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Triple Alliance is formed between Germany, A-H, Italy
Otto von Bismarck, Germany's leader, saw France as a threat. The reason for this threat was that he thought the French wanted to get revenge after their loss in the Franco- Prussian war. The Alsace-Lorraine was also a much wanted territory that went back and forth between France and Germany. Bismarck's number one goal was to isolate France. Bismarck first formed the Dual Alliance with Germany and Austria- Hungary, and Italy joined three years later. -
Germany joins Russia in an alliance
Otto von Bismarck had a second goal of avoiding fighting in a two front war. What Bismarck needed in order not to fight in a two front war was to form an alliance with Russia. Russia was later removed from the alliance and Bismarck seeks Italy. Germany was also looking for Russia's support in conquering the Balkans and Austria-Hungary. -
Wilhelm II allows alliance with Russia to expire
Wilhlem II let the alliance with Russia expire because he knew that if the alliance with Russia expired it would repel Russia. Since Russia was alienated, it looked for more alliances. The result of this event caused other alliances to form which would cause Germany to fight on a two-front war. -
Kaiser Wilhelm II changes foreign policy, forced Bismarck to resign
Kaiser Wilhelm II had been the ruler of Germany three years before forcing Bismarck to resign. Wilhelm II did not work well with Bismarck so he fired him. Wilhelm wanted to show the world that Germany was a strong, world power that should not be messed with. Wilhelm II had strong nationalistic feelings toward Germany and was much more militarily aggressive. -
Russia formed defensive military alliance with France
The way that Russia reacted to the expired alliance initiated by Wilhelm II was forming a defensive militay alliance with France. This was the exact thing that Bismarck did not want to happen because it would make Germany the big target and it would cause Germany to fight a two- front war. -
Britain formed entente (alliance) with France
Germany was competing against Britain's naval superiority even while Britain was under its "two-power rule". Germany was newly unified with a strong sense of nationalism, causing red flags to go up in other countries. Germany produced the first dreadnought battleship which Britain was alarmed and created an alliance with France. This entente then led to another, larger entente in the war. -
Britain made another entente with France and Russia, forming the Triple Entente.
After the entente with only France, Britain made another one with both France and Russia. These three nations did not necessarily prescribe to fight with each other but they promised to not fight against each other (entente cordiale). The land of the Triple Entente did create a circle around Austria- Hungary and Germany. -
Ferdinand and Sophie visit Sarajevo and are assassinated by Gavrilo Princip
Ferdinand went to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, in order to give a peace offering to the Serbs in Bosnia. The day that Ferndinand decided to go was the anniversary of their capture by the Ottoman Empire. Seven assassins from the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist group, plotted the assassination and Gavrillo Princip shot Ferdinand and his wife. Austria Hungarians were angry that the serbs shot and killed their leader and pushed to retaliate. -
Austria presented Serbia with the ultimatum
The Germans had given Austria Hungary a "blank check" for military support. Following the assassination, Austria Hungary gave Serbia an ultimatum. The terms of the ultimatum were suppression of all anti-Austria activity in Serbia, called for the dismissal of all Serbian officials who Austria-Hungary objected and demanded the right for Austrian officials to enter Serbia to investigate the assassination. Serbia accepted all of the terms except the last one which was enought to declare war. -
Austria declared war on Bosnia. Russia also ordered mobilization toward the Austrian border
After receiving the Serbian rejection of the ultimatum, the Austrians did not want to change anything for leaders of the nations had already decided to go to war. The Austrians rejected any of Bosnia’s offers and declared war. Russian leaders ordered the mobilization of the Austrian troops toward the Austrian border because they were expecting Germany to join Austria. -
Germany counterattacked the Russians at Tannenberg
Toward the beginning of the war, Russian forces had attacked Austria and Germany. In August, Germany attacked back at the town of Tannenberg. This battle lasted for four days and the Germans abolished the Russians army and drove them into retreat. This battle resulted in the death of about 30,000 Russian soldiers. -
Germany declared war on Russia
Once Austria declared war, Russia began mobilizing towards the Russian and Austrian border. Russia expected Germany to join Austria so they also mobilized toward the Germany border. Germany saw this mobilization as a threat and in result reacted by declaring war on Russia. This mobilization and declaration of wars created even more declaration of wars and more gaining of alliances. -
