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Bismarck unifies Germany
Otto von Bismarck succeeds in unifying Germany. King Wilhelm 1 becomes Kaiser. Germany begins to expand their empire. This marks the beginning of the Bismarckian System and the era of the Great Powers. This picture is of Bismarck, he looks like he is a dominant figure which he would had to been if he unified Germany. -
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Colonialism and Pre WWI
The rush to find "Their Place in the Sun".
Empires are looking to expand and become more powerful. This leads to political discrepancies and WWI -
Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria
Austria-Hungary and Germany create a dual alliance to protect themselves from larger European Powers like Russia. This picture is a secondary source showing the different alliances that were formed prior to WW1, it is prior to WW1. Italy actually enters the war with the Triple Entente -
Naval Arms Race Begins
Battleship HMS Dreadnought is launched and the race to biggest and best Naval force is on. Throughout the next few years leading up to the war Britan and Germany continue to upgrade their navy.
This picture is a primary source photo of the the first dreadnought. this photo show the true significance of the Naval race. -
Triple Entente formed
Britan, France and Russia Create an Alliance called the Triple Entente. This was made to counter the Triple Alliance which looked increasingly dangerous due to things like the Naval Race.
The Picture is a secondary source that represents the countries in the Triple Entente. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assasinated on the 28th of June by Gavrilo Princip who was part of the so called serbian terrorist group "Black Hand". Princip also shot the archduke's wife sophia during his attempts to kill Potiorek, the Austrian governor of Sarajevo. The 28th of June was also Serbia's National Day.
This is a primary source photo of the capturing of Princip but it is still uncertain wheather it is Princip or another person from the Black hand. -
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Events of WW1
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Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
This is the first declaration of war made in what was to be the Great War. Austria-Hungary are furious with the assassination of the heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand so they declare war on the suspected murderers Serbia. The shows the Autro-hungarian flag -
Germany Declares War on Russia
Germany declares war on Russia and The Schlieffen Plan begins. Germany now prepare to attack France through Belguim as the plan suggested. The picture shows the German empire flag -
Germany Declares war on France
Belgium rejects the demand of the Germans to have free crossing through Belgium but Germany still invades Belgium and declares war on France. The picture shows the french flag -
Great Britan enters the war
Germany declares war on Belgium.
Great Britain offers peace and for all troops to stand down from hostile actions but by 11.00 pm Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. This is when Australia pledges 20,000 men at Britains disposal, the first real involvment from Australia. The picture shows the British Flag -
Battle of Le Cateau
British forces setup defensive positions in a fighting withdrawal against the German advance. The British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) suffer 7,812 casualties. This battle may have been looked at as a failiure to some including the commander of the German assualt. The primary photograph shows the aftermath of the battle. the picture represents the horror WW1 and the losses. -
The Battle of Marne
The First Battle of Marne was the first real offensive by the French and the BEF. The Schlieffen Plan made by the Germans was to originally attack France through Belgium but since the German forces had marched 240 km the were exhausted and needed supplies that couldn’t be delivered. After 4 days of fighting the British and French had pushed the Germans back 72km. The battle did not come without a loss with an estimated 513,000 casualties all up. Primary Source. Harsh conditions. -
The First Battle of Ypres
The Battle of Ypres was one of the last major battles for the year and marked the end of the race to the sea which was a strategic plot by both sides to outflank and out manoeuvre each other to the north. The battle that had started on the 19th of October finally came to an end on the 22nd of November when the Germans retreated due to poor weather.
There were 134,000 casualties for the Germans and and 66,500 casualties for the Allies. Primary source illustrates the comraderie of Allies -
Turkey (Ottoman Empire) enters the war
The entering of the Ottoman Empire into WWI posed a direct threat to the British empire because they could be able to cut off their oil pipelines which was essential for their Navy. This is why the British landed the Anglo-Indian force to protect it at Basra. Picture of Turkish flag on Peninsula. Secondary source. -
Trench Warfare takes over the Western Front
By November 22nd both sides have established trenches on their respective sides and trench warfare creates a real stalemate over the Wetern Front. This photo shows troops taking cover in a trench. For most of the war trench warfare dominates the Western Front.(Primary Source) -
Second Battle of Ypres
This battle marked the introduction of the use of chlorine gas into warfare. The Germans were the first to use the gas which caught britan totaly by surprise. The battle stopped on the 27th of may and yet again was another stalemate. There were 95,000 casualties 63% British and the 37% German. -
Gallipoli Campaign
The Anzac's Land at Cape Helles (ANZAC Cove) which marks the start of the Allied campaign to take Constantinople and the Dardenelles to provide relief to Russia and create supply lines. During the operation there were 143,000 casualities for both sides including 26,000 Australians. -
The Battle of the Somme
The Allies had planned an attack along a 37 km North and South of the Somme. 750,000 of the Allies marched towards the Germans.
1.6 million shells were fired at the the German line so the Allies were confident that they could overrun the germans quickly but the german had fortified their defences and whistood the Shellings. The battle was a complete faliure for the Allies as they had suffered 715,000 casualities ,420,000 of them Bristish which 60,000 had occured on the first day. Photo. PS -
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was the longest and most costly battle on the Western Front. The Germans felt like they had to win the war by bleeding the French which would mean that Britan would be the only one fighting on that front. The battle lasted for 10 months and had over 1,000,000 casualties. At the beggining Germany pushed through the French taking various positions but by the end of the year the french had regained all lost territory. -
The Germans Begin to Writhdrawl.
The Germans begin to pull back 25 miles to the Hindenburg Line which was a shorter and stronger line. They retraet from Serre, Miraumont, Petit Miraumont, Pys and Warlencourt. They pulled Back to the Hindenburg Line because it held an advantage over the attackers -
US declares war on Germany
The US declare war on Germany and immediately begin to send troops over to the Western Front. The US had run-ins with Germany recently because the German U-Boats threatened the United States' trade shipping. The First US troops land in Europe on the 25th July to begin fighting.Picture of American flag represents the unity of which he US brought to the war. Secondary source -
Second Battle of Passchendaele
20,000 Allies attack German forces on the 26th of October, on the first day the Allies take 12,000 casualties for a few hundred metres of land. The battle ends after moths of fighting but the Allies have only gained 5 miles of land. 500,000 men from both sides are casualties.Photo represents the devestation of the war. Primary source -
Armistice Day
Germans sign the Armistice at 5 am which means at 11 am, after 4 years the war is over. It is believed that the last man killed is Private George Lawrence who was shot while on patrol in Canal du Centre at 10:57 am. Advertisement of Armistice Day. This primary source illustrates the unity of the Triple Entente by the soldier posing as if he had done his duty. Primary Source -
The Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles was basically a punishment for the Germans to repay for the damage of the war. It put Germany into poverty and took away all its colonies and most of its Army, Navy and Airforce. It also set back the Germans 132 billion Gold Marks and was blamed for the war. Little did everyone know that this very harsh treatment of Germany played a major part in the causes of WW2. Picture of the treaty signing it marks the so called end of the fighting. Primary Source
