Europe avoided major wars in the 100
years before World War 1 began. In the
1800's, an idea swept across the continent
that helped bring about the Great War.It was
Nationalism - the belief that loyalty to a
person's nation and its political and
economic goals come before any other
countrie's. During the 1800's nationalism
became popular for the people who shared a
common language, history, or culture. They
began to view themselfes as supirieor.
Nationalism led to the creation of two new
powers:Italy and Germany. through the
uniting of many small states. War had a major
role in achieving nation strength in Italy
and Germany. But also nationalism weakened
the eastern European Countries of
Austria,Hungary, Russia, and Turkey. They
ruled many national groups that urged for
independence. The Balkan Peninsula or the
"Powder Keg of Europe" because tensions there
threatened to start a major war. Rivalry for
control of the Balkans added to the tensions
that erupted into World War 1.
Building Military strength occurred among
European countries before World War 1 broke
out. Nationalism encouraged public support
for military buildups and for a country's use
of force to reach its goals. By the late
1800's, Germany had the best trained army in
the world. In 1898 Germany began making a
naval force that was big enough to challenge
the British navy. In 1906, the British navy
launched the Dreadnought, the first modern
battleship. The Dreadnought had greater
firepower that any other ship of its time.
Germany rushed to construct on just like it.
Advances in technology helped aid in making
military forces stronger. Machine guns and
other new weapons fired more accurately and
more rapidly that earlier weapons. By the end
of the 1800's, technology enabled countries
to fight longer and bear greater losses that
ever before.
A Group of Alliances gave European
powers
a sense of security before World War
1.They
formed these alliances with eachother for
protection and to guarente that other members
of the alliance would come to the country's
aid if attacked. Although alliances provided
protection, the system also created certian
dangers. If war came, the alliance system
meant that a number of nations would fight,
not only the two involved in a duspute.
Alliances could force a counry to go to war
against a nation it had no quarrel with. In
addition, the terms of many alliances were
kept secret. The secrecy also increased the
chances that a county might guess wrong about
the consequeneces of its actions. The Triple
Alliance was made up of 3 countries, Germany,
Italy, and Austria. They all agreed to go to
war if attacked by Russia. Bismarck also
brought Austria and Germany into alliance
with Russia. The agreement was known as the
"Three Emperor's League" and it was formed in
1881. They all agreed to remain neutral if
any of them went to war with another country.
In 1890 when Bismarck left office it gave a
chance for Russia and France to form an
alliance. In 1894, France and Russia agreed
to call up troops if any naiton in the Triple
Alliance mobilized. Russia and France also
agreed to help eachother if either were
attacked be Germany.
Beginning of the War
On June 28, 1914
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist named
Gavrilo Princip.
The Archduke's
assassination triggered the outbreak of World
War 1. On July 28 Austria declard war on
Serbia. Because of Austria's alliance with
Germany, Serbia try to get help from Russia.
In 1914 Russia vowed to stand behind Serbia,
but first Russia gained support from France.
Germany declared war on Russia on Aug. 1,
1914, in response to Russias mobilization.
Two days later Germany declared war on
France. The German Army swept into Belgium on
its way to France. The invasion of Belgