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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
With the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the loss of their leader, using the incident as a justification of the question of Slav nationalism. While Russia supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war, supported by German leaders, was made public by the next month. -
The Triple Alliance VS The Triple Entente
The Triple Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, while the Triple Entente was composed of Britain, France, and Russia. These separate alliances helped each side compile their military force and strategies in order to hopefully reign successful in the war. -
Battle at Verdun
Lasting for nearly 6 months, this battle was Germany against France. Germany had the lead in the beginning of the battle, gaining hold of several forts around the area. Once Germany had called off their attack on July 14th, France stepped up to take back the land. Facing off once again in mid-December, both sides suffered heavy casualties, Germany losing 281,000 and France losing 315,000. -
Russian Revolution
Consisting of two parts, the February and Bolshevik, the total Russian Revolution pushed Russia into the forming of the Soviet Union. During the February Revolution, the people rebelled against the czar, eventually leading to the abdication of the throne. In the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin rose in power and led an overthrow of the government, becoming the leader of the Marxist state of Russia. -
Paris Peace Conference
Just outside of Paris in Versailles, the allied victors met up to establish the terms of the peace after the first world war. There, the emergence of the Treaty of Versailles occurred. Though it was finalized nearly two years later, it still held the meanings of peace. -
Treaty of Sevres
The treaty of Sevres created a pact between the allied powers and representatives of the government of Ottoman Turkey. This treaty led to the abolishment of the Ottoman Empire and forced Turkey to renounce all of their rights over Arab Asia and North Africa. -
D-Day
General Dwight Eisenhower led troops into Normandy, France for an invasion, plowing through France, Belgium, and Germany. While the US and Allied troops did so, Russian troops fought from the east. Nearly a year later, Germany surrendered. -
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Though the fight in Europe had ended, the Japanese continued to fight. Truman put to use of a nuclear bomb in order to prevent any more US casualties. The Enola Gay dropped the first bomb in Hiroshima, then three days later dropped another one in Nagasaki, injuring and killing a total of approximately 218,000 people. -
The United Nations
The United Nations was formed by the Allies with the USA, Soviet Union, China, Great Britain and France becoming permanent members of the Security Council. Their main purpose was to maintain peace and introduce worldwide security. -
The Cold War
Because of the ever-growing conflict between the two global powers left after the second world war, thus arose the start of the Cold War. This was fought between the US-led NATO and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.
