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WWI
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First Battle of the Marne
The first battle of the Marne lasted a few days and was very costly. The battle was between the French and British and the invading Germany. But Germany ended up being pushed back from the attacked territory. -
Battle of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg was fought between Russia and Germany between the 26th and 30th of August, 1914. It ended up being a major defeat for Russia. It also made Russia suffer from a number of high casualties. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungary throne before he was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. His pregnant wife was assassinated as well, which eliminated all heirs of his bloodline from the throne. Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination on Serbia, which gave a long awaited cause to attack their Balkan neighbor. This became one of the key events that led to the first World War. -
Austria-Hungary Ultimatum to Serbia
After the Archduke and his wife were assassinated, Austria-Hungary proposed an ultimatum to Serbia. The demands were purposely made to be impossible for Serbia to meet. This letting Austria-Hungary declare war on Serbia. -
Russia's Ally
Russia sent troops to intervene in the war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. This was to support their ally, Serbia. Unfortunately, this leads to the chain reaction of the rest of European Powers to join the war. -
WWI Begins
Germany invaded Belgium, due to the tensions with Europe. Which triggered the official start to the war. This ultimately led to Germany being forced to take full blame for the war later. -
Lusitania Sinks
The Lusitania carried around 1,959. When the Lusitania sank it killed about 1,198 people and of those 128 were Americans. It was torpedoed by a German submarine, causing America to question joining the war. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was fought from February 21st to December 18th of 1916. It was the largest and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. Ultimately, the Battle of Somme was started to take German pressure off of France. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and France against the German Empire. It started by Britain to relieve France from some of the pressure of the Germans. More than three million men fought in the battle and about one million men were wounded or killed. This making it one of the bloodiest battles in history. -
Zimmerman Telegram
George Zimmerman, a German secretary, proposed to Mexico to side with Germany if there ends up being a war between Germany and the US. The British ended up intercepting the telegram and gave it to US President Wilson. This outrages most Americans and they start supporting entering the war. -
The US Enters the War
Although, America was trying to stay out of the war, Wilson submitted his outline to Congress to join the war on April 2nd. Congress finally decided to declare war on April 6th. The US entered the war on France and Britain's side. -
Selective Service Act of 1917
Congress authorized the draft by passing the Selective Service Act. Wilson got a lot of backlash from signing the bill. Complaints of the SSA destroying democracy in the US, while trying to fight for it in other regions.
