-
Triple Alliance Formed
Formed by Otto von Bismark, this alliance between Germany, Austria Hungry, and Italy was formed in order to mantain peace by isolating France and preventing Germany from having to fight a two-front war. Bismark saw that if France had allies, they were more likely to start a war. This formation early on lead to a strong bond between Germany and A-H throughout the war, which eventually developed into the Central Powers alliance. -
German Change of Foreign Policy
Kaiser Wilhelm II forces Bismarck to resign because Kaiser did not want to share his power. Kaiser was not interested in keeping peace, he only cared about flaunting Germanys army and power. This proud attitude aswell as the determination to make Germanys navy equal to that of Britain's caused resentment by the British. Russia alo resented the German change of policy. This tension created will last throughout WW1 causing the now opposing sides to fight. -
Wilhelm II allows alliance with Russia to Expire
Bismark had originally made a treaty with Russia in order to prevent France from gaining another ally. When Wilhelm II came to power and forced Bismark to resign, he let this treaty expire. Russia took offense to this, and thus became an enemy of the Triple Alliance. This conflict remains throughout WWI in battles on the Eastern Front. Russia also becomes the country, along with France, that Germany plans to attack as said in the Schlieffen Plan. -
Period: to
Franco-Russian Alliance
Russia was left alienated after Wilhelm let their treaty lapse. Russia thus turned to France, Germanys main enemy. They formed a defensive military alliance. This was problematic for Germany because now Germany would be forced to fight a two-front war. The alliance also ended the isolation of France, which was Germany's goal. The Shclieffen plan was Germans response to this threat, but that failed. -
The Entente Cordiale
This was an alliance formed between Great Britain and France because Britain took offense to the idea that WIlhelm II was trying to make the German naval fleet as powerful as Britain's. This alliance ended all of the ongoing conficts between Britain and France. It eventually lead to the formation of the Triple Entente. Because of the Entente Cordiale, Britain and France supported eachother throughout the war. In battles along the Western Front, they remained strong against the Germans. -
Triple Entente Formed
Brittain, Russia, and France wanted to counterbalance the growing strength of the Triple Alliance. They formed the Triple Entente. This alliance did not entitle Brittain to fight with France or Russia, it did ensure that Brittain supported both countries. There were now two rival groups which divided up Europe completely. Conflict between the two alliances was powerful enough to direct all European Nations into a full scale War. -
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
The Austria-Hungarian Archduke was visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia on tour. The majority of Bosnia's population is Serbians who resent A-H because in 1908 A-H annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina from the Ottoman Empire. Thus his visiting was taken as an insult. He was shot by a member of the Serbian Nationalist group, The Black Hand. This lead to A-H declaring war on Serbia and within 7 days The Allies and The Central Powers were involved in war which would escalate into a World War. -
The Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum
After the assassination of Ferdinand, A-H believed Serbia should have consequences. A-H consulted Germany and came up with an ultimatum for Serbia. A-H made demands, and serbia complied to all but one of these demands. This though, was enough for A-H to declare war on Serbia. This declaration was an impetus for other European nations to declare war their enemies. Europe was now in an all out war. -
Austria declares War on Bosnia
A-H blamed the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife on the Serbian government and after the Ultimatum was not met, A-H declared war on Bosnia. Russia, an ally of Serbia prepared for war along the Russian-Austrian border. It was expected that Germany would fight with A-H, and this caused Russia to mobilize along the German border also. War now is extended not only between Serbia and A-H, but now between the Allies and The Central Powers. -
Germany declares war on Russia
Russia mobilized along the German border in preparation for Germany to join Austria, their ally, in the War against Serbia. This mobilization was seen as a threat to Germany, and thus Germany declared war on Russia. Allies of A-H and Serbia are now involving themselves in the war, After declaring war, Germany plans to attack Russia as stated in the Schlieffen Plan and attacks them along the Eastern Front. -
Germany declares war on France
After Germany declared war on Russia, Russia turned to France so Germany acted fast and declared War on France. The effect of this was now Germany was fighting a two-front war with France and Russia. Germany came up with the Schlieffen Plan to attack France through Belgium. This caused battles along the Western front which ended, to Germny's suprise, in a stalemate. -
Britain declared War on Germany
After Germany declared war on France, Britain declared war on Germany because Britain is part of the Triple Entente and thus must support France and Russia. This gives the Allies the advantage as Britain had the greatest navy and was industrialized with the greatest of modern weapons. Britain helped prevent the Schlieffen plan from being a success by stoping the German advances and protecting France. -
Battle at Tannenberg
