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Period: to
World War I Timespan
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Triple Entente & Triple Alliance
On this date, Britain, Russia and France formed the Triple Entente. They rivaled the pre-existin Triple Alliance which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On this date, the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne was shot in Sarajevo by a Serbian member of the Black Hand named Gavrilo Princip. -
Austrian Declaration of War
Austria was outraged by the assassination of their Archduke and would not negotiate with Serbia. On July 28 they declared waron Serbia. This caused Serbia's ally Russia to move troops towards the Austrian border. It was becoming more and more apparent that a giant war was coming. -
American Declaration of War
President Wilson gave the order to declare war on Germany. This was due to a build up of events like the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman note to Mexico. the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies because of their new rivalry with Germany and their strong economic ties with the Allies. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
After Lenin gained control of Russia he sought to take his country out of the war. Gemany and Russia then signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and ended the war between them. -
Germany's Attack on the Western Front
On this date, Germany was able to send all of their troops to the Western Front because of their truce with Russia. They were then able to launch a large attack on the Allies in France. -
End of World War I
Germany was low on soldiers and supplies in the later stages of their attack on France. This made them weak and gave the Allies the perfect opportunity to launch a devastating counterattack. The Allies made swift ground on the Central Powers and caused most members to surrender. Civil unrest in Germany caused Kaiser Wilhelm II to step down and Germany to become a Republic. The new German government signed an armstice with France, which caused the war to end on November 11, 1918. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on this day. It formed the League of Nations, an international group with the goal of maintaining peace. The treaty harmed Germany through military sanctions but more importantly Germany was given all of the responsibility for the war and therefore had to pay the Allies for damages. This treaty was so harsh that it planted the seed of hatred towards the Allies in many German's hearts and led to the second World War.
