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Triple Alliance
Otto van Bismark thought that war should be to used strengthen Gemany. But once Germany no longer wanted to expand, he started maintaining peace. To maintain peace, Bismark wanted to cut France off from any possible allies. France was a hindrance to his goals of peace because France held a grudge from the Franco-Prussian War. The result was at first the Dual Alliance which included both Germany and Austria-Hungry. Later Italy was brought into the Alliance, creating the Triple Alliance. -
Triple Entente
Kaiser Wilhelm wanted to show how powerful the Germans were. To do this, he decided to create more ships to model the Germany navy after the British's navy. Great Britain grew suspicious of the Germans, so they formed an alliance with France. Later on with France and Russia creating the Triple Entente. -
Schlieffen Plan
The Schklieffen Plan was a battle strategy developed by Germany. Since France and Russia had an alliance with eachother, it would be inevitable for Germany to be fighting with both countries. This plan was to defeat France first and then rush to fight Russia. Their speed was vital. The Germans thought Russia was behind in its railroad system it would take them longer to supply it's front lines, making the Germans being able to defeat the Russians, but Germany lost. -
Allies
Otherwise known as the Allied Powers, Great Britain, France, and Russia were teamed up on the other side of the battle lines against the Central Powers. Japan and Italy also joined this group. Even though Italy was part of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungry. Italy thought that it was their fault for unjustly causing this war. -
Western Front
During World War I this was a region located in northern France where the Allies and the Central powers fought against each other. In this area the Schlieffen plan would unfold and it's humiliating defeat. Trench warfare, a type of warfare where soldier would build trenches to protect them, would take place as well. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is Killed
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austria controlled Bosina in 1908. The Bosnian people were upset about this move. A terrorist from a group who's goal was to rid Bosnia of Austrian rule decided to shoot the archduke while he was visiting Bosnia. Because the assassin was a Servian, Austria gave Serbia an ultimatum. If Serbia did not agree to Austria's demand, it would lead to war. Austria would not negotiate its terms, war was declared. -
Central Powers
Once Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia, Russia, Serbia's ally came to help. Since Germany was part of the Triple Alliance that included Austria-Hungry Russia sent troops to Germany's border. The Germans declared war on Russia. Battle lines were drawn. Germany and Austria-Hungry were known as the Central Powers. They were known as the Central Powers because of their location in the heart of Europe. -
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was one of the most important events of the war. The Germans were attacked by the Allies in the valley of the Marne River. All of the German reinforcements were thrown into the battle as well as 600 taxis that carried soldiers to the battlefield. But it wasn't enough to defeat the Allies. After only four days of fighting, the German generals were forced to tell their troops to retreat. The Schlieffen Plan was ruined and Germany would never be able to defeat Russia. -
Trench Warfare
In the Trench Warfare, soldiers fought eachother from trenches. Many people died for small land gains. One soldier wrote, "The men slept in mud, washed in mud, ate mud, and dreamed mud." When the men went to attack, they would climb outside of the trenches where most of them would get pelted with machine-gun fire and fall back into the trenches. The men that were alive would be splattered with their blood as dead bodies and dirt fell on top of them inside of the trenches. -
Eastern Front
The Eastern Front was a battle that stretched along the German and Russian border in 1916. Russians and Serbians fought the Germans and Austro-Hungarians in this war. Like the Western Front, there was a lot of stalemate and slaughter. Also, the Eastern Front was a more mobile war than the Western Front. In the Eastern Front, Austria defeated the Russians and pushed them out of Austria-Hungary. Germany had many concerns as well because they were fighting so many wars at that time. -
Total War
World War I had turned into a Total War which meant that all the countries committed to giving all their resources to use for the war effort. Factories were told what to produe and how much by the governments so that the materials needed would go to the war effort. Just about every capable citizen was put to work. Rationing was also used so that people could buy only small amounts of those items that were needed for the war effort. The Total War was affecting everyone to ration items for the war -
Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points were proposals from Woodrow Wilson of the US to achieve a fair and lasting peace. They covered ends to secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade, and suggestions for changing borders and creating new nations. The fourteenth point said that an alliance with all the nations would protect states of all sizes and solutions to world conflicts. All these points were backed up by self-determination, which meant letting people pick which government they wanted to live under. -
Armistice
The Armistice was an agreement between Germany and France to stop fighting. It ended World War I on November 11th, 1918. The Armistice was caused by Russia's withdrawl from the war so that Germany was finally able to send the rest of its troops to the Western Front. Then the Allies surprise attacked Germany with many new US troops. This started the Second Battle of the Marne. The Central Powers crumbled, and German soldiers revolted and turned on the kaiser, who stepped down. The war had ended. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Allied powers and Germany on June 28, 1919. This treaty punished Germany severely. It had its land taken away, and had severe restrictions placed on its military. The biggest impact on Germany was the “war guilt” clause. This gave Germany full responsibility for the war. In the end, the Treaty of Versailles didn't do much to keep a lasting peace. The US had become a powerful nation so years later, they signed their own peace treaty with Germany.
