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Triple Alliance
Otto von Bismarck believed that France still wanted revenge from the Franco-Prussian war so he wanted to isolate France. First in 1879 he formed the dual alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary and three years later Italy joined to make the triple alliance.This event set up the first system of alliances that would lead to all out war through Europe because if one country in the alliance went to war, all the other countries in the alliance had to protect it. -
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World War I Thomas
The length of World War I. -
German Foreign Policy
Kaiser Wilhelm II had become ruler two years before and did not wish to share his power with anyone so he forced Bismarck to resign. He was eager to prove to the world how strong Germany had become because the army was his greatest pride. Wilhelm II wanted to display his great army and Germany was ruthless in World War I. -
Russia and France Alliance
Wilhelm let Germany’s treaty with Russia lapse in 1892 and 1894. Russia responded by forming a military defensive alliance with France.If Germany went to war with either Russia or France they would be forced to fight a two front war. -
• Britain and France Alliance
Germany began a shipbuilding process to make their navy equal to that of Great Britain’s. This troubled Great Britain so they formed an alliance with France and Russia.This event set another system of alliances in Europe. -
Triple Entente
The alliance did not make Britain fight with Russia or France but it ensured that they would not fight against Britain or France. This established the second system of alliances. There were now two rival alliances in Europe; the Triple alliance and the Triple Entente -
Assassination of Ferdinand and Sophie
: In 1908 Austria- Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzgovnia which outraged the people. The tensions rose between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife went to visit the capital of Bosnia, Sarjevo, Gavrilo Princip, a member of a Serbian secret society, assassinated them. -
Austria Gives Serbia an Ultimatum
Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum that contained multiple demands. The Serbians knew that rejecting the ultimatum would lead to war so they agreed to most demands and offered to have the rest settled with a conference. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Bosnia
Bosnia offered to settle the rest of the ultimatum in a conference, but Austria-Hungary was not in the mood to settle. Instead Austria-Hungary was ready for war and on July 18 1914 Austria-Hungary refused Serbia’s proposition and declared war. This was the first declaration of war in Europe, but because of the system of alliances soon all of Europe was at war. -
Germany Declared War on Russia
Russia was allied with Serbia and once Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia the Russian army mobilized to the Russian-Austrian border. Then expecting Germany to join Austria because of their alliance, Russia mobilized towars the Russia-Germany border. In Germany's oppinion this mobilization was a declaration of war. This declaration of war made the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia a larger war. -
Germany Declared War on France
Once war was declared on Russia, Russia looked for France to help them. Germany immediately declared war on France too. Germany was now fighting many wars. -
Britain Declared War on Germany
Great Britain declared war on Germany because Germany had declared war on all of its allies. Most of Europe was now looked into one big battle. -
First Battle of the Marne
The Germans were situated on the outskirts of Paris and seemed they were near taking over Paris. The allies regrouped and attacked the Germans just northeast of Paris in the valley of the Marne river. After four days of fighting the Germans retreated. This battle prevented the Germans from quickly defeating France and ending the war quickly. -
Ottoman Empire Joins Central Powers
The Ottoman Empire allied itself with the Central Powers. This widened the conflict geographically and left only the United States and Italy as unallied strong powers. -
Gallipoli Campaign
The Allies were struggling to end the stalemate and came up with a plan to attack down the Dardaneeles in the Ottoman Empire. Once the Dardanelles were secure they could get to Constantinople, defeat the Turks and get supplies to Russia. The allies fought and the Germans and Turks held a strong defense so ultimately it turned into another stalemate. -
Italy Joins Entente
Italy joins the Allies. Italy was upset with the Central Powers for causing the whole war. Italy was the last power left in Europe that was unallied so they sided with the Alllies. This left the Allies with more troops and help to defeat the Central Powers. -
Germany sinks the U.S.S Lusitania
A German boat sunk the British passenger ship Lusitania and killed 1,198 people including 128 U.S. citizens. This angered the U.S. people and helped convince the U.S. to eventually enter the war. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme lasted from Februrary to November 1916. The Germans attacked the Allies at Verdun on the Western Front. There were one million casualties and it was one of the largest battles in the war. Very little land was gained during this battle but many lives were lost. -
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
The Germans announce their policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. This means they would sink any boat in the British waters without warning. This caused many ships to be sunk and angered the U.S. into joining the war with the allies. -
Zimmermann Note
The British interecepted the telegraph from the Garman forgein secretary, Arthur Zimmermann. The telegram said Germany would help Mexico reconquer the land it lost to the U.S. if it would ally itself with Germany. The British gave the message to the U.S. and it was made public. This note caused the U.S. to call for war against Germany. -
Woodrow Wilson Asks Congress to Declare War on Germany
The U.S. was becoming more enraged with Germany and felt a strong bond with England. Woodrow Wilson asked congress to declare war on Germany, which was approved. The U.S. joined the war on the side of the allies. The U.S. joining the war changed the entire dynamic of the war and greatly helped the allies. -
Russia Ends Their Involvement in the War
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ended Russia's involvement in World War I. Russia was war weary and many soldiers had died. Russia's withdrawl from the war helped the triple alliance and kept Germany from having to continue to fight a two front war. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia withdrew from the war and offered Germany a truce called the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which ended the war between them. The treaty required Russia to surrender lands to Germany. The treaty became invlaid after the war but the new countries kept their independence. This treaty was the beginning of the end of World War I. -
Second Battle of the Marne
The Germans focused all of their troops on the Western Front and soon were less than 40 miles from Paris, victory seemed close. But, the German troops were tired and sensing their weakness the Allies launched a counterattack at the second battle of the Marne. This was the last battle of World War I. -
Germany becomes a Republic
Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to step down and Germany declared itself a republic. The war had been hard on Germany and there was much unrest. This left Germany out of World War I. -
German and French Armistice
A German Representative and French Commander Marshal Foch signed an armistice agreeing for the two countries to stop fighting. This armistice ended World War I.
