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Triple Alliance Created
Agreement that brought Italy into the the pre-existing agreement between Austria-Hungary and Germany. This alliance was one of the two that crumbled early into the war, as it became evident who were the major players. -
Rise of Kaiser Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II took control of Germany, replacing Bismark. A stubborn man, Wilhelm refused to share power, ruling alone. He had an extreme sense of nationalism, and began rapidly building Germany's navy to comete with Britian's. In 1890, Wilhelm allowed Germany's alliance with Russia expire, which prompted Russia and France to ally, which is exactly what Bismark had tried to prevent. Britian, wary of Germany's sudden militarism, joined the Triple Entente with France and Russia. -
Alliance of Russia & France
After Kaiser Wilhelm II allowed Germany's alliance with Russia to expire, Russia defensively allied with France, creating the beginnings of what would later be the Triple Entente, one of the two major sides of the war. -
European Arms Race
With such tensions between great European powers in the beginning of the 20th century, all countries except Britian had large armies, air forces, and navies that attempted to out-do those of other countries. The fact that all of these countries had adopted new warfare technologies and mentalities foreshadowed the war. -
Triple Entente Established
Wary of Germany's sudden naval militarism, Britain joined forces with France and Russia. This was called the Triple Entente, one of the two major alliances preceeding the war, pitting European powers against each other. -
Austria Annexes Bosnia & Herzegovina
Austria took over these two large areas in the Balkans region with large Slavic populations. The contemporary Serbian leaders were furious. Tensions between Serbians and Austria increased. Serbians regularly threatened to take back their land. To this, Austria promised to obliterate any attempts at rebellion. This led to Princip's assassination of the archduke; As a member of the Black Hand, him final goal was to rid Serbia of Austro-Hungarian control. This murder began the first World War. -
Archduke Ferdinand Assassinated
Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by 19 year old Gavrilo Princip, a young member of the Black Hand radicalist group, whose purpose was to rid Serbia of Austro-Hungarian rule. Because the Black Hand was a secret Serbian group, Austria falsely blamed the entirety of Serbia for the assassination, quickly declaring war, which got other countries to take notice. The various declarations of war webbed through the complicated alliances, bringing world war. -
First Declaration of War
In the month proceeding the archduke's assassination, Austria set an ultimatum for the Serbian government to meet. Knowing that war imminent, Serbia asked to negotiate. Austria, already decided on war, denied Serbia's request, and declared war on the country. This was the very first declaration of war, and because of all of the previously made alliances, other countries were dragged in to protect Serbia, which had a domino effect on Europe, resulting in world war. -
Britian Declares War on Germany
Russia had promised Serbia protection, so Russia mobilized to protect Serbia from the Austrians, however, to get to Serbia, the Russians were crossing into German territory. Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia, requesting that they not cross the border. After recieving no response, Germany declared war on Russia. Fearing an attack from France, Germany declared war on France, invading neutral Belguim, which prompted Britian to attack Germany. By this point, almost every country was involved. -
Battle Lines are Drawn
Succeeding the many declarations of war, almost every country was now involved in the war, and countires had taken sides. The Triple Entente had developed into the Allies, which were later joined by Japan, and then Italy, who had changed sides. The Triple Alliance became the Central Powers, later joined by Bulgaria and the Ottomans. These groups lasted throughout the horrible war.
