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Kaiser William II of Germany promises German support for their Austrian allies against Serbia.
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Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian Empire, was killed along with his wife during a drive while visiting Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia. This event is generally accepted by historians as being the immediate cause of the First World War, though tensions had been previously building.
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Because the assassination was commited by Serbs, Austria declares war on Serbia.
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Germany declares war on the Russians, who are compeled to defend Serbia.
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Britain joins its French and Russian allies.
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Germany declares war on the Russians, who are compeled to defend Serbia.
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The Germans declared war on France and implemented their invasion of Belgium, part of their Scheifflen Plan. The Plan was intended to bring about a swift victory for Germany in the event of a two-front war. It concentrated on exploiting the differences in the amount of time neighboring countries would need to prepare for war. The Belgium army was swept aside easily enough, however, the French held off the German forces. With the failure of the Schleiffen Plan, trench warfare ensued.
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The Battle of the Marne was fought during September of 1914. Casualties were high on both sides. The French lost about 250,000 soldiers, as did the Germans. The BEF lost about 13,000 men as well. This battle signifies the beginning of full-blown trench warfare, which would dominate the front throughout the rest of the war. The French managed to save Paris, however, and Germany's Schleiffen Plan had failed.
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Zepplins were a relatively new technology. The models built in 1914 had five machine guns and could carry 4,400 lbs. of bombs. Their maximum speed was 136 kph and they could reach a height of 4,250 metres. this particular raid took place over the east coast of England. Yarmouth and King's Lynn were both bombed.
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The campaign at the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey was a joint British and French attempt to capture Istanbul and secure a sea route to Russia. The British and French forces failed at the expense of many casualties on both sides.
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THe RMS Lusitania was an ocean liner owned by Cunard Lines. She was attacked by a German U-boat and sank in eighteen minutes. 1,198 of the nearly 2,000 passengers aboard died. Many of the passengers were American citizens. It is considered the second most famous civilian liner disaster, following the sinking of the RMS Titanic. These events did a lot to turn public opinion of several countries, including the United States, against the Germans.
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Beginning in 1916, the law in Britain stated that each man had to serve in the military for a certain period of time. Britain was beginning to run out of volunteer soldiers.
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A ten-month long battle between the German and French Armies. Hundreds of thousands died on both sides and no real advantage was won for either country. The French successfully defended the city of Verdun and pushed the German forces back.
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The Brusilov Offensive is known as the Russians greatest feat furing the war and is ranked as one of the world's most deadly battles. It was a major offensive against the armies of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy) in what is now the Ukraine. The battle lasted through August and achieved several goals, including distracting Germany from Verdun and severely crippling Austro-Hungarian Army.
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The Battle of the Somme was a British and French offensive launched against invading German forces in the Somme portion of France along the Somme River. It was one of the largest battles of the entire war with 1.5 million casualties by the time it ended in November of 1916. British and French forces penetrated about 6 miles into the German line. The Germans failed to accomplish several of their objectives but still maintained partially entrenched areas.
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Strikes broke out across Russia against Czar Nicholas II. The revolution was largely because of the heavy loss of life during WWI. Nicholas abdicated in March. The February Revolution was the first of several revolutions which combined are called the Russian Revolution.
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With the abdication of the czar, the short-lived Provisional Government came to power in Russia and attempted to form a republic.
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The USA declared war on Germany
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Also known as the Soviet Revolution, took place in Petrograd. The Soviets, with the support of the common people, overthrew the Provisional Government, which had failed to pull out of World War I. A Russian Civil War followed (1917-1922) and the Soviets gained full power over the country, recreating it as the Soviet Union.
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British won a major victory at Cambrai with the use of tanks.
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Peace Treaty between Russia and Germany. The Communist Revolution overturned the monarchy and the Russians called for an end to the war.
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Flanders was fought over from 1914 until nearly the end of the war.
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Czar Nicholas II, his wife, son and four daughters were all executed by the Bolsheviks after being imprisoned following his abdications. The Romanov dynasty officially and tragically ended.
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Official end of WWI
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The official peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles was signed near the beautiful palace at Versailles, near Paris. The treaty was very harsh on Germany and the resentment it created is often credited with the onset of the Second World War . The treaty forced Germany to accept full responsibility for the the war and pay reparations, give up territories and reduce the army size to a meager 100,000 souls,
