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The Formation of the Triple Alliance
The Triple Alliance was formed because Otto van Bismarck wanted to keep the peace in Germany. He believed France was a threat to the peace, so he tried to isolate them. He did this by forming alliances with the countries around France. In 1881, Italy joined Austria-Hungary and Germany to form the Triple Alliance. This document stated that there would be peace between these countries, they would fight for each other, and that this document would be kept secret. -
Formation of the Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was an alliance that Great Britain made with France and Russia to keep peace between them. This came to be because Kaiser Wilhelm II let Germany's treaty with Russia expire in 1890. Russia was forced to form a military alliance with France to protect itself. Wilhelm then started a shipbuilding program to compete with Great Britain. This was the final straw. Great Britain formed the Triple Entente with Russia and France, dividing Europe into two groups. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Murdered
The Slavs and Austrians were feuding with each other over land. Then, the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, visited a Slavic state. They were shot at point blank range by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian. Austria was outraged, made demands, and declared war on July 28, 1914. World War I had officially started. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottomans were called the Central Powers. Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy were called the Allies. -
Western Front and Schlieffen Plan
The Western Front in northern France turned into a bloody stalemate. Germany wanted to end this deadlock, so they developed a battle strategy called the Schlieffen Plan developed by General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen. The course of action was to attack France in the west, before the Russians arrived. Then, the Germans would rush east to fight the Russians. The Germans thought that this would be possible because Russia had limited railroads and limited ways to transport supplies. -
Battle of Tannenburg
The Battle of Tannenberg showed the incompetence of the Russians, but was a great victory for Germany. The poorly prepared Russians attacked East Prussia under commander Pavel Rennenkampf. The Germans attacked and the Russians suffered heavy casualties. The next day, Russian reinforcements arrived, but their messages were intercepted by the Germans, causing them to lose the battle. This battle resulted in the death of 30,000 Russians and 92,000 taken prisoner. The Germans lost 10,000 men. -
First Battle of the Marne
The Germans seemed to almost have a victory over France during the Battle of the Marne, but the Allies regrouped in the valley of the Marne River. General Maunoury's 150,000 men attacked the right flank of the German Army and broke the line. French taxicabs brought reinforcements to the Allies and Helmuth von Moltke ordered the Germans to retreat on September 9. This battle convinced everyone that the war was not going to be short. -
Gallipoli Campain
The Gallipoli Campaign was a series of attacks to take the Dardanelles strait which led straight to the capitol of the Ottoman empire, Constantinople. The Allies wanted to use the strait to establish a supply line to Russia. British, Australian, New Zealand, and French troops attacked the strait while Turks opposed them on German orders. The fight dragged on into a bloody stalemate and lasted through December. The Allies gave up after suffering 250,000 casualties. -
Battle of Somme
This battle is a symbol of the massive casualties of WWI. The Battle of Somme was started when the Germans attacked the French at Verdun. On both sides, more than 300,000 soldiers died. The attacks continued into July, resulting in more than 60,000 British dying on their first day of battle due to the secure German trenches. The battle became a stalemate and ended in November, due to rain and casualties numbering more than half a million per side. -
U.S. Joins The War
The U.S. joined the war because of two reasons. First, the Germans announced their use of unrestricted submarine warfare. The Germans knew that this could lead to war with the U.S., but gambled that they might be able to defeat Britain first. In February of 1917, the U.S. heard about a letter sent from Germany to Mexico guaranteeing the Germans help in reclaiming Mexican land from the U.S. The Zimmerman letter ultimately led to Woodrow Wilson declaring war on Germany. -
Fourteen Points
The fourteen points were a series of peace proposals drawn up by Woodrow Wilson that outlined a plan for lasting peace. The first four points wanted freedom of the seas, reduced national armies and navies, an end to secret treaties, and free trade. The fifth point wanted to change colonial claims. The sixth through the thirteenth points pertained to changing borders and creating new countries. Lastly, the fourteenth point proposed an association of nations to help protect all countries. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Ltovsk was a treaty that stopped the war between Germany and Russia. This was due to civil war in Russia that made Communist leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ruler. He ended Russia's involvement in the war. Since Russia withdrew from the war, Germany could send all their troops to the Western Front, instead of splitting up to fight the Western and Eastern Front at the same time. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was drawn up by a group known as the Big Four. They were Woodrow Wilson of the U.S., David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and Georges Clemenceau of France. They agreed on the Treaty of Versailles, which included the League of Nations, an international peace association. Also, the treaty punished Germany by taking away parts of their land, enforcing restrictions on their military, and making them pay reparations to the Allies.
