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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand 1
After being taken from Turkey and absorbed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Serbia and Herzegovina greatly resented their new leaders. This caused the formation of a rebel group known as the black hand. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand 2
The Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, had decided to inspect Austrian troops in Bosnia and had the bad luck to decide on a day that was special to the Bosnians. The Black Hand found out and decided to provide weapons to some students, including Gavrilo Princip, who shot the Archduke and his wife dead. -
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Sides Begin to Emerge
Following the assassination of the Archduke, Austria declared war on Serbia, causing Russia and the French (through their alliance with Russia) to mobilize in defense of Serbia. This caused Germany to declare war on Russia and France and move into neutral Belgium in defense of Austria. Britain wanted Germany to withdraw from Belgium and Germany refused, causing Britain to declare war on them. This left a showdown of Germany and Austria vs Russia, France, Britain and Serbia. -
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Early Stages
The Germans advanced through a fortified Belgium and received a tough greeting, as the Belgians didn't like the Germans and fought back. The Germans did end up defeating the Belgians and marched on to France. At first the French struggled to defend against the onslaught, but they eventually held the Germans at the Marne river. These battles and more demoralized the Allied Powers because they had originally thought the war would be over by Christmas, but it was far from over. -
Battle of Tannenberg
The Russians began their assault by marching into Prussia, but due to a difference in the railways the Russians were unable to effectively get supplies to their troops. Because the Germans knew the railways better than the Russians they were able to outmaneuver the Russian troops and score a big victory for the Central Powers, killing thousands of Russians and capturing many more. -
New Weapons Emerge
During 1915 two new devastating weapons emerged. The first, poison gas, was used by the Germans to clear out trenches and cause many casualties on the opposing side. The second, Zeppelins, were giant airships similar to balloons that could drop thousands of bombs in a specified area. -
US declares war on Germany
During the fighting, Germany made a protective blockade around Britain to seal them off from outside help. This included regular trade shipments from the US. When the Germans attacked the US boats, the US got very angry and declared war on Germany, siding with the Allied powers. This completely turned the tables for the war and the US gave the Allies all they needed to gain the upper hand and eventually win the war. -
Armistice is signed
Representatives from both sides met in Redonthes, a small French town. This effectively was the written surrender of the Central Powers to the Allied powers and the end of World War 1.