World War 1

How did it start?

The first world war all started with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. This took place in June 28, 1914, at Sarajevo, Bosnia. You see, it was Serbia’s dream to control Bosnia, but Austria-Hungary, Serbia’s neighbor, took it first. Serbia, of course grew angry so a group of Serbian nationalists planned to assassinate the heir to the Austrian-Hungarians throne. Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Now on June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was waving to the loving crowd, riding to the Austrian Government.But even he knew danger was ahead. The first assassination attempt was a failure. The bomb bounced off the back of the car, exploding minutes later. The next assassin thought the bomb has done its job and doesn’t shoot when the car passes by. The second attempt also failed. The third assassination attempt occurred after the Archduke departed the Austrian government. The couple intended to go to the hospital , but the driver makes a fatal mistake. He took a dark wrong turn , straight into the mercy of Gavrilo Princip. The assassin’s bullets found the heir then his wife, which sparking anger and war. Austria-Hungary then points fingers at Serbia, for the death of their heir, and issues a ultimatum. Serbia then agrees to most of the demands yet Austria-Hungary still declares war with Germany in support. Russia and France then sides with Serbia, with Britain coming in soon after. The Great War has begun.

The Schlieffen Plan:

If you look at the map of Europe, you will find France west of Germany, and Russia on the east. Now in the war, France and Russia fought against Germany, so in order to fight them both, Germany had to split troops, food, money, etc. This gave the Allies the upper hand. Before the war, knowing France and Russia were bound to ally as war tensions rose, Alfred von Schlieffen (left) had come up with a plan to quickly rid France of war before turning to the east to face Russia. In August 1914, the plan went into operation and by the 14th, crossed the Belgium border. By the end of the month, the Germans invaded Northern France. Fearing the capture of Paris, the French government moved to Bordeaux, but the Germans continued to surround the city. However, the troops of Paris attacked the Germans, pushing them back, marking the failure of the Schlieffen Plan.Your Attractive Heading

Life in the Trenches:

Consider being a soldier in the war, living in the trenches. What would you say? A ditch, dug into the ground, was the safest place to be (safest but not safe). The place was infested with rats, lice and diseases. Doctors had shown that lice can cause trench fever, which resulted in headaches, fever, and muscle pain. Living in the unsanitary wet conditions over long periods of time resulted in trench foot, a frostbite like infection . The trench stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The idea was to dig a hole into the ground to avoid being shot. Each dawn, soldiers gathered to guard the front line. This was called, “stand-to.” If no assault, soldiers gathered for inspections, rations, and breakfast. Following the morning routines come chores, where soldiers took on any chore such as filling sandbags or repairing duckboards. Afterwards, soldiers read, wrote letters, kept journal, or gambled. During night was the busiest and most dangerous as soldiers climbed out of the trenches, ran to No Man’s Land to dig new trenches or fix barbed wires. This was just the normal routine, if no attack.

The US Joins the War:

At the time, Germany had been leading submarine attacks on ships sailing across the Atlantic; one reason behind Wilson’s decision to lead the US into war. Following the sinking of the unarmed French boat known as the Sussex, Wilson threatened to sever all diplomatic relations with Germany unless Germany kept for attacking all passenger ships and allowed enemy ships to leave the boat due to attack. The German Government excepted all terms which became known as the “Sussex Pledge” However, by January 1917, representatives from the German navy convinced the military leadership and Kaiser Wilhelm II, that the unrestricted submarine warfare could help Germany defeat Great Britain within five months. German policymakers argued that they could violate the “Sussex Pledge” Because the US could not be considered neutral after supporting the Allies. German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg protested this decision, believing this would draw the US into war on the side of the Allies. He argued that the coming of the US would bring Germany’s downfall. Despite the warning, the German Government resumed unrestricted submarine attacks, thinking the war would end long before the US arrived at Europe. On January 31, 1917, German Ambassador Johann von Bernstorf sent the US a note declaring Germany’s intentions to resume unrestricted submarine attacks. The US held back from war.

On January 19, 1917, British naval intelligence intercepted and decrypted a telegram sent by Minister Arthur Zimmermann to Mexico that Germany would help recover the land that the US took if Mexico helped Germany in the war. At first, the British had not shared this information the information with the US, because they were afraid Germany would find that British codebreakers broke a German code. But then they saw the submarine problem and used the telegram to sway the US into war with the Allies. On April 4, 1917, the British got what they wanted. The US joined in.

The Final Years:

The Russian government became very unpopular as the war progressed and in February, 1917, a revolution overthrew the czar, but the new government still continued the war. In October, a second revolution brought the Bolshevik Party to power. A cease-fire was agreed with Germany, and in March 1918, Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and left the war. Now the Germans can focus on the Western Front. But the Allied blockade of Germany’s port kept Germany short on supplies, and food was scarce. Ottoma Turkey, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary collapsed due to Allied attacks. By early November, only Germany stood for the Central Powers. On November 7, Germany started talking for peace with the Allied. At the end, Germany was forced to pay heavy fines, and the military was destroyed.