Russians had been attacking A-H and Germany. Germany counterattacked the Russians, fighting against their First and Second Armies. Germans used their railways to surround the Russian Second Army. This resulted in the destruction of the Russian Second Army and a victory for the Germans. The battle lasted 4 days. Russia lacked industrialization and continual defeats like the one at Tannenberg weakened it. Its only advantage was its large population. -
First Battle of the Marne
German forces were outside of Paris and anticipating there victory over France. The Allies made an unexpected attack on the Germans by the Marne river. The defeat of the Germans ruined the Schlieffen Plan. France was protected and the belief that this would be a fast war was countered. A stalemate resulted along the western front. And the following years would be years of trench warfare and bloody battles. -
Ottoman Empire joins Central Powers
The Ottoman Empire allied themselves with the Central Powers. They did this because they wanted to reaquaire previously lost land. This caused for the Allies to launch the Gallipoli Campaign as a way to attack the Ottoman Empire and gain access to Russia. It also widened the conflict. -
Gallipoli Campaign
The ongoing stalement made the Allies restless, and they decided to end it with a strategy known as the Gallipoli campaign. The Allies would take the Dardanelles strait and then capture Constantinople. From there they would have access to Russia, allowing for the transfer of supplies. The result was a stalemate and so the plan was evacuated. It caused Blugaria to join the Central Powers. Despite this failure, the Allies desire to take over the Ottoman Empire remained. -
Italy joins the Triple Entente
Originally, Italy was apart of the Triple Alliance. Italy joined the Entente for two main reasons. First, Italy believed A-H and Germany unfairly started the war with Serbia. Secondly, The Entente promised Italy Austrian lands if Italy joined. Because of this, wars were fought along the Italian Front. Britain and France reinforced Italy at the Battle of Caporetto, which prevented the Central Powers from capturing Italy. -
Germany Sinks the USS Lusitania
Germany established a policy known as unrestricted submarine warfare in order to prevent goods from going in and out of Britain. Germany would sink any ships in the waters around Britain in order to create a naval blockade. One of the German submarines sank the ship Lusitania killing a total of 1,198 people including 128 US citizens. This caused resentment among the Americans who were outraged at Germany. It caused the general American population to favor the Allies. -
Period: to
The Battle of Verdun
This battle occured along the Western Front. It was instigated by Germans against the French. It ended in a stalemate and barely anything was gained, but 680,000 died. Trench Warfare and modern weapons caused this battle to be added this to the list of long, bloody battles of WWI. -
Period: to
Battle of Somme
This battle was instigated by Britain and France against Germany. It was fought along the Western Front, taking all focus off the Eastern front. The battle resulted in over 1 million casualties, and The Allies only gained 5 miles. Like the battle of Verdun, it was one of the longest and bloodiest battles. After, Germany retreated to the Hindenburg line as fighting elsewhere continued. -
Return to Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Knowing that instituting the policy of submarine warfare again might lead to a war with the US, Germany took its chances. They planned this naval blockade would force the starved Britain to surrender before the US could declare war. German submarines sank three American ships pushing the US closer to joining the Allies. -
Interception of the Zimmermann Note
A note was sent from Germany's foreign secretary to the German ambassador in Mexico. It said Germany would aid Mexico in regaining the land in lost to the US if Mexico joined the Central Powers. The British intercepted this note and gave it to the US government. This was the deciding factor for the US. They had had enough. America declared war on Germany. -
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ended Russia's involvement in WWI
Russia faced shortages of fuel and food. They had faced many defeats from WWI as well as internal revolutions to end the Czar Government. Also, they still were without industrialization. In 1917, Communist Vladimir Lenin came to power. He was determined to end Russia's involvement in the War. Ending Russia's involvement gave the Central Powers the advantage as the war began to come to an end. -
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia offered Germany a truce, which was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. This treaty ended the war between Russia and the Central Powers. The Russian government was forced to give up a quarter of their land and population to Germany. Russia's withdrawal allowed for Germany to attack with full force the Western Front. The War was ending, and it seemed Germany had the upper hand. -
The Second Battle of the Marne
With Russia out of the way, Germany made an all out attack on the Allies in France. By May, the German army had weekened. American reinforcements were sent to aid the Allies in a counterattack. The Second Battle of the Marne resulted in the destruction of the Central Powers as the Allies advanced toward Germany. One by One the nations who made up the Central Powers began to surrender. -
Germany and France sign an Armistice
The armistice was an agreement between the Allies and Germany that ended the fighting of World War 1. It marked a victory for the Allies and defeat for Germany. It was signed at 11 AM by a German representative and French Commander Marshal Foch. It marked the end of World War 1.
