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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
the assasination.The war started on the 28th July, when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, & Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The small confilc between the small countries spread over Europe rapidly, & before you knew it Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Italy & France were all drawn into the war. Ferdinand was assainated because he wanted to make an Empire in Austria-Hungary,& as Serbia is on the border, it Serbia didn't like it at all. The Black Hand,a Serbian terrorist group wanted Ferdinand assasinated. -
The Western & Eastern Fronts.
The first month of war consisted of bold attacks. In the west, Germany first attacked Belgium & then France. In the east, Russia attacked Germany & Austria-Hungary. In the south Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia, this followed to the Battle of Marne (september 5th-9th). -
Trench Warfare
For the middle part of the war ( September 1916-1917), it was mostly dominated by trench warfare in the East & West. Trenches were'nt a good idea though, as alot of the deaths from the war were because of trenches. The soliders that fought in trecnhes were living in tidy dug-in holes in the ground, with many other men. They had barely any space and where their feet got wet, they would get trench foot and bruetly ill and sick. It was a desease ridden place to live, especially with the rats. -
End of the War
The war ended in late Autumn 1918, after the member countries of the Central Powers signed armistice agreements one by one. Germany was the last, signing its armistice. The troops got extremly ill and tired, there was an all or nothing effort to win the war, but both sides failed. The fighting between demoralized troops continued as Germany continued to loose individul battles. Eventually, the governments of both Germany and Austria-Hungary began to lose control. The war then ended. -
Effects of the War in recent times
The war has effected our military, they train harder now. We have also realised the damaging effects that the trenches had and the fact that the gas masks didn't work properly. The gas masks were made to stop Mustard Gas getting into the eyes and bodies of soldiers but it didnt do much good than if you werent wearing one anyway. We no longer think being a solider and going to war is "fun". Its has a massice impact on modern day life and military.
