-
Triple Alliance
Otto von Bismarck wanted to maintain peace in Europe. Bismarck saw France as the greatest threat to peace. His first goal was to isolate France. So in 1879 Bismarck formed a Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. Three years later in 1882, Italy joined the two countries to form the Triple Alliance. -
Germany joins Russia in an alliance
After forming the Triple Alliance, Bismarck still felt that France was not yet isolated. Therefore, he took yet another possible ally away from France by making a treaty with Russia. As a result of this alliance, the Triple Entente was formed in 1904. -
Wilhelm II allows alliance with Russia to expire
In 1890, Germany’s foreign policy changed dramatically when Kaiser Wilhelm II forced Bismarck to resign. Wilhelm did not wish to share power with anyone. Besides wanting to assert his own power, the new Kaiser was eager to show the world just how mighty Germany had become. Wilhelm let his nation’s treaty with Russia expire in 1890. In response to this act, Russia formed a defensive military alliance with France. -
Russian/France defensive military alliance
After Wilhelm let his nation's treaty with Russia expire, Russia responded by forming a defensive military alliance with France in 1892. Such an alliance had been Bismarck's fear. War with Russia or France would make Germany the enemy of both. Germany would then be forced to fight a two-front war. -
Britain formed entente(alliance) with France
Wilhelm began a tremendous shipbuilding program in an effort to make the German navy equal to that of the mighty British fleet. Alarmed, Great Britain formed an entente with France. This alliance could draw all nations of Europe into war. -
Triple Entente
After Britain made an alliance with France, in 1907, Britain made another entente with both France and Russia. This alliance was called the Triple Entente. The Triple Entente did not bind Britain to fight with France and Russia. However, it did almost certainly ensure that Britain would not fight against them. -
Ferdinand and Sophie visit Sarajevo and are assassinated By Gavri;p Princip
On June 28th, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie went to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. The couple was shot by Gavrilo Princip. Because of the assassin was a Serbian, Austria decided to use the murders as an excuse to punish Serbia. -
Austria declared war on Bosnia / Russian Mobilization
Because the assassin of Ferdinand and his wife was a Serbian, Austria decided to use the murders as an excuse to punish Serbia. On July 23,Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum containing numerous demands. When Serbia agreed to few of the Austrian demands, Austria was not up for negotiation and declared war on Bosnia. That same day, Russia, an ally of Serbia, took action. Russian leaders ordered the mobilization of troops toward the Austrian border. -
Germany declared war on Russia
In response to Austria’s declaration of war, Russia, Serbia’s ally, began moving its army toward Russian-Austrian border. Expecting Germany to join Austria, Russia also mobilized along the German border. TO Germany, Russia’s mobilization amounted to a declaration of war. On August 1, the German government declared war on Russia -
Germany declared war on France
After Germany declared war on Russia, Russia looked to its ally France for help. Germany, however, did not even wait for France to react. Two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declared war on France. -
Britain declared war on Germany
Soon after Germany had declared war on both Russia and France, Great Britain declared war on Germany. At this time, must of Europe was now locked in Battle. In result of these declarations of wars, battle lines were formed. -
Four Day Battle
During late August, Germany counterattacked the Russians at Tannenberg. This battle was known as the four day battle. As a result, the Germans defeated the Russians and the battle ended with many casualties. -
1st Battle of the Marne
Germany had developed the Schlieffen Plan which called for attacking France in the west and then rushing east to fight Russia. Speed was a vital factor in Schlieffen Plan. German leaders knew they needed a quick victory over France. On September 5, however, the Allies regrouped and attacked the Germans northeast of Paris, in the valley of the Marne River. This battle was perhaps the single most important event of the war. The defeat of the Germans left the Schlieffen Plan in ruins. -
Central Powers
The nations took sides by mid-August 1914. On one side there was Germany and Austria-Hungary. These nations were known as the Central Powers because their location was in the heart of Europe. Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire later joined the Central Powers in hopes of regaining lost territories. -
Italy joins Entente
Great Britain, France, and Russia were joined together and they were known as the Allied Powers or the Allies. Italy joined later. Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, the Italians joined the other side after accusing their former partners of unjustly starting the war. -
Germany sinks the U.S.S. Lusitania
The Germans tried unrestricted submarine warfare before. On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sunk the British passenger ship Lusitania. The attack left 1,198 people dead, including 128 U.S. citizens. Nevertheless, the American public was outraged. President Woodrow Wilson sent a strong protest to Germany. After two further attacks, the Germans finally agreed to stop attacking neutral and passenger ships. -
Gallipoli campaign
The effort to take the Dardanelles strait began in February 1915. It was known as the Gallipoli campaign. British, Australian, New Zealand, and French troops made repeated assaults on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the western side of the strait. By May, Gallipoli had turned into another bloody stalemate. Both sides dug trenched, from which they battled for the rest of the year. In December, the Allies gave up the campaign and began to evacuate. They had suffered about 250,000 casualties. -
Verdun Battle of the Somme
The slaughter reached a peak in 1916. In February, the Germans launched a massive attack against the French near Verdun. In July, the British army tried to relieve the pressure on the French. British forces attacked the Germans northwest of Verdun, in the valet of the Somme River. In the first day, more than 20,000 British soldiers were killed. By the time the Battle ended in November, each side had suffered more than half a million casualties. -
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
In 1917, the focus of the war shifted to the high seas. That year, the Germans intensified the submarine warfare that had raged in the Atlantic Ocean since shortly after the war began. By 1917, British naval blockade caused severe food shortages in Germany. Germany decided to establish its own naval blockade around Britain. In January of 1917, the Germans announced that their submarines would sink without warning and ship in the waters around Britain, unrestricted submarine warfare. -
Zimmermann Note
In February 1917, one last German action pushed the United States closer to war. The British intercepted a telegram from Germany’s foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador in Mexico. The message said that Germany would help Mexico “reconquer” the land it had lost to the U.S. if Mexico would ally itself with Germany. The British gave the message to the U.S. government. When the note was made public, Americans called for war against Germany. -
Wilson asks to declare war on Germany
The Zimmermann note simply proved to be the last straw. On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war. The United States entered the war on the side of the Allies. -
Lenin ended Russia's involvement in WWI
Czar Nicholas had established a provisional government in Russia. Under this establishment 5.5 million Russian soldiers were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The war- weary Russian army refused to fight any longer. In November 1917, Communist leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin seized power. He insisted on ending his country’s involvement in the war. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Lenin insisted on ending Russia’s involvement in the war. One of his first acts was to offer Germany a truce. In March 1918, Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk, which ended the war between them. The treaty was extremely hard on Russia. IT required the Russian government to surrender lands to Germany. Even though the treaty became invalid after the war, these nations still gained their independence. -
Germany declared itself Republic
After the Second Battle of the Marne, the Central Powers began to crumble. In October, a revolution in Austria-Hungary brought that empire to an end. In Germany, soldiers mutinied, and the public turned on the Kaiser. On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to step down. Germany declared itself a republic. -
Armistice
A representative of the new German government met with Marsha Foch. In a railway car in a forest near Paris, the two signed an armistice, or an agreement to stop fighting. On November 11, World War I came to an end. After four years of fighting, the time had come to have a peace settlement. Leaders of victorious nations gathered outside Paris to work out the terms of peace.
