WORLD WAR I

The worlds first global conflict, the Great War pitted the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire against the Allied forces of Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia,
Italy and Japan. The introduction of modern technology to warfare resulted in unprecedented carnage
and destruction, with more than 9 million soldiers killed by the end of the war in November 1918.
The war to end all warsor so they thought.
June 28 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne, paid visit to Sarajevo to
inspect military manoeuvers.
The Archduke had been a principal
proponent of restraints towards Serbia
Young Bosnia movement were waiting for
him a group of pro-Serbian revolutionaries
Gavrilo Princip (19 years old) open fired and
killed the Archduke and his wife Sophie.
His assassination unleashed a confrontation
with Austria Hungary that soon engulfed
Europe

1914

June September
+ July 23 Austrians issued an ultimatum to Serbia
that would, in effect, have ended Serbian
independence Serbia partially accepted but the
Austrians were not satisfied
+ July 28 Austria declared war Germany
encouraged Austria-Hungary to act = Hoped that
Britain would remain neutral
+ Germany and Russia in the makings of facing a
war
+ August 1 Germany declared war on Russia
+ August 2 Germany declared war on France
+ August 3 German troops crossed the frontiers
of Russian Poland and Belgium
+ August 4 Britain entered the conflict on the
French side
THUS THE WORLD WAR 1 BEGAN

WAR IN THE TRENCHES

- Most soldiers stayed in trenches. Life there was appalling. EXPLOSIVES were often used to
detonate mines and so disrupt enemy trenches
VERDUN and the SOMME
- 1916, Erich von Falkenhayn German Chief of Staff = new strategy of attrition to bleed
France white
- July 1 an Anglo-French offensive tried to break the German lines
- Lasted 4 months = 4 months of fighting on the Somme cost 300,000 lives
THE WAR at SEA (1914-1918)

Naval warfare in WW1 was tentative

Both Britain & Germany had a fleet of dreadnoughts heavily armored battleships
May 31-June 1 of 1916 only major fleet-to-fleet encounter = both suffered significant losses of
ships
THE WAR IN EASTERN EUROPE (1914-1917)
- August to September 1914 at Tannenberg & Masurian Lakes, the Russian reversed the initial
German and Austrian advance
- General von Falkenhayn smashed a Russian army in the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive of May 1915
- June 1916 the Russians were able to recover and launch the Brusilov Offensive
- June 1917 many Russian army units refused to fight increasing cost of the war and rising social
unrest in the army
GALLIPOLI (Gallipoli, Turkey, April 1915 January 1916)
- October 29, 1914 Turkish fleet attacked Russias Black Sea ports
- Turkey allied with Germany
- Winston Churchill, British First Lord of the Admiralty, lobbied an expedition to seize control of
the Dardanelles straits that linked the Black Sea to the Aegean
- April 25, 1915 the Allied landings on Gallipoli was disastrous
- Objectives were never reached and the Turkish counterattack confined the Allied forces to
enclaves around Cape Helles and Anzac Cove forces organized by Mustafa Kemal
- Mid-December allies evacuated Anzac Cave and withdrew from Cape Helles
- January 9, 1916 their withdrawal was complete
PALESTINE and the ARAB REVOLT (1915-1918)
- Part of British moves against the Ottoman empire concentrated on seizing control of
Mesopotamia
- April 1916 the focus shifted to a wider area
- June 1916 - T.E. Lawrence persuaded Sharif Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca to raise a revolt against the
Ottomans caused disruption in Sinai and Palestine
December 1917 General Allenbys British army entered Jerusalem
- September 1918 war in the region ended
STALEMENT in the west
- 1917 hardest year for those involved in WW1
- Sides started to try new weapons
THE USA ENTERS THE WAR
- February Germany announced it was resuming unrestricted attacks on foreign shipping
- President Woodrow Wilsons attempts to maintain neutrality in the conflict
- April USA declared war on Germany
- June first US troops arrived in France under the command of John Pershing
THE END of the WAR
- March 1918 Germany signed a peace treaty
- Ended at the armistice of November 11, 1918
THE TREATY of VERSAILLES
- January 18, 1919 Peach conference 20 nations delegates excluding Germany and AustriaHungary sealed the peace

Timeline of World War One

1914
June 28th

Francis Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo

July 5th

Kaiser William II promised German support for Austria

against Serbia

July 28th

Austria declared war on Serbia

August 1st

Germany declared war on Russia

August 3rd

Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium.

