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Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism
Nationalism was when people had a lot of pride in their country which caused competitions between countries. The countries competed for parts of Africa and Asia in imperialism and were often were pushed to the brink of war. This made their rivalries and distrust deeper. The arms race was a big part of militarism, all of the countries wanted to have the best military in the country, so they competed even more against eachother. These were huge contributors to the War. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary asasinated
The Serbians and Austria-Hungarians had a lot of tensions and mutual distrust because Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Black Hand Society of Serbia was a Secret Society that wanted to get all the Austrian rulers out of Bosnia because they did not like how they took annexed the countries. The Black Hand Society thought the best way to do this was kill them. They asasinated Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, Archduke of Bosnia and his wife in a parade in Sarajevo, Bosnia. -
Austria Declared War On Serbia
After The Black Hand Society killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, tensions rose between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Austria-Hungary was settled on war because of what Serbia had done. They thought there was no other solution. The war took effect immediantely, and allied contries began to move. This was the very start of the war. -
Europe was divided into the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente
The Triple Alliance was formed because Germany and Austria-Hungary were both Slavic Nations, and they wanted their nationalism to show through. The Triple Alliance consited of Germany, Austri-Hungary, and Italy. The Triple Entente formed because Great Britain and Russia wanted to settle their tensions, but also just to counter-balance the other Alliance. -
First Battle of the Marne
The Triple Alliance had a plan called the Schliffen Plan to attack France quickly, then rush to the north to attack the slow moving Russia. This plan failed because France's Allies had come to help France, setting back the Shlieffen Plan. The set back gave Russia time to catch up to the battle front. Russia and France both fighting the Triple Allies on two fronts was known as the First Battle of the Marne. -
Trench Warfare
The soldiers would dig trenches to hide in during combat. Wars on the Western Front had to turn to trench warfare because they had to defend their territory strongly. The soliders lived, ate, slept, and fought in the tranches for years and years. They just shot at eachother back and forth every day, If they were commanded by their officer to attack they would climb ovr their trenches into "no man's land" where they would most likely meet their death. The trench warfare was very brutal. -
Gallipoli Campaign
The allies (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) wanted to add the Ottoman Empire to their areas of control because they wanted to add the Dardanelles Straight to take over Constantinople to defeat the Turks and establish a supply line to Russia. Britain, Austrian, New Zealand, and France troops kept attacking the Gallipoli peninsula which was the main way to get to the Dardanelles straight, which made it difficult for the allies to acquire the straight for themselves. -
Russian Leader Czar Nicholas Had To Step Down
Czar Nicholas had to step down because he was not a good military leader and people blamed him for the loss of more Russian troops. Also, inflation and food shortages caused riots among the Russian people. After he stepped down a new government was established. They continued to fight in the war until they could not any longer without leadership. Also after the new government, Revolutions broke out in Russia. -
Total War Was Declared
The countries devoted all of their resources, including money, to fighting and staying supplied for the war. All of the countries' governments were focused on winning the war. Because all of the men were fighting and gone the government turned to help from women. So many goods were in short supply that there was a limited amount of certain things that you could buy. -
Treaty Of Versailles
The war was coming to an end, and after every war there has to be a treaty. The United States, France, Great Britain, and Italy (known as the Big Four) got together in Paris to discuss peace between the countries. Woodrow Wilson of the United States came up with the Fourteen Points to try to gain peace beween them, but they would not agree. The Treaty of Versailles was the compromise. It was signed by Germany and the Allied powers at the Palace of Versailles to keep peace.
