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Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary , was shot dead in Sarajevo by a Bosnian Serb.
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Austria-Hungary, together with Russia, which was their ally, declared war on Serbia. Alliances between European countries meant that soon most of Europe was at war.
Central Powers were led by Germany and Austia-Hungary .
And the Allies were led by France , Russia and Britain.
This led to the First World War. -
Germany had developed Schlieffen's plan for a war against both France and Russia. In August 1914, Germany invaded France through Belgium. But the Allies (France and Britain) stop the German advance on Paris.
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At the start of the war , Russia invaded both Germany and Austria-Hungary . In 1915 the Central Powers counterattacked.
And in May, italy joins the allies. -
In September the Germans push the Russians back and seize Poland.
And in October ,Bulgaria joins in Germany and Austria to defeating Serbia. -
Germany attacks Verdun. The Allies fight at the Battle of Verdun and in July -November of the same year, they fought at the Battle of the Somme. -
In 1917 there were two revolutions in Russia. Russia had to withdraw from World War One. The Central Powers and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended the war on the Eastern Front.
Meanwhile, the United States had joined the Allies -
In the Hundred Days Offensive, The Allies won a decisive victory .
The Italians were also winning the war against Austria-Hungray.
Finally the German and Austrian emperors were forced into exile. And Austrian and the Ottoman Empire surrendered -
On 11 November 1918, Germany surrendered, ending the World War One. Almost 1o millions soldiers were killed in WWI. Most were buried near where they died.
