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Uprise of Militarism
As industrialization pushed countries forward both technologically and economically, military strength was also becoming one of the key factors that determined the strength of a nation. In order to boost national power and the political standpoint in the world, each country started to heavily invest in its military. The abundance militarism that arose in the 18th and 19th century laid a foundation for the violent and powerful First World War. -
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Spread of Industrialization
The spread of industrialization also brought forth great technological and economic advancement, leading many countries to become ambitious and hungry for more power. Nations were also becoming more wary of the growing military and financial strength of their rivalries, leading to more tension to grow between the powerful nations. The spread of industrialization created a massive opportunity for war to spawn. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire and he experienced an assassination on June 18th 1914, orchestrated by the Black Hand secret society. The goal of the assassination was to dismantle the powers of Austria-Hungary through breaking apart the provinces of the empire to create Yugoslavia. Ultimately, this assassination triggered the empire to issue an ultimatum towards the Kingdom of Serbia, which was rejected, thus accentuating tensions for war. -
Britain's Attempt to Resolve Tensions
After being made aware of the tensions growing between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, Britain attempts to deescalate the situation through a conference. In the conference, many major European powers were invited, including France, Italy, Russia and Germany. Of the bunch, Germany declines the request to resolve the situation. This foreshadows the intentions that Germany has towards the First World War and the tensions between Britain and Germany. -
Austria-Hungary Declaration of War Over Serbia
On July 28th, 1914, a month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian nationalist, Austra-Hungary officially declares war on Serbia. This war is also the first one to ignite the rest for the First World War. -
German Declaration of War on Russia
As the Russina government was in full support of the Serbian mobilization, the German Empire declared war on the Russian empire. This action also led to dramatic responses across nations as Germany's action has greatly violated the neutrality of Belgium and France which they have agreed upon earlier in an offer from Great Britain. -
German Declaration of War on France
As part of its expansionist move, Germany requested to enter Belgium which was rejected by King Albert of Belgium as to remain neutral admist the political climate. As the German empire was rejected, the regime announced war against France and Belgium. On the same day, German troops had started to infiltrate into Belgium, leading Great Britain to announce an ultimatum for the Germans to withdraw from the neutral Belgium. -
British Declaration of War on Germany
As Britain could not tolerate the infiltration of Germany into Belgium, the country announced declaration of war towards Germany. This action escalated the severity of the First World War as the British Empire also had control over several colonies, meaning that the declaration was binding for all the Dominions within the British Empire. Therefore, countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa were all swept into the dilemma. -
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Battle of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg was one of the first major battles of the First World War and it was between Russia and Germany that lasted 4 days. The Russian army had marched into Prussia, giving Germany an advantage as they had used their railway system to surround the Russian army. In the end, the Russians were defeated in this battle, with thousands of men killed and over 100,000 captivated. Though Germany had won the battle, the war wounds were still deep as they had lost around 13,000 men. -
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Battle of Masurian Lakes
After winning the first battle agains the Russians, the Germans focused their second attack on the Russian army situated by the Masurian Lakes. Again, the German army had won the battle, though not without damage. The sacrifice was deemed worthy as it had successfully pushed the Russins back across its front, allowing Germany to reclaim the land that Russia had invaded. -
Second Battle of Ypres
Following the first battle of Ypres, where Britain had lost a huge number of men, German continued on the fire and had launched poisonous gases towards the British troops in battle. This effectively led Germany to claim many British casualties. However, this also triggered the use of chemical weapons among other nations as well. -
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First Canadian Battle --- Festubert and Givenchy
For the first time in WW1, Canadian troops took an offense position. The battle was situated in Festubert and Givenchy in Northern France, a place where the Germans had taken over. Canadian objectives were to push the invaders back and reclaim the grounds. The first battle was painfully lost to the Germans due to misinformation, lack of support, poor territorial and strategic planning, resulting in 2868 Canadian deaths. The result of this battle alarmed Canadians and incited better strategies. -
Sinking of Lusitania
The British civilian ocean liner Lusitania was attacked by a German submarine without warning, violating the beforehand agreed conditions of war, which was to not attack civilians. Within 20 minutes, the ship had sunk, and killed 1198 passengers, of which. 128 were Americans. This event had triggered Americans greatly and had increased the American dissapprovement in Germany and ultimately was a trigger for American intervenance in the war. -
Battle of Jutland
As the war seemed to drag on between the power nations, Britain knew they had to drain the German military. Thus, they had created a blockade on sea, attempting to block out the import of food which was essential to the sustainability of German forces. This triggered a large-scale marine battle. Under the leadership of British admiral, Beatty, Britain had forced the Germans to withdraw. -
Aeroplane Attack in London
As tensions between Germany and Britain escalated, the Germans had strategized a bombing in London and South East of Britain. The goal behind this strategy was to coerce the British airforce to retreat into defense mode within its country, thus leaving the frontline of the battle. In the end, six bombs were dropped near Victoria Station in London. -
American Declaration of War on Germany
On April 6th, 1917, the United States of America has officially announced war against Germany, as a response towards the sinking of US ships and the buildup of tension from the innocent American passengers on the British fleet Lusitania. -
Battle at Vimy Ridge
Canadian Corps demonstrated its efforts and clever war strategies at the Battle at Vimy Ridge. Despite years of failed attempts, including an estimate of 150,000 sacrificed French and British soldiers, in retaking the ridge, the ridge was still under Germain hands since 1914. Admist sleet, mud and shellfire, Canadian military had achieved their objective as of April 12, including taking 4000 prisoners. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russians signed an armistice with Germany (and the Central Powers) at Brest-Litovsk after many damaging and tiring battles. The terms were extremely harsh for Russia as they were forced to surrender to Poland, Ukraine and many other regions. Furthermore, their political propaganda towards Germans were demanded to be terminated. Russians also had to pay 300 million roubles for the repatriation of Russian war prisoners. -
Armistice with Turkey
In mid October 1918 the Allied Powers (France, Britain, Russia, USA and others) had successfully recovered the German-occupied regions of France and Belgium. This military and geographic advancement also gave them an advantage in pushing the Turkish army back. On October 30th, 1918, the Turkish Army was finally forced to ask for an armistice, which included access for the Allied Powers to the Dardenelles. -
Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II
The German Emperor was dethroned in the November Revolution. News of the abdiction had spread before it occurring, leading to a drop in nationalist spirit. Along with the collapse of the Hindenberg line in early November, the abdication greatly affected the final outcome of World War One as Germans had lost their spirit. -
Armistice for World War One
Finally, after 40 million military and civilian casualies, the First World War officially ended on November 11th, 1918 at 11am in the French town of Redonthes.
