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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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Kaiser William II of Germany promises German support for their Austrian allies against Serbia.
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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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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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Britain joins its French and Russian allies.
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The invading Russian and German armies battled in East Prussia at the start of the war. This battle is considered one of the most clean-cut German victories throughout the war, however, the Russian distraction in the east played a part in the failure of the Schleiffen Plan.
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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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Turkey Enters the War on Germany's Side
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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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After their failed campaign, the Allied powers were forced to forsake Gallipoli.
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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 Battle of Jutland was the largest naval battle of the war. Fought by the Germans and the British in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark, the battle claimed 14 British and 11 German ships. the British, however, maintained naval control of the North Sea.
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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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Tanks were used for the first time en masse. They were also used at the Battle of the Somme. Early tanks were fairly unreliable, as is almost any new technology, but they had a part in partially ending some of the madness of trench warfare.
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David Lloyd George was the first Welsh Prime Minister of Britain and would lead the country to victory during World War I.
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Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Great Britain.
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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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Italian forces were severely defeated at the Battle of Caporetto.
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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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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. The photograph is of a march through the streets of London in celebration of the end of the war.
