-
Alliances to the Germans before the war
Before the war, the Germans had allies in most of the surrounding countries, including Italy and the Austria-Hungary empire. These alliances had been formed before the war started. Germany and the Austria-Hungary empire had been allies since 1879, and Italy allied with both of them in 1882. -
British alliances before the war
Before the war, Britain was allied with Russia, France and many of it's own colonies. Britain developed treaties with France and Russia in 1904 and 1907 respectively. France and Russia had already allied in 1894. England also had ties to Australia and loosely Americs though America joined the war later. -
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand (part 2)
The convoy of cars then sped towards the town hall instead, passing the 4 remaining assassins who then fled. The couple left with their convoy to vist those in hospital after being injured by the bomb intended for Franz. Their driver who was confused, continued on the original route through town before he was ordered to stop and turn around. Unluckily for the Ferdinands, one assassin had shifted to another part of the route, the car stopped directly in front of him. He shot them and was arrested -
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand (part 1)
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir of the Austria-Hungary empire when he and his wife Sophie were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. He arrived in Serbia by train and while driving to visit local military barracks was missed by two assassins. The third assassin threw a bomb at Ferdinand's car which bounced off and disabled the car behind him, took a cyanide pill and threw himself into a shallow river. The cyanide was expired and he was arrested by police. -
Austria-Hungary empire declares war
Austria-Hungary declaring war is what started World War One. After the assassination of Franz and Sophie Ferdinand, they were outraged with Serbia. After the Serbian government did not cooperate with some requests, the empire becam enraged and declared war on Serbia. This drew in allies from both sides and truly began the war. -
Germany declares war
Germany was quick to declare war after their allies declared war on Serbia. Only a few days later and Germany declared war on Russia, and two days after that war was declared on France. Germany brought more countries into the war and made it a 'world' war. Tensions had already grown in Europe but the war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia pushed everything over the edge. -
Australia joins the war
The Prime minister and opposition leader both pledged Australia's services to England when the war first began. The war was met with enthusiam in Australia as tensions were already high. Many young men, both Indigenous and of European descent volunteered to help Britain -
Australian troops land at Rabaul
Australia's first noticeable contribution to the war was it's landing at Rabaul. This was the star of the battle between Australia and the German forces inhabiting German New Guinea. They drove the Germans out and took back the area, which Australia held for decades afterwards. They took an area called Toma on the 17th and took some nearby islands into October. The HMAS Sydney famously sunk the SMS Emden on October the 9th during the campaign. -
The Suffragettes help on the home front
(Exact date unknown)
The Suffragettes were a few groups of activists that focuesd rights for women, mainly allowing them to vote. Some groups were peaceful in their protests while others becam increasingly violent, burning down buildings and attacking politicians. When the war came many of the Suffragette groups were suspended or disbanded so that they could help with farming and factory work during the war. -
Gallipoli Landing
The ANZAC soldiers landed on the shores of Gallipoli early on the 25th of April 1915 to take the peninsula. The British and French troops landed down the coast where they could gain ground and meet the ANZAC's. The ANZAC's landed in the wrong area and were forced to scale steep terrain, making it easy for Turkish soldiers to pick them off with machine guns. After losing a large part of their forces the allies were forced to retreat, using sandbags to keep their guns firing while they retreated. -
The Battle of Jutland
The battle of Jutland was an important naval battle of the war. When the Germans tried to attack Britain, they planned small attacks along the coast to draw out small groups of British vessels to outnumber and surround them. The plan failed because the Russians had sent the Brits a copy of a German codebook which they used to decipher some of the plans. The British barricaded the ocean so the German's could not get to Britain before wiping out the enemy navy, which took out a lot of their ships. -
The Battle of the Somme
The battle of the Somme was an important battle in France between three of the major powers in the war; Britan, France and Germany. This was the battle where tanks were first introduced which shaped modern warfare. The battle was fought on both sides of the Somme river in the north of France. It was also when the Canadian Corps. and the New Zealand division first fought. -
The US declares war
The US began fighting late in the war after promising for years to remain neutral. When they did join the effort, they claimed that they joined to help defend democracy. However, this was after the ship Lusitania was accidentally sunk by the Germans, killing 1,198 people, 129 of which were American citizens. America joining the war helped the allied forces win as it suddenly boosted the troops available to them and added more military funding and weapons. -
The Red Baron is shot down
The Red Baron is the moniker of the most succesful German pilot, Manfred von Richthofren. He was famous for painting his planes bright red and still surviving, even with his incredibly conspicuous paint job. At one point he was allowed to form his own regiment that was dubbed the 'Flying Circus' due to the exuberant colouring of the planes. The Red Baron was eventually shot down by Australian forces when he flew too close to the ground in a dogfight. He died with over 80 confirmed kills. -
The Spanish flu
(Exact date unknown)
Towards the end of the war, there was an outbreak of a disease called the Spanish Flu. The disease was fatal to many who caught it, which was a third of the population. By the time the pandemic ended, 50 million people had died which was more than had died in the war itself. -
Germany signs the armistice
Germany signed the armistice which ended the fighting on the 11th of November at eleven am. It legally stated that Germany lost the war even though it is not stated that they surrendered. Though this ended the fighting, the war did not officially end until the Versailles treaty was signed. -
Women get the vote in England
(Exact date unknown)
After the signing of the armistice, politicians in England finally decided that women had worked hard enough in the war to deserve the right to vote. After the years of protesting and hunger strikes in prison, women had gotten the vote. This was one of the few positives to come from the war, even though only female home owners could vote, not just all adult women. -
The signing of the treaty of Versailles
The signing of the treaty of Versailles officially ended the war and brought peace back to Europe. It took sevral months to make after the signing of the armistice, and Germany was given only three weeks to decide on whether to sign or not. The signing was timed perfectly with the five year anniversary of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie's deaths. -
Treatment of Australian soldiers post war
After World War One, many soldiers found it difficult to settle back into normal life again. Many developed what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or were injured badly and couldn't live like they used to. The RSL formed in June 1916 to help soldiers coming back from war, and helped even more settling in soldiers after the war. The government also started the Soldier Settlement Scheme to help soldiers, either by giving them land to farm or a job such as building the Great Ocean road -
The treatment of Aborigines after the war
Even though many Aboriginal men enlisted in the army and many women enlisted as nurses or helping back on the home front, they were still treated with prejudice after the war. Some sources claim that racism towards Indigenous people worsened after the war or at the very least went unchanged. Many Aborigines enlisted out of patriotism or to prove that they could be equal to white people, yet were still treated disrespectfully. -
Modern day effects of the war
(Moved to fit the timeline)
Annually, thousands of Australians meet at dawn to commemorate the soldiers that fought in WW1. Wreaths are laid at shrines and people gamble. Whether or not the gambling is out of remembrance or not would not take much of a debate. Either way, Australians are devoted to the mythologised battle where ANZAC forces were slaughtered because of terrible planning on Britain’s behalf.
