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Alliances Between Countries
On May 20th, 1882, the Triple Alliance formed which consisted of Germany, Austria, and Italy. However, Italy left the group and joined the Triple Entente in 1915. The Triple Entente, which consisted France, Britain, and Russia. This group was formed on August 31st, 1907. -
Britain's Imperialism
Great Britain established itself was one of the European colonial powers. Great Britain took control over many different countries, but their control on the Suez canal in Egypt was arguably the most important. This allowed them to control shipments going to and from India. -
Arms Race
Many world leaders had a feeling that a storm was brewing. For them, the question wasn't if a great war would start, but when. At the time, Germany had the largest, deadliest collection of guns in the world. On land, the race was between Germany, France, and Russia while the race at sea was between Germany and Britain. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and on June 28, 1914, embarked on a trip to Sarajevo with his wife. What was expected to be a normal trip turned deadly. Ferdinand and his wife were murdered by ethnic Serbs who believed Bosnia rightfully belonged to Serbia. This lead to a great war. -
Nationalism
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand would be the best example of Nationalism. A group of Serbian nationalists decided to carry out a plan to murder Franz because they wanted Austria-Hungary to give land to Serbia. This assassination was the spark to WW1. -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary were looking for backup from Germany because they decided it was time to crush Serbia.The Germans agreed, but were remarkably relaxed at every meeting. When it was time to rally, most Hungarian troops were away, meaning mobilization was nearly impossible. Overall, there was a lot of negligence involved. -
WW1 Begins
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28th, 1914 which caused a chain-reaction throughout the alliances. Russia mobilized to help Serbia causing Germany to declare war on them. France then declared war on Germany seeing as they Russia was their ally. Germany then declared war on Belgium so that it could infiltrate France which caused Great Britain to enter the war. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania occurred during the First World War. While Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a blockade of Germany. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in a grand total of 18 minutes. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was an extremely significant piece to the history of World War I because it forced United States President Woodrow Wilson to reverse his initial position on American involvement in the European conflict and enter the United States to the war against Germany. -
Germany's Resumption of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
In 1917, the lethal threat of the German U-boat submarine raised its head again, while Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare it had previously suspended in response to pressure from the United States and other neutral countries. Germany wanted to break the deadlock in the war where the British kept war materials and other goods from reaching Germany by a blockade. The German blockade of Britain could only be effective if they went after passenger and other ships. -
US Entry Into the War
In February 1917, Germany resumed its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany; the same day, the American liner was sunk by a German U-boat. After two and a half years of isolationism, America entered the Great War. The contributions of the United States military to the Allied effort were decisive. -
Effects of WW1
Due to WW1, there was a huge rise in communism. It was starting to pop up everywhere and became known as the Red Scare. Not only that, but it changed the way America was viewed around the world. The US became the most richest, industrialized nation, and soon many of the other countries started owing the US more money than the US owed them. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles became one of the most important treaties of world war 1. This treaty ended the state of wars between Germany and the Allied Powers, -
Dawes Plan and Young Plan
The Young Plan was an attempt by past wartime allies to support the government of Weimar Germany. In 1924, the Dawes Plan had been introduced to bring Weimar out of inflation and to stabilize its economy. 1924 to mid-1929 are viewed by historians as Weimar's best years. -
Great Depression
By 1929, stock prices had skyrocketed due to an overconfidence in the market that had no basis in reality. The stock market crash happened at the beginning of the depression. Reduced spending from businesses led to budget cutting and the let off of workers. The great depression not only affected America, but soon has severe repercussions in Europe. Many European countries were dependent on American loans and without America's money, they soon began to fall behind as well. -
Rise of Hitler
Hitler's rise of power came through a means of manipulation. He had small political group that he took advantage of and soon rose through the ranks as he gained political power.