Germany declared war on France
Two days after Germany declared war on Russia, Germany declared war on France. Russia was starting to ask France, its ally, to help them out, however Germany acted before France did and declared war. The war started to become a world-wide war. -
Allies attack Germany at the 1st Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne occured on the Marne River in France. The First Battle of the Marne was started when the Allies attacked the German lines near Paris. At the battle of the Marne, the German advance was stopped. This battle was significant because it caused the Schlieffen Plan to crumble. The Battle of the Marne left the war on the Western Front settled into a stalemate. -
The Allies launch the Gallipoli campaign
The Allied Powers, hoping to gain the straits connecting the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea to send supplies to Russia, launched the Gallipoli campaign. The Allied attack was a complete disaster. The Allies had fought for about a year to gain this strait, before they were forced to give up. -
Italy joins Entente
Italy joined the war, siding with the Allies. This event caused another front to open up for the war. Italy was hoping to help out in the war more than they actually did. Italy lacked supplies and the citizens of Italy were unsure of what alliance to side on. -
Germany sinks the U.S.S. Lusitania
Germany's navy, under a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, sunk a British passenger ship called the Lusitania. This killed 1198 people and 139 United States citizens. The people of the United States were enraged by this. President Wilson sent a protest to Germany, and fearing that the US might start a war, the Germans agreed to warn neutral and passenger ships before harming any other ships. -
Germans attack the Allies at Verdun in the Battle of the Somme
The Germans attacked the Allies at Verdun, France, as a German offensive. Britain attacked Germany at the Somme River as defense for the French. There were more than one million casualties in this battle and the Allies only gained about 3 miles of advancement. This battle is characterized as the bloodiest battle of World War I and the was a weakening strength for power ally powers. -
Germans announce their policy of unrestricted submarine warfare
The Germans returned to their policy of unrestricted submarine warfare after sinking the Lusitana. The Germans knew that this would outrage the US and would lead to war. The Germans, however, did want to try to cut off Britain's resource to result in a defeat. The Germans ignored the warnings sent by President Wilson and sunk three US ships. This was the main reason why the United States entered the war. -
U.S. intercepts the Zimmermann Note
The British Intelligence cut off a telegram that was from Authur Zimmerman, Germany's foreign secretary, headed to the German minister in Mexico. The note proclaimed that Germany would help get Mexico's lost land in the United States back if Mexico came on the side of the Germans. Once the British found the meaning of the message, it was immediately given to the United States. -
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ended Russia’s involvement in WWI
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin decided to end Russia's involvement in World War I. The reason for this surrender was that Russia had previously undergone very many loses and Civil Wars were breaking out amongst Russians. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended the war between Russia and Germany. -
Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany
President Woodrow Wilson, along with many Americans, wanted to declare war on Germany. President Wilson asked for Congress to declare war, so the United States could enter the war. The reasons for wanting to enter the war were the sinking of the Lusitana, Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, and the interception of the Zimmerman Telegram. -
Germany and Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Lenin initiated a treaty with Russia because he did not want any more invasions in Germany. Russia and Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending the fighting. This treaty caused Russia to lose twenty-five percent of their land and population and enabled Russia to leave the war. -
1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down from power, Germany declared itself a republic
Kaiser William II finally abdicated. With this stepping down from power, Germany declared itself a republic. A representative from this new republic then met with Marshal Foch in order to sign an armistice. -
a German representative and French Commander Marshal Foch signed an armistice.
After Germany became a republic, a representative and Commander Marshal Foch signed an armistice, agreeing to stop fighting. This armistice ended World War I. We know celebrate Veteran's Day on November 11th because the armistice was signed on this day.
