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assassination of arch duke franz ferdinand
members of the servian ultra nationalist organization known as the blackhand assassinated the heir to the austria-hungarian throne in the bonsian city of sarajevo -
blank check
germany agrees to back up austria hungary when war will break out -
austria-hungary declares war on serbia
due to serbia assassinating the archduke and his wife, knowing that germany has their back they decide to declare war on serbia. -
russia declares full mobilization against germany and austria-hungary.
because russia supports serbia's cause to create their own slavic state in the balkans, the russians demonstrate an act of war on germany and austria-hungary because these two nations wish to stop serbia -
germany declares war on russia
russia did not halt its mobilization like germany told them to do, so germany decided to declare war -
germany declares war on france
germany decides to attack france before it invades russia according to the schlieffen plan, so it realizes it must declare war on france as well -
great britain declares war on germany
because in germany's schlieffen plan it plans to invade france by moving through belgium territory, britain feels that this is violating belgium as a neutral nation. because of this, germany declares war. -
battle of tannenberg
russia is defeated by germany, making russia less of a threat to german territory -
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first battle of marne
this battle allowed france to push back german forces, delaying the schlieffen plan -
battle of masurian lakes
germany defeats russia in this battle, making russia no threat at all to german land -
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gallipoli campaign
the allies failed to defeat the ottoman empire in this battle. it was embarrassing to the allies. -
lusitania is sunk
german forces sunk the british ship lusitania. the german ship, u-20, shot a torpedo at the lusitania -
italy attacks austria
italians decided to betray austria and germany. this action caused italy to join russia, great britain, and france. these allies were then named the allied powers or allies -
serbia is eliminated from the war.
austria-hungary, germany, and new member, bulgaria, defeats serbia. this allows germany to focus more on the war in the west -
Period: to
the great slaughter
elaborate trench systems covered with barbed wire allowed troops to shoot from machine gun nests. they had to live in these holes also. millions of lives were lost, making this a war of attrition -
Period: to
battle of verdun
longest battle ever. battle between france and germany. 700,000 losses -
battle of jutland
the only time the german and british naval forces engaged in battle. neither side won a conclusive victory -
Period: to
battle of somme
it was a great battle that caused french, british, and german losses. -
zimmerman telegram
this was an attempt by germany to get mexico to invade america and mexico would recieve the land they lost. -
america joins the war
when it looks like britain will surrender, america joins in the war. -
balfour declaration
this was a british document sent to palestine to ensure the jewish homeland in palestine -
treaty of brest-litovsk
this was a treaty between the bolsheviks of russia and (germany, austria-hungary, bulgaria, and turkey). this took the russians out of the war. -
Period: to
meuse-argonne offensive
largest battle for america. involved 1.2 million soldiers -
paris peace conferenceand treaty of versailles
this was to set the peace terms for the central powers