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Formation of the Triple Alliance
The Triple Alliance started off as an alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy then joined three years later in 1882, making it the Triple Alliance. Then then became known as the Central Powers because of their location in the heart of Europe. Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire joined later in hopes of gaining lost territory. It was created as a central Europen stronghold to eventually engulf Europe. -
Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's military plan at the start of World War I, in which they would send German troops to quickly defeat France and then move east to attack Russia. This plan was named after General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen who created it in December 1905 in order to avoid having to fight the war on two fronts for long. -
Formation of Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was an alliance between Britain, France, and Russia created in 1907. These countries later became known as the Allies. Italy joined later on after accusing the central powers of starting the war unjustly. The reason this alliance was formed was to counter the rising power of the Triple Alliance. -
Assassination of the Archduke
On June 28, 1914 during a visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by a Serbian. This assassination was planned by a group of Serbian nationalists because they were unhappy with Austria-Hungary for annexing territory that they believed should belong to Serbia. This sparked the start of the war. -
The First Battle of Marne
This battle was fought to the north and east of Paris in September of 1914. The Germans were moving towards Paris in order to carry out the Schlieffen Plan, but the Allies fought back to keep France in the war. The Allies defeated the Germans and destroyed their hopes of quickly defeating France. Afterwards, the war turned into trench warfare. -
Gallipoli Campaign
The Gallipoli was the Allies' attempt to take the Dardanelles Strait in February of 1915. By taking over the Dardanelles Strait, the Allies believed that they could take Constantinople, defeat the Turks, and establish a supply line to Russia. This would be very helpful to the Allies since Russia was runnng out of supplies. In the end, the Allies lost and did not get to help their ally by establishing the supply line. -
Battle of Somme
The Battle of Somme was fought on the Western Front in November of 1916. The Allies launched their offensive against the Germans and the Allies ended up being defeated. It was a very costly battle since there was a great amount of lives lost, but only a small amount of territorial gain. The british also used their secret weapons which were tanks, but they had no effect on the outcome of the battle. -
Joining of America
America joined the war on the side of the Allies in April 1917. America was pushed towards war when the Germans returned to unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917 and sank three American ships, ignoring President Wilson's warnings. When Germany said they would help Mexico reconquer lands it lost to the United Stated if mexico allied itself with Germany, America finally entered the war. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
President Wilson of the United States created a series of peace proposals in January of 1918. These proposals are called the Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points are an outlined plan for achieving just and lasting peace. Furthermore, Wilson believed that he would bring stability to Europe and the main idea of the Fourteen Points was self-determination. His fourteenth point was the most important according to Wilson, and it was to create a League of Nations. -
Withdrawal of Russia
Russia withdrew from the war in March of 1918. Because of the war, Russia had shortages of food and fuel and there was civil unrest which led to the Czar stepping down. Soon, many soldiers were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner and the Russian army refused to fight. Russia then signed a peace treaty, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, with Germany and the war between them was over. -
The Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood was fought in June of 1918. The Americans with the help of the Franch attacked the Germans. The U.S. forces and the Germans each tried to take Belleau Wood and in the end, the Americans prevailed. This battle brought the last major offensive of the Germans to an end. -
Fall of the Central Powers
The Central Powers crumbled near the end of 1918 and fell which led to their loss of the war. After Russia withdrew, Germany tried to focus on fighting its war with France and sent its troops towards Paris. Then America attacked and Germany became weaker and weaker. The Bulgarians and the Ottoman Turks surrendered and there was a revolution in Austria-Hungary. Germany finally had to sign an armistice with the Allies and this ended the war. -
The Versailles Treaty
Th Versailles Treaty is a peace treaty that was signed by Germany and the allied powers after World War I on June 28, 1919. It was signed at the Palace of Versailles and according to this document, Germany had to give up much of its land to the Allies, Germany had to take responsibility for starting the war, Germany had to pay for war damage, and a league of nations had to be set up. Germany was angry with these terms.
