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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Fredinand and his wife were shot in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian. Austria declared war on Serbia for killing their heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. This happened because of dislike and mistrust among the nations of Europe. The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered World War I to occur. -
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World War I
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First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was fought on the Western Front between Germany and France. The war included Germany, France, and the Allies (Great Britain, France, and Russia). The war took place in France in the northeast outskirts of Paris, and in the valley of the Marne River. This was the first major clash on the Western Front.Trench warfare, a new strategy that they started using, is where they dig parallel trenches to protect from enemy fire. Germany ended up losing this battle to France. -
The Gallipoli Campaign
In an attempt to take the Dardanelles strait, a waterway that was the gateway to the Ottoman Empire, the Allies sent troops to the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Allies goal was to defeat the Turks and establish a supply line to Russia. Troops from New Zealand, France, Britain, and Australia soon were engaged in trench warfare with the Turks. After several months of fighting, the Allies withdrew in December of 1915. They had little success in gaining the Dardanelles, and sufferred 250,000 casualties. -
The Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme started on July 1, 1916 along the Somme River in France when British general Douglas Haig led an offensive Ally attack against the Central Powers. Within hours of starting the battle, the British army suffered 60,000 casualties. It proved to be the bloodiest battle of World War I, resulting in more than half a million casualties on both sides.The Ally attack was stopped in November of the same year because neither side could gain the upper hand. -
Introduction of New War Technology Like Tanks
Examples of new tools of war include machine guns, poison gas, tanks, submarines, and larger artillery weapons. A tank was a moving combat vehicle that moved on chain tracks, making it able to cross many types of terrain. It was first introduced by the British in 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. -
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Policy
In 1915, Germany declared an unrestricted submarine warfare policy, but after the sinking of the Lusitania (a British passenger ship) and two other passengers ships, they stopped this policy because of strong protest from the US. However, they returned to this policy in February of 1917 in attempt to starve out Britain. They thought their naval blockade could starve the British before the US could save them. As a result of this action, Congress declared war on Germany on April 2, 1917. -
Russia withdraws from WWI
In March of 1917, Czar Nicholas II stepped down due to uprisings in Russia. The civil unrest had been caused by the severe food shortages the people had endured, and the terrible causalites the army suffered. A new provisional government continued the war, but only eight months after the installation of this government, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, a Russian revolutionary, seized power. One of his first acts as ruler was to end the war by signing a peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918, -
Second Battle of Marne Occurs
In May 1918, Germany reaches the Marne River again. They think they will be victorious but they have exhausted solidiers and weakened military. The Allies knew this so they launched an attack with aid and 140,000 fresh US troops. In July 1918, the Allies and Germany clash in the valley of Marne for Second Battle of the Marne. The Allies had 350 tanks and two million American troops arriving later to help them. Germany lost and the Allies won. This triggered the Central Powers to collapse. -
Armistice Signed
After the Central Powers' defeat in the Second Battle of the Marne, the Allies continued to march further into central Europe. The Central Powers began to disengrate. The German public turned on Kaiser Wilhelm, and he gave up his position on Nov. 9, 1918 and fled to the Netherlands. Germany became a republic, and on Nov. 11, 1918, a representative of the new government met with French commander Marshal Foch in a railway car, and signed an armistice, which ended World War I. -
Treaty of Versailles Signed
The Treaty of Versialles is a peace treaty between Germany and the Allied Powers after World War I. It was signed at the Palace of Versailles. Its purpose was to have peace among the nations. It created a League of Nations, which was an international association whose goal was to keep peace among nations. People blamed the war on Germany so Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies. Germany was punished by losing territory and severe restrictions on their military.
