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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Start of the 'Great War'
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. He was assassinated on November, 28th, 1914. The assassination was planned by a Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand and the man who shot Franz Ferdinand was a Bosnian revolutionary. This was the cause of a series of events that triggered the war. -
Declared Wars
Austria-Hungary started to make demands on Serbia for retribution. Serbia does not meet this demands. For these reasons, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This is when Russia begins mobilizing its troops. After this, Germany declared another war on Russia and France. On August 4th Germany invades Belgium and Britain declares another war to Germany. -
Allied Powers and Central Powers
The declared wars begun to create the Allied Powers which consists in Serbia, Russia, France, UK, Italy, Belgium, and US. The Central Powers were Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.
How did US get involved?
It's hard to believe that other side of the world got involved, but the US at this point tried to stayed neutral but the sinking of ships by German U-boats, and a German attempt to get Mexico to declare war on the U.S. pushed the U.S. to getting involved. -
End of War
Germany had formally surrendered due to the force of allies on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the war.
Some countries lost land and new ones were created. It was a life changing conflict for the population of Europe that will never be forgotten. -
Treaty of Versailles
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
The Treaty of Versailles was a form that was supposed to establish peace after WW1 and to prevent further wars, make the Germans acknowledge and admit that they started they war and pay for billions of dollars. However, Germany paid but not a huge amount. -
League of Nation
League of Nations was designed to enforce the Treaty of Versailles and the other peace agreements that concluded World War I. It was intended to settle disputes between countries, improving global welfare, and using security and diplomacy to prevent war in the future.The following year after WW1 42 founding nations joined the League of Nations, however US didn't participate because President Wilson didn't want to be involved in the problems of other countries. -
Western Front
Most fighting occurred in the Western Front near France and Germany.Countries faught in deadly and bloody battles in this border such as,the Battle of Somme which symbolized the horrors of the trench warfares.This trenches were built during World War I to protect troops on both sides from artillery and rifle fire.Although the war began with rapid movement of the German army,when the Allied forces stopped the Germans,both sides dug trenches to help avoid losing territory they had gained. -
Eastern Front
The fighting on the Eastern Front involved the Centrals Powers on one side against the Allied Powers on the other. This front was longer than the Western Front, which meant that who ever controlled it nearly got the whole continent, this helped a lot with the countries power. However, it triggered a lot of battles.
