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The Triple Alliance Forms
Otto von Bismark of Germany felt threatened that France would disrupt the “peace” between European powers because of a grudge they had from losing the Franco-Prussian war. He wanted to take away all potential allies for France and protect Germany so in 1879 Bismark created the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1881 Italy joined creating the Triple Alliance. That same year, Bismark signed a treaty with Russia thereby isolating France from potential strong allies in the east. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II overthrows Otto von Bismrk
This event was important because Kaiser Wilhelm II was an aggressive ruler and his decisions can be seen as root causes of WWI. He became leader of Germany in 1888 and in 1890 he overthrew Otto von Bismark. He let the German treaty with Russia break; this caused Russia to ally with France but Wilhelm didn't want enemies on either side. Yet he continued to cause tension and attempted to build his navy to rival Britain’s. Britain was threatened and allied with Russia and France. -
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The Arms Race
This event was important because it sparked rivalries among the European continent starting in the early 1900s. The colonization of Africa and increased pride in one’s country were contributing factors to this tension. The Arms Race itself was a type of militarism; keeping an army prepared for war and having military power. Mainly Great Britain, France Russia, and Germany were competing to have the strongest standing army and were constantly trying to one up each other. -
Triple Entente Forms
In 1907 Britain joined an alliance Russia and France had because Germany was trying to dominate European power. This created the Triple Entente and directly rivaled the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. In the beginning of WWI however, Italy switches sides to join the Triple Entente because they thought Germany unfairly started the war. Even though this union of the nations was meant to decrease the chance of war between the European continent, it had the opposite effect. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
This event was important because Austria-Hungary used the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as an excuse to go to war with Serbia and it involved all the European powers. This dragged Italy and Germany into the conflict due to the Triple Alliance. Russia mobilized along the german border because they felt a kinship towards the serbs. Germany saw this as a threat and declared war on Russia; then declared war on France because it was Russia’s ally. Also, Great Britain declared war on Germany. -
First Battle of the Marne
The first Battle of the Marne was due to a German battle strategy called the Schlieffen Plan. Because Germany was facing war on both fronts, this plan called for immediate, smooth victory over the French, then fighting the Russians because they thought Russia wouldn’t be as well supplied. However, Germany underestimated France and after just a couple days of fighting near the Marne River in France, German officers retreated. This gave hope to the Triple Enente for victory overall. -
Trench Warfare
The trench warfare was between opposing sides on the Western Front (Britain and France). Soldiers dug miles of trenches to protect themselves from being shot at, although it did not guarantee survival. When men were in the trenches, it was miserable. “The men slept in mud, washed in mud, ate mud, and dreamed mud,” a soildier wrote. The space between the opposing trenches was called “no man’s land,” which was described as a “living hell”. Many men risked their lives when in return all they got wa -
Russia Withdraws
Russia was beginning to lose someone strong to depend on. Many war-related shortages of food and fuel forced Czar Nicholas to step down. A new government pledged that Russia will keep fighting in the war. By 1917 about 5.5 million Russian soldiers had been killed or badly injured. This made Russia even more weak than it already was from suffering a painful defeat from Japan. Russia also had yet to be industrialized, which was another reason to why they were so weak. -
America Joins the Great War
America joins the great war on the side of the Allies. The war has now shifted to seas instead of land. The new technology of submarines for the Germans was extremely dangerous because they would sink any surrounding ships around Britain; this was called the unrestricted submarine warfare. Once the Germans killed American men, President Woodrow Wilson sent strong protest to Germany. Ignoring America, Germany was desperate for an advantage over the Allies and sank three American ships. Also, Germ -
Total War
World War I became a total war; which meant that the government took control of the economy. The government would tell the factories what to produce and how much; this especially came into action with weapons. Britain, Austria, France, Russia, and Germany all had one main goal: to win the conflict. Many facilities were turned into factories, and nearly everyone was put to work to build any needed supplies for war. This made unemployment in European countries rare. The war also gave woman the opp -
End of WWI
When the Central powers collapsed in 1918, victory was not too far away. Russia’s withdrawal gave Germany the chance to attack the Allies in France. Germany got far, but they also decreased in men and became very tired- America saw this as an advantage. With over 140,00 U.S. troops ready to go, Germany suffered a surprise attack. Nations were weaker than ever and ready to surrender. On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhem II surrendered and declared Germany a republic. Wilhem and French Commander Mar -
Treaty of Versailles
The French, British, and U.S. had many disagreements of how to come to peace, but The Treaty of Versailles solved this. It was a peace treaty between Germany and the Allied powers signed on June 28, 1919. The treaty created a League of Nations. This was an international association whose goal was to keep peace among nations. The treaty also punished Germany; it had military restrictions and lost territory.
