World War I: The Great War (WWI)

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World War I, commonly referred to as “The Great War,” began on July 28, 1914. It lasted four years and ended with the signing of peace treaties on November 11, 1918. This war was a battle between the Allies and the Central Powers. The main members of the Allied Powers were France, Russia, and Britain. In 1917 the United States joined the Allies due to Germany sinking The Lusitania and killing many Americans on board. The main members of the Central Powers were Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Most of the war was fought primarily in Europe and the Middle East. After four years of fighting, the Allies won, but sadly, approximately 19 million people lost their lives.
Prior to World War I, Austria-Hungary despised …show more content…

Many meetings between Austro-Hungarian and German diplomats were held, where they debated how to proceed and what might happen to Russia if Vienna declared war on Serbia. On July 5, 1914, the German emperor, Wilhelm II, issued his ‘blank cheque’ to the Austro-Hungarians. It stated that Austria-Hungary could proceed as they saw fit, and Germany would support them if Russia interfered. Wilhelm and his military chief, von Moltke, believed Germany was better prepared than Russia and France for a war. Because of this they wanted to strike early before both could mobilize troops. Wilhelm urged his Austrian allies to deal with Serbia quickly in case Russia decided to declare war on Austria-Hungary. He did not believe Russia would declare war on Austria-Hungary, but if they did, Germany would reciprocate with a declaration of war against Saint Petersburg ("The July Crisis"). Also during this time, Austria-Hungary believed Serbia was behind the assassination and sent an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia on July 23, 1914. The ultimatum included: the banning of Serbian publications which had been responsible for anti-Austrian propaganda, the removal of anti-Austrian individuals from the Serbian military, government and civil service, the removal of Serbian teachers and a curriculum that had promoted or incited anti-Austrian feeling, a crackdown on cross-border arms trading and the

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