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World War I
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The outbreak of the war
The official trigger for the conflict was the murder, on June 28, 1914, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Bosnian Serb student. Germany, an ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, declared war on Serbia, so that England, France and Russia (Triple Entente) in turn declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, allied with the Ottoman Empire (Triple Alliance or Empires central). -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
beginning World War I. -
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Invasions
Germany invaded Luxembourg and Belgium. France invaded Alsace. British forces were arriving in France. Nations allied against Germany were eventually to include Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Romania, Greece, France, Belgium, United States, Canada, Serbia, India, Portugal, Montenegro, and Poland. -
Austria-Hungary invaded Russia.
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Allied forces halt German advance into France during First Battle of the Marne.
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War's development
The war of movements is the name given to the first phase of the conflict. Germany was making a strategy to invade France, they made great offensives. The French resistance at the Marne (September 1914) stopped the German plans for a quick victory. German penetration was getting higher on the Russian front, although the end results were the same. -
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Trench warfare
Between this gap, the fronts remained stable, despite attempts by both sides to carry out major offensives. The battles of Verdun and the Somme, in 1916, were getting every day more bloody, with thousands of deaths, although no army obtained a clear advantage.
The use of new weapons, such as explosive bullets, gases, aviation and armor, also did not translate into relevant military successes. -
1917 crisis
By 1917 two relevant events were happening, having such an relevance that they would change the course of the war:
United States were entering in the war, in favor of the Entente: the economic, material and human imbalance in favor of the allies made the German troops begin to give up the conquered land. The allies won in the second battle of the Marne, in Aisne and in Amiens. -
1917 crisis pt. 2
The Bolshevik revolution in Russia: Despite the serious internal crisis in Russia, the Russian-German armistice did not take effect until 1918. The German counter-offensive led to the peace in Brest-Litovsk, by which Russia emerged from the war and lost Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, among other territories. -
Peace treaties.
The debacle on the fronts and the serious internal situation of the empires were convincing the governments of the Triple Alliance about the futility of continuing the war. In June 1919, half a year after the cessation of hostilities, the Versailles peace treaties were signed. -
For the winners
England and France emerged with more strength and power in their role as colonial empires. Two new giants was surging on the international scene: the United States and the Soviet Union. -
For the defeated ones
Germany had to pay a huge war compensation; lost national territory in favor of France and Poland; ceded the colonies, passing to England and France; the demilitarization of the Saarland and the reduction of the army took place. -
For the defeated ones pt.2
Austria-Hungary: it supposed the dissolution of the Empire. Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia appeared as new states; Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia joined Serbia and Montenegro to form Yugoslavia; Romania, Poland and Italy were obtaining territorial concessions.
Ottoman Empire: dissolution of the Empire. Turkey became an independent country. The rest of his possessions passed into English and French hands.