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After this event, the Austrian emperor told Serbia (the country where the assasin was from) to find the person who murdered his archduke, but they had no response from their government.
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As the Serbian government did not answer the ultimatum from Austria, this last ones felt they were being humillated, so they declared war to Serbia. This caused that the past allies of Serbia started mobilising their soldiers to help him (Rusia), and so the past allies of Austria (Germany).
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On 25 July, Russia, in support of Serbia, declared partial mobilisation against Austria-Hungary, and on 30 July, Russia ordered general mobilisation.
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On 1 August, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered General Helmuth von Moltke to "march the whole of the ... army to the East" after being informed that Britain would remain neutral if France was not attacked.
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The 2 of August of 1914, Germany asked Belgium for permission to enter in the country with his army, but, after a negative answer, the german armed forces took control of Belgium.
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After the Germans had invaded Belgium; Britain demanded Germany comply with a past treaty done in London and respect Belgian neutrality; it declared war on Germany at on 4 August 1914, following an "unsatisfactory reply".
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Germany's strategy for a war on two fronts against France and Russia was to rapidly concentrate the bulk of its army in the West to defeat France within six weeks, then shift forces to the East before Russia could fully mobilise; and this was known as the Schlieffen Plan. In September of 1914, this plan was ruled out by the french armies, so it started a tough war between Germany and France where the trench lines had a huge importance.
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Further encouraged by the Allied invasion of Turkey in April 1915, Italy joined the Triple Entente and declared war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May. Fifteen months later, Italy declared war on Germany.
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The German Foreign Minister, in the Zimmermann Telegram, invited Mexico to join the war as Germany's ally against the United States. In return, the Germans would finance Mexico's war and help it recover the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The United Kingdom intercepted the message and presented it to the US embassy in the UK. From there it made its way to President Wilson who released the Zimmermann note to the public, and Americans saw it as casus belli.
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From the releasing of the Zimmermann note to the public, Wilson called on anti-war elements to end all wars, by winning this one and eliminating militarism from the globe. He argued that the war was so important that the US had to have a voice in the peace conference. After the sinking of seven US merchant ships by submarines and the publication of the Zimmermann telegram, Wilson called for war on Germany on 2 April 1917.
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At first, the Bolsheviks refused the German terms, but when German troops began marching across Ukraine unopposed, the new government acceded to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918. The treaty ceded vast territories, including Finland, the Baltic provinces, parts of Poland and Ukraine to the Central Powers, but it was necessary for leaving war.
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The Allies halted the drive after limited territorial gains by Germany. The German Army to the south then conducted Operations Blücher and Yorck, pushing broadly towards Paris. Germany launched Operation Marne (Second Battle of the Marne) on 15 July, in an attempt to encircle Reims. The resulting counter-attack, which started the Hundred Days Offensive, marked the first successful Allied offensive of the war.
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The Allied counteroffensive, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, began on 8 August 1918, with the Battle of Amiens. The battle involved over 400 tanks and 120,000 British, Dominion, and French troops, and by the end of its first day a gap 24 kilometres (15 mi) long had been created in the German lines. The defenders displayed a marked collapse in morale, causing Ludendorff to refer to this day as the "Black Day of the German army".
- https://youtu.be/UiD0ZdD1b_Y -
In September the Allies advanced to the Hindenburg Line in the north and centre. The Germans continued to fight strong rear-guard actions and launched numerous counterattacks, but positions and outposts of the Line continued to fall. The Germans had now retreated to positions along or behind the Hindenburg Line.
The final assault on the Hindenburg Line began with the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, launched by French and American troops on 26 September. -
News of Germany's impending military defeat spread throughout the German armed forces. With the military faltering and with widespread loss of confidence in the Kaiser leading to his abdication and fleeing of the country, Germany moved towards surrender.
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On 11 November, at 5:00 am, an armistice with Germany was signed in a railroad carriage at Compiègne. At 11 am on 11 November 1918—"the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"—a ceasefire came into effect. During the six hours between the signing of the armistice and its taking effect, opposing armies on the Western Front began to withdraw from their positions. War had finished.
- https://youtu.be/vr4JU7C8yDE
