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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 51, was with his pregnant wife Sophie when they were both shot in Sarajevo. The assassin, Gavrilo Princip, was a young man (only 19) when he killed the Archduke. He was part of the Black hand secret society. Seven men from the society were instructed to murder Franz Ferdinand when the Royal car reached its position. When Princip fired, he put the gun to his head, but got stopped by police before he could shoot. -
WWI art
WWI art and poetry were first shown at the start of the war. There were many artists that got payed by the government to paint propaganda pictures encouraging men to go to fight in the war. They tried to make it look like a good thing and wanted as many people to join the army as possible. However, over time, people couldn't hide the fact that we lost many soldiers. Some artists then painted pictures going against war to make people realise what was happening. -
Zeppelins first used
Zeppelin airships were first used by the Germans in 1915. Emperor Wilhelm II had allowed the giant aircraft to destroy military and industrial buildings. The zeppelins carried lots of bombs and other dangerous devices. The silent airships came without warning, so people hadn't built shelters for themselves. This meant that they had to hide in cellars and under tables. However in May 1916, fighter planes shot them down and they haven't been as popular. -
Battle of the Somme
The French were having severe losses at another battle (the battle of Verdun) and needed to do something. So, they distracted some of the Germans by attacking them. That would mean less people for the French to fight. The head of the French army didn't think that this was going to work that much, but British commanders insisted on the battle to take place. The Germans had deep trenches and bullet proof shelters, which gave them an advantage. By the end of the battle, the British lost 42,000. -
Battle of Passchendaele
This battle was also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. Its is well known for the amount of casualties and the mud. When the British launched the attack, they were all surprised by the heaviest rainfall in 30 years. The thick mud clogged up rifles and trenches got filled with water. There was nowhere for them to go to protect themselves. The tanks became immobilised. Eventually, it all got so deep, men and horses drowned in it. -
The Treaty of Versailles signed by armistice
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace settlement after the war ended in 1918. Wilson devised a plan of 14 poinst of how Germany and other European countries could be brought back to stability. Germany lost a lot of areas following the treaty. The Germans also only had 2 choices when they signed the contract: 1.) sign the treaty 2.) be invaded by the allies.
