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Creation of the Triple Alliance
The triple alliance is an agreement between Italy, Germany, and Austria. It was created in May of 1882. The treaty stated that Germany and Austria-Hungary would assist Italy if they were attacked by France without Italian pressure. Italy would be an ally and help Germany if Germany was attacked by France. If there was ever a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Italy promised to remain neutral. This is important because these countries worked together in WW1. -
Rise of Kaiser Wilhelm ||
Kaiser Wilhelm II was Germany's last Kaiser. He was born in Potsdam in 1859. He was the oldest child of Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia and Victoria. He became ruler of Germany in 1888. He did not want to share power with anyone. He started a shipbuilding company hoping to make the German navy as strong as the British army. This move by Wilhelm lit the spark for the triple entente to be created. His decisions are the reasons that created the triple entente. -
Alliance of France and Russia
It started in 1891 and grew to a secret treaty in 1894. It became one of the basic European alignments of the pre-World War I era. In the event of war, France wanted support against Germany, and Russia against Austria-Hungary. These countries were allies. An alli is when a state works together with another for a military or other purpose, typically by treaty. They worked together in world war 1. The war could have gone completely different if they didn’t work together. -
European Arms Race/ MilItarism
By 1914, all the Great Powers except Britain had large standing armies. It was very important for armies to be able move quickly mobilize, or organize and move troops in case of a war.
Each country had General that developed highly detailed plans for a mobilization. Countries wanted this for their army because of what is call miltarism. This is the belief that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it to defend or promote national interests. -
Creation of the triple entente.
Triple Entente, an informal alliance among Great Britain, France, and Russia. Each nation promised to support the other in the event of an attack by one or all of the members of the Triple Alliance. The triple entente almost ensured that Britain would not fight against France and Russia. The triple entente ensured that the these countries would not fight against each other. -
Austria Annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary announced its annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 6 1908. The Ottoman Empire protested this loss of its land, and Russia, Britain, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, and France, and Germany all became involved. Serbia saw this as a threat and mobilized its army. -
Assasantion of Archduke Ferdinand
Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Ferdinand. Gavrilo Princip had pride or nationalism in his country and he killed the archduke and himself all for his country. Archduke Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This was important because this was the biggest cause of World War 1. -
The battle lines are drawn
The allied powers were Great Britain, France, and Russia. Japan joined within just a couple of weeks. Italy was a part of the triple alliance but they left and joined the allied powers after. The central powers were the battle lines of Germany and Austria-Hungary. They was called the central powers because they were located in the heart of Europe. Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire later joined the central powers because they wanted to regain lost territory. This was the start of the war. -
First declaration of war
On August 1, 1914, four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia and Germany declared war on each other. This was the same day France ordered a general mobilization. There were deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent. The event that was widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War 1. This was the first day of WW1 and lead to the rest of the war. -
Great Britain delcares war on Germany.
On August 4th 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany. This is the decision that is seen as the start of World War 1. Britain was lead by Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. He gave Britain a final demand to get out of Belgium by midnight of August 3rd.
