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Imperialism, Militarism, Nationalism, Oh My!
In the years leading up to World War I, there was a definite increase overall in these three things: imperialism, militarism, and nationalism. An arms race between Germany and Britain, attempted colonization of Africa, and more are examples of this. Military power has always been considered a measure of national and imperial strength. -
Alliances
The idea of the buddy system went a little too far in World War I. On one side, there's Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary as the Triple Alliance, and on the other, France, Russia, and Great Britain joined up as the Triple Entente. The United States later joins on the side of France, Russia, and Britain. -
The Archduke's Assassination
While visiting Bosnia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie are assassinated thanks to the efforts of a small group of assassins. It almost doesn't work, but then their carriage takes a wrong turn and one of the assassins just happens to be standing on that street. -
Germany's Blank Check
Germany says to Austria, "Go ahead, attack, do whatever you want, we'll back you up if you need it." Germany never explicitly states how exactly they'll back Austria up, just confirms their unconditional support of whatever action Austria takes next. -
World War I Begins
The Great War, dubbed by some the "war to end all wars", begins. Give it a couple decades, buddy, there's another war on the way. -
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World War I
This is, of course, World War I, from the day it unofficially began to the day it officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
Germany decides sinking a passenger ship secretly carrying a boatload (heh) of munitions and contraband for the British war effort is a good idea. This, reasonably, upsets the American public, and is part of what turns them against Germany. -
Germany Resumes Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
By this point, the British naval blockade of Germany is working pretty well. This frustrates Germany, for obvious reasons, and they break their pledge to limit submarine warfare. The United States decides to sever diplomatic relations with Germany. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a message, originally from Germany to Mexico, intercepted by the British, translated, and brought to the attention of the United States in a successful effort to play on anti-German sentiments. In short, Germany promised Mexico they could take back some of the lands the United States took from them if they supported Germany in the war effort. Obviously, the United States was not happy about this. -
The United States Enters the War
Originally, President Wilson didn't want to go to war. His entire campaign was centered around the phrase "he kept us out of war", after all. But peace isn't always the way to go, so Congress votes to give the United States permission to enter World War I on the side of Britain, France, and Russia. It was slow going at first, but by the end of the war, over two million American soldiers had served in combat. -
World War I Ending and its Impact
Any World War is bound to leave a lasting impact, which is completely reasonable considering it's a world war. But this was the first, and mistakes were made following the first world war that would ultimately lead to the beginning of the second. -
Treaty of Versailles Signed
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles is what marks the end of World War I. It was a massive embarrassment to the Germans, taking away much of the land they'd taken during the war, cutting their military down, forcing them to pay massive amounts of money that they didn't have as reparations, and much more. -
The Dawes Plan
Following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was struggling to pay off what it owed in reparations. The Dawes Plan was a proposal drawn up by Charles Dawes (pictured) as a way to help stabilize Germany and keep the economy from getting any worse than it already was. It worked, for a while.
(It should be noted that the United States didn't care too much about Germany paying them, they wanted everyone else to pay them back the money they'd loaned them for the war.) -
The Young Plan
This plan was meant as a final settlement for the German reparations problem. It would have reduced the total amount of reparations owed, payable over 58 years, with foreign supervision of German finances ceasing and the last of the occupying troops leaving German soil. However, the Great Depression happened, and to say that the Great Depression meant bad news for the Young Plan would be an understatement. -
The Great Depression
Yeah, if you thought things were bad earlier, wait 'til you see this. The stock market just crashed, everyone's about to be broke, and the economy's not doing so well, to put it gently. -
Hitler's Rise to Power
Hitler is elected Chancellor. While March of 1933 is generally considered the end of his rise to power, any point in time where Hitler holds any political power is generally unpleasant and unfavorable. This is about to get painful.
