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The Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, went to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. While they were there, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, shot them both. The assassin was a Serbian, so Austria decided to use the murders as an excuse to punish Serbia. Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum containing numerous demands.
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Austria had declared War on Serbia. Russia begain moving toward the Russian -Austrian border. Expecting Germany to join Austria, Russia bordered Germany. To Germany, Russia's mobilization called for a declaration of war.
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Germany declared war on Russia. Russia went to France for help. On August 3, Germany knew that Russia would go to France for help, so Germany also declared war on France. On August 4, Great Britain declared war on Germany.
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By mid-August, the battle lines were drawn. On one side were Germany and Austria-Hungary, known as the Central Powers. Later on, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire joined. On the other side were Great Britain, France, and Russia, known as the Allies.
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On September 5th, the Allies attacked the Germans northeast of Paris, in the valley of the Marne. After four days of fighting, the German generals gave the order to retreat. It was the first major conflict on the Western Front, and the most important event of the war. The defeat of the Germans left the Schlieffen Plan in ruins.
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In early 1915, soldiers dug trenches on the Western Front to protect themselves from enemy fire. This style of fighting was called the Trench Warfare.
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Germans launched a massive attack against the French near Verdun. Both sides had lost more than 300,000 soldiers.
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In July, British forces attacked the Germans northwest of Verdun, in the valley of the Somme River. In the first day of fighting, more than 20,000 British soldiers were killed. The Battle of Somme ended in November. Germans gained 4 miles of land, and the British gained 5 miles.
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In January, the Germans announce that their submarines would sink without warning any ship in the waters around Britain. This policy was called unrestricted submarine warfare.
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After the Germans sank three American ships, President Wilson, the United States's president, asked Congress to declare war on Germany. The United States entered the war on the side of the Allies.
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Communist leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin seized power of Russia. Lenin wanted to end Russia's involvement in the war, he offered Germany a truce.
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Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending war between them.
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In July, the Allies and Germans fought at the Second Battle of Marne. The Allies had an advantage over the Central Powers. They had more tanks and more new soldiers. Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire surrendered. In October, revolution swept through Austria-Hungary. In Germany, soldiers mutinied and the public turned on the kaiser.
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Germany declared itself a republic. A representive of the new German government met with French Commander Marshal Foch in a railway car near Paris. Both signed an armistice to stop fighting. On November 11, World War I can to an end.