Germany had to implement the Schlieffen Plan.

August 4th

Britain declared war on Germany

August 23rd

The BEF started its retreat from Mons. Germany invaded

France.

August 26th

Russian army defeated

at Tannenburg and MasurianLakes.

September 6th

Battle of the Marne started

October 18th

First Battle of Ypres

October 29th

Turkey entered the war on Germanys

side. Trenchwarfare started to dominate the Western
Front.

January 19th

The first Zeppelin raid on Britain took place

February 19th

Britain bombarded Turkish forts in the Dardanelles

1915

April 25th

Allied troops landed in Gallipoli

May 7th

The Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat

May 23rd

Italy declared war on Germany and Austria

August 5th

The Germans captured Warsaw from the Russians

September 25th

Start of the Battle of Loos

December 19th

The Allies started the evacuation of Gallipoli

January 27th

Conscription introduced in Britain

February 21st

Start of the Battle of Verdun

April 29th

British forces surrendered to Turkish forces at Kut in

1916

Mesopotamia

1917

May 31st

Battle of Jutland

June 4th

Start of the Brusilov Offensive

July 1st

Start of the Battle of the Somme

August 10th

End of the Brusilov Offensive

September 15th

First use en masse of tanks at the Somme

December 7th

Lloyd George becomes British Prime Minister

February 1st

Germanys unrestricted submarine warfare campaign

started

April 6th

USA declared war on Germany

April 16th

France launched an unsuccessful offensive on the

Western Front

July 31st

Start of the Third Battle at Ypres

October 24th

Battle of Caporetto the Italian Army was heavily

defeated

November 6th

Britain launched a major offensive on the Western Front

November 20th

British tanks won a victory at Cambrai

December 5th

Armistice between Germany and Russia signed

December 9th

Britain captured Jerusalem from the Turks

March 3rd

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia

and Germany.

March 21st

Germany broke through on the Somme

March 29th

Marshall Foch was appointed Allied Commander on the

1918

Western Front
April 9th

Germany started an offensive in Flanders

July 15th

Second Battle of the Marne started. The start of the

collapse of the German army

August 8th

The advance of the Allies was successful

September 19th

Turkish forces collapsed at Megiddo

October 4th

Germany asked the Allies for an armistice

October 29th

Germanys navy mutinied

October 30th

Turkey made peace

November 3rd

Austria made peace

November 9th

Kaiser William II abdicated

November 11th

Germany signed an armistice with the Allies the official

date of the end of World War One.

Post-war 1919

January 4th

Peace conference met at Paris

June 21st

The surrendered German naval fleet at Scapa Flow was

scuttled.

June 28th

The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans.

World War 1 is actually much more complicated than a simple list of causes. While there was a
chain of events that directly led to the fighting, the actual root causes are much deeper and
part of continued debate and discussion. This list is an overview of the most popular reasons
that are cited as the root causes of World War 1.

1. Mutual Defense Alliances

Over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull
them into battle. Thus, if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend
them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed:

Russia and Serbia

Germany and Austria-Hungary

France and Russia

Britain and France and Belgium

Japan and Britain

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing
Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then
Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.
2. Imperialism
Imperialism is when a country increases their power and wealth by bringing additional
territories under their control. Before World War 1, Africa and parts of Asia were points of
contention amongst the European countries. This was especially true because of the raw
materials these areas could provide. The increasing competition and desire for greater empires
led to an increase in confrontation that helped push the world into World War I.
3. Militarism
As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the
greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their
navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military
establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism
helped push the countries involved to war.
4. Nationalism
Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and
Herzegovina to no longer be part of Austria Hungary but instead be part of Serbia. In this way,
nationalism led directly to the War. But in a more general way, the nationalism of the various
countries throughout Europe contributed not only to the beginning but the extension of the
war in Europe. Each country tried to prove their dominance and power.

5. Immediate Cause: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play
(alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination ofArchduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated him and his wife
while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. This was in protest to
Austria-Hungary having control of this region. Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and
Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. When Russia
began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia. Thus began
the expansion of the war to include all those involved in the mutual defense alliances.