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The Assassination of Francis Ferdinand
Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated by a member of the Black Hand. His name was Gavrilo Princip, and he was part of a group who wanted an independent Slavic State. Gavrilo shot and killed Francis and his wife Sarajevo. Page 760 -
Germany backs Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary wished to declare war on Serbia for the assassination, but feared Russia would retaliate. So Emperor William II of Germany gave Austria-Hungary a "blank check" as their full support. Since they had Germany backing them, Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia. page 760 -
The Schlieffen Plan
Germany's war strategy was called the Sclieffen Plan. It consisted of Germany moving all of their troops to invade Paris and knock France out of the war. After taking out France, they would move to Russia and continue to knock them out of the war. They also believed Russia wouldn't be a problem for a few months as they wouldn't be able to mobilize their troops fast enough. Page 761 -
Battle of Tannenberg
Russia was able to mobilize their troops faster than Germany had predicted. Since they were able to do this, Russia tried to invade Berlin before Germany could do anything major to France. However, Germany ended driving Russia out of Germany and even almost took them out of the war. Page 763 -
Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was a very important turning point for the French. Germany was advancing quickly through France, and it took everything they had to stop Germany and their plan to end the war quickly here. During this battle, the French brought troops to the field through Paris taxi cabs. Page 762 -
Battle of Gallipoli
Great Britain tried to open up a Balkan front by invading Gallipoli. However, it was a terrible loss, as when Great Britain finally landed troops after 6 months of a navel barrage, the Ottomans were waiting for them. The death toll was at 500,000 for the Allies trying to invade. page 766 -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
Supposedly a peaceful, yet expensive cruise ship, was sunk by Germany using unrestricted navel warfare. Germany claimed this ship was a fair target because it was carrying 173 tons of weapons and ammo. However, Great Britain said this was a lie, as a way to try and get America to join the war. 766 -
Trench Warfare
Trench warfare was used throughout the war. It seriously confused military generals as they were trained to out-maneuver the other side, not stay down inside of a hole and wait. Usually, the only way high command tried to break the stalemate was by softening up the other side with an artillery barrage and then having their troops rush forward. It rarely ever worked. page 765 -
Second Battle of the Somme
This was the last major battle of the war, as Germany took a huge gamble to put all their effort into one final military push. However, one million American troops pushed them back and defeated them at the Second Battle of the Somme. The German military operator Erich Ludendorff said this was the "black day" for the German military. Page 778 -
William II's Departure
Since the Allies weren't willing to make peace with Germany's type of government, the people started to mutiny. They took over civilian and military offices. Kaiser William II gave into all this pressure and left the country, leaving Germany open to create a democratic republic. Page 780
