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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Archduke of Austria was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, who was a Serbian terrorist -
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World War I Key Events
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Ultimatum
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for Ferdinand's death and gave Serbia an ultimatum. Serbia had to stop encouraging the hatred of Austria-Hungary, They had to punish the terrorists and they had to let Austria-Hungary into Serbia to get the terrorists.
Serbia was given 48 hours to comply. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War
Serbia does not agree to all the demands. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia agrees to help Serbia since they are allies and France helps Russia because they are allies. Next, Germany declares war on both France and Russia and attacks France by going through Belgium. Now Britain declares war on Germany since Britain is an ally of Belgium. Canada, being a part of the British Commonwealth, is now at war. Within 5 weeks of the assassination of the Archduke, WWI has started. -
Battle of Ypres (2nd)
Germany, Britain (Canada) and France were involved in this battle. Britain and France were trying to stop the Germans from getting to the English Channel. The German's attacked using chlorine gas. This was the first time chemical warfare was used. Canadian soldiers endured burnt eyes, blistering skin and some even suffocated from the inside out. But they still stopped the Germans. It was Canada's first major success. even though they lost about 6037 men. -
Battle of the Somme
This battle was one of the largest fought in WWI and it was also the first battle to use machine guns and tanks. It was fought in France by Germany, France and Britain (Canada). The German army was attacking French troops and the British tried to smash through the German lines. The battle lasted 5 months and was called "The Bloodbath". Canada lost about 24,000 men and in total over 1 million men were killed. In the end, the British took 13km of land from the Germans. -
Battle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge involved Germany and Canada. It is thought to be an important moment for Canadian troops as they proved themselves to be impressive and invaluable. Weapons used in this battle were heavy artillery, shell fire and machine guns. The Canadians planned and reviewed their attack. They cut off enemy trenches and captured the hill. They wiped out the German frontline in 4 days. -
Battle of Passchendaele
The British troops were supposed to take Passchendaele from the Germans and then get to the Belgian coast to destroy a submarine base. Shells, tanks and mustard gas were used in this battle. Because Britain used so much heavy artillery against the Germans, the land had a lot of craters and drainage systems were destroyed. So when heavy rains came in August, the land was so waterlogged that the British soldiers, horses and tanks got stuck in the mud. The British gained 7km of mud.
