History week 21.

Causes of the War

1. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary on June 28, 1914, by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo was the immediate trigger.
2. Nationalism, militarism, imperial rivalries, and a complex web of alliances had been building tension across Europe for decades.
3. Alliance System:
   • Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
   • Allied Powers: France, Britain, Russia, Italy (joined in 1915), United States (joined in 1917)
   • Major Events and Battles
   • 1914:
     • Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia; Germany invades Belgium and France.
     • First Battle of the Marne halts German advance near Paris, leading to trench warfare.
   • 1915:
     • Gallipoli Campaign: Allied forces fail to capture the Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire.
     • Germany begins unrestricted submarine warfare.
   • 1916:
     • Battle of Verdun and Battle of the Somme—two of the bloodiest battles in history.
   • 1917:
     • Russian Revolution leads to Russia’s withdrawal.
     • United States enters the war after repeated provocations, including the sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmermann Telegram.
   • 1918:
   • Germany launches a final offensive but is pushed back.
   • Armistice signed on November 11, 1918, ending the fighting.
   • Warfare and Technology
   • Trench warfare dominated the Western Front, creating horrific conditions.
   • New weapons: Machine guns, tanks, airplanes, poison gas, and submarines revolutionized combat.
   • Casualties: Over 16 million dead and 21 million wounded—both military and civilian
   • Aftermath and Legacy
   • Treaty of Versailles (1919):
     • Imposed harsh penalties on Germany, including territorial losses, military restrictions, and reparations.
     • Created the League of Nations, Wilson’s brainchild, aimed at preventing future wars—but the U.S. never joined.
   • Political upheaval: Collapse of empires (Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, German) and rise of new nations.
   • Seeds of WWII: The treaty’s punitive terms and unresolved tensions contributed to the rise of fascism and another global conflict two decades later.