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Period: to
WW1 Timespan
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Assassination Archuduke Ferdinand
In Bosnia, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were attending a parade when somebody tried to take him out by throwing a hand grenade at his car. It bounced off the car, but ended up injuring people next to the car and bystanders in the crowd. The shaken couple decide to go check on one of the officers in the hospital who got hurt from the recent attack. The drivers got mixed up on where to go and the couple's driver took a wrong turn which led to Gavrilo Princip shooting the couple, killing the two. -
Austria Hungary Declares War
Austria-Hungary felt like their monarchy was being made fun of, so they needed to reassert themselves after the death of Franz Ferdinand. Germany was trying to convince Austria- Hungary to declare war on Serbia for what they did. Franz Joseph felt this was the only way to not look weak, and crush Serbian nationalism so he officially declared war on Serbia. -
Germany Enters the War
Germany declared war on Russia and France. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia, Serbia's ally started preparing for war. Germany was Austria-Hungary's ally so they demanded Russia to stop preparing for war. Russia refused so Germany declared war on Russia shortly after. Russia and France were also allies so Germany knew they would have to deal with them too. So they declared war on them a few days after. This led to Britain joining the war a day after. -
Britain Joins the War
Britain join the war almost as a reaction to Germany joining. So much pressure created by Germany's military power, as well as trying to defend the balance of power in Europe, and their position in the world is what got them to enter the war. People believed that they shouldn't have got involved which divided the government's decision, but in the end they decided to enter the war. -
The Lusitania Sinks
The Lusitania sunk from a German U-boat shooting a torpedo at it. This British passenger liner carried 128 American passengers. The Germans said they thought that Britain was trying to secretly transfer military supplies using a passenger boat, but the U.S was still angered over the situation. This was the beginning of Germany aggravating the U.S. -
Battle of Verdun
The longest and bloodiest battle in the war fought between Germany and France. Germany aimed to bleed France dry of their resources by attacking the city of Verdun. The battle became a symbol of French resilience, with both sides suffering over 700,000 casualties. The French managed to hold their ground and repel the German forces. Verdun became a symbol of sacrifice and a great cost of modern warfare. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of the deadliest battles during WW1. It was the British and French forces against Germany. The plan was to go through the Germans line to take the pressure off of the French at Verdun. The Allies were victorious, but there were still over 1 million casualties on both sides at the end of the battle. -
Russia Pulls Out
Russia was part of the Triple Entente who were in war against the central powers, but had to pull out due to a socialist revolution (Bolshevik Revolution) taking place in the country. This meant no more Eastern Front for the war and the Triple Entente losing a member. Though after pulling out they led an offensive on the Western Front in March of 1918 making it 40 miles of Paris, but ultimately ended up losing 800,000 troops. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman telegram was a coded message sent from Arthur Zimmermann to Mexico. It
asked Mexico to join Germany as allies if the U.S entered the war. In return Germany would give Mexico money and help them take back Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas – the area it lost to America. Zimmermann hoped Mexico would draw American supplies and troops away from one front if they were busy with the southern border. Mexico did not agree to this alliance. -
The U.S Joins the War
After Germany and it's allies poked at the U.S for so long during the war, the U.S is finally ready to poke back. The unrestricted submarine warfare, Zimmerman telegram, and American public opinion convinced Wilson he must take action. This is the moment he officially declared war on Germany and it's allies. -
Select Service Act
The Selective Service Act gave the Federal Government the power to temporarily expand the military. The act required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for military service. Around 2.8 million men were drafted, and after years of fighting in the trenches America led the allies to victory. This was leading up to Armistice (the end of war). -
Armistice
Armistice was the formal agreement that stopped the war. It wasn't the end of the war but a ceasefire that was agreed upon while the allies tried to negotiate peace with the enemies. -
Paris Peace Conference
This is where representatives from over 30 countries came together to create the Treaty of Versailles. The big decisions were made by the big four, President Clemenceau - France, Prime Minister George - Great Britain, President Orlando - Italy, and President Wilson - United States they made all the important terms of the treaty. There was Wilson's 14 points, President Orlando's secret treaties being honored, giving Italy more territory, and President Clemenceau's punishment for Germany. -
War Guilt Clause
The allies and Germany agreed that Germany takes the responsibility for causing the damages and loss from the war. Them taking responsibility for this came with consequences. As consequence Germany had to pay for all the damage caused by her armies during the war (6.6mil), have their army limited to 100,000, no subs, tanks, planes, and no more troops in Rhineland -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended WWI, but it only brought temporary peace. The allies were figuring out what to do with Germany but there were many disagreements. This led to the U.S and Italy leaving which left the settlement to France and Britain. They ended up settling with very harsh punishments for Germany. Germany accepted the treaty but later on they wanted revenge for how unfair it was which led to the start of WWII.