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Creation of the Triple Aliance
The Triple Alliance was formed between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. The Triple Alliance was a very strong Alliance, with the countries promising to not only stay out of each others territory, but to defend and help each other in battle. This brought more pieces onto the board for WW1(added more countries to the war). -
Rise of Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm was an extremely Militaristic Kaiser. He believed that Germany needed more power and wanted to create a navy equal to the british, this instilled a feeling of nationalism into the german people. Nationalism is the feeling that your country is the best. A few years after he became Kaiser he forced Otto Van Bismark, the leader of Prussia, to resign as he did not want to share any power. He was an important part of the war because his rush for arms and power hunger were key factors in WW1. -
Alliance of France and Russia
The Franco-Russian alliance was created in 1894. The Alliance surrounded Germany on all sides. With Germany surrounded on all sides, this really put pressure on Germany to refrain from violence. -
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European Militarism
The arms race was the rush to create more weapons that were more advanced than the enemies. The arms race create more advanced technology like tanks or mustard gas and was important because whoever had the better weapons won the war. -
The Creation of the Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the alliance made between France, Russia, and England. The Triple Entente was not as strong as the Triple Alliance in the way that the countries were not going to fight side by side but wouldn't invade each other. This was important because it binded three major powers of Europe together. -
Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina
Austria takes Bosnia and Herzegovina and adds it to itself. This creates tension between Russia and Austria because Russia wanted control over the balkans region but so did Austria. This created tension between the two countries that would build until the assasination of the arch duke. -
Assasination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
This was debatably the single most important event to the pre world war one events. The Archduke and his wife were assasinated by a terrorist group called the Black Hand, the group was serbian and made the Austrians very upset creating rules that Serbia had to follow then declaring war and causing world war one. -
First Declaration of War
Exactly one month after the assaination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This was very important because many other countries began to declare war on each other because of the act. -
Great Britain declares war on Germany
Great Britain was very upset at Germany for invading Belgium, which was a neutral country. Germany decided to invade France by travelling through Belgium. This was important because England most likely would not have been as involved in the war if Germany did not invade Belgium. -
The Central powers versus the Allied powers
The central powers was made up of Germany and Austria-Hungary then later on the Ottoman empire(Turkey) and Bulgaria. The Allied powers started as France, England, and Russia then eventually Portugal, Japan and Italy. The countries picking sides was important because multiple countries joined in and switched sides which tipped the scales for the balance of WW1. -
Sources
"Triple Alliance (Europe [1882-1915])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
"Dual Alliance (Europe [1894])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Duffy, Michael. "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
"Austria-Hungary Annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
