Russia, France and Britain - an agreement to defend each other in the event of a threat from Germany - a counter to the Triple Alliance -
Austria-Hungary Takes Control of Bosnia
• In 1908, Austria-Hungary tried to add the states of Bosnia and Herzegovena to its territory. The Slavs violently opposed the efforts of Austria-Hungary. Russia came to help Serbia; Germany came to help Austria-Hungary. Fighting did not break out because the Serbians gave in. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is Assassinated in Sarajevo
• The victims, Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie, were in the Bosnian city in conjunction with Austrian troop exercises nearby. • The assassin, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip burned with the fire of Slavic nationalism. He envisioned the death of the Archduke as the key that would unlock the shackles binding his people to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.• First a grenade was thrown at the car and did not kill Franz so he was shot. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
• In response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Slavic terrorist group the black hand. • Marks the beginning of World War I• Much of Europe had already become entangled in the dispute. -
Germany Invades Belgium
• German army marches through Belgium on their way to France • Britain feels obligated to help Belgium • The next day Britain declares war on Germany. -
A German U-Boat Sank the Lusitania
• The Lusitania primarily ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain. On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania left port in New York for Liverpool to make her 202nd trip across the Atlantic. On board were 1,959 people, 159 of whom were Americans.• On May 7, the Lusitania was spotted and hit by a German torpedo. • The Lusitania sunk within 18 minutes. Though there had been enough lifeboats for all passengers, the severe listing of the ship while it sunk -
The First Battle of the Somme Begins
• For many people, the Battle of the Somme was the battle that symbolized the horrors of warfare in World War One; this one battle had a marked effect on overall casualty figures and seemed to epitomize the futility of trench warfare. • The Battle of the Somme was planned as a joint French and British operation. The idea originally came from the French Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Joffre.• A major WW-1 Battle led by Sir Douglas Haig's attack with 750,000 troops on 1 July 1916. The German defende -
Zimmerman Note
The telegram came from U.S. Ambassador to Britain Walter Page. At the time, Britain and Germany were at war. The decoding of the message proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico and disclosed German plans to begin unrestricted submarine warfare. The telegram was a significant development in the United States' decision to go to war alongside such nations as Britain and France. -
The United States Declares War on Germany
• In World War One, the incident that finally made the US declare war on Germany was the Zimmerman Telegram, in which the Germans offered to Mexico: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. But this was only the final straw in a series of aggressive actions taken by Germany that the US didn't like.• “It is a distressing and oppressive duty, Gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. I
