The War to End all Wars - World War I
If you are new to the First World War - or are rusty after many years since history class - the reasons for the so-called 'Great War' can be shrouded in confusion. The Second World War was rather more straightforward: no questions there who did what and who was at fault. But the First World War? I believe many students would find this topic rather boring compared to the Second. But its just gonna have to wait its turn. ;)
So just back to the basics; let's start at the "Five Ws (and One H fro that matter)" shall we?
World War I was, let's say, a huge argument, lasting from 1914 to 1918, which involved nearly all the biggest powers of the world. It involved two opposing alliances - the Allies and the Central Powers. The countries of the Allies included Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Montenegro. The countries of the Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. [17]
World War I was triggered on 28 June 1914 by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife Sophie. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. The assassination was planned by a Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand and the man who shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife was a Bosnian revolutionary named Gavrilo Princip.
The archduke and his wife were entering the city when the controller of their car took a wrong turn onto a large street with many people. Princip saw the archduke and his wife. He took out a gun from his pocket and shot at Ferdinand; two hit the archduke, one hit his wife, and the other hit the car. Both Ferdinand and his wife died shortly after.
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination. Germany, which supported Austria-Hungary, said that they should make a list of things that Serbia should do as punishment for killing the Archduke. Though Serbia agreed to most of ten of the things on the list, they could not agree to them all. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia. (I tried to make it sound very simple as to not to lead to confusion, sorry if it sounded a little babyish :P)
Russia joined the war on Serbia's side because the people of Serbia were Slavic, like Russia, and the Slavic countries had agreed to help each other if they were attacked. Since Russia is a large country it had to move soldiers closer to the war, but Germany feared that Russia's soldiers would also attack Germany. Russia did not like Germany because of things Germany had done in the past to become stronger. Germany declared war on Russia, and used a plan to attack Russia that had been created before the war, but it also involved attacking France and Belgium. France and also Great Britain joined the war because Great Britain had agreed to help Belgium if it were ever attacked by someone else.
This quickly led to a full-scale war. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Both country's allies became involved in the war, and soon most of Europe became involved. [18]
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I, were over 35 million. There were over 15 million deaths and 20 million wounded ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. [19]
By 1918, German citizens were striking and demonstrating against the war. The British navy blocked German ports, which meant that thousands of Germans were starving and the economy was collapsing. Then the German navy suffered a major mutiny. After German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on November 9th, 1918, the leaders of both sides met at Compiegne, France. The peace armistice was signed on November 11th. By the end of the war the four empires — the Russian, the Ottoman, the German, and the Austro-Hungarian had collapsed because of the war. [20]
So just back to the basics; let's start at the "Five Ws (and One H fro that matter)" shall we?
World War I was, let's say, a huge argument, lasting from 1914 to 1918, which involved nearly all the biggest powers of the world. It involved two opposing alliances - the Allies and the Central Powers. The countries of the Allies included Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Montenegro. The countries of the Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. [17]
World War I was triggered on 28 June 1914 by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife Sophie. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. The assassination was planned by a Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand and the man who shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife was a Bosnian revolutionary named Gavrilo Princip.
The archduke and his wife were entering the city when the controller of their car took a wrong turn onto a large street with many people. Princip saw the archduke and his wife. He took out a gun from his pocket and shot at Ferdinand; two hit the archduke, one hit his wife, and the other hit the car. Both Ferdinand and his wife died shortly after.
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination. Germany, which supported Austria-Hungary, said that they should make a list of things that Serbia should do as punishment for killing the Archduke. Though Serbia agreed to most of ten of the things on the list, they could not agree to them all. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia. (I tried to make it sound very simple as to not to lead to confusion, sorry if it sounded a little babyish :P)
Russia joined the war on Serbia's side because the people of Serbia were Slavic, like Russia, and the Slavic countries had agreed to help each other if they were attacked. Since Russia is a large country it had to move soldiers closer to the war, but Germany feared that Russia's soldiers would also attack Germany. Russia did not like Germany because of things Germany had done in the past to become stronger. Germany declared war on Russia, and used a plan to attack Russia that had been created before the war, but it also involved attacking France and Belgium. France and also Great Britain joined the war because Great Britain had agreed to help Belgium if it were ever attacked by someone else.
This quickly led to a full-scale war. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Both country's allies became involved in the war, and soon most of Europe became involved. [18]
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I, were over 35 million. There were over 15 million deaths and 20 million wounded ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. [19]
By 1918, German citizens were striking and demonstrating against the war. The British navy blocked German ports, which meant that thousands of Germans were starving and the economy was collapsing. Then the German navy suffered a major mutiny. After German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on November 9th, 1918, the leaders of both sides met at Compiegne, France. The peace armistice was signed on November 11th. By the end of the war the four empires — the Russian, the Ottoman, the German, and the Austro-Hungarian had collapsed because of the war. [20]
I hope I've answered your questions (if you have any) about the basics of World War I. If you think I haven't, or think that I should add something, do it here. :)
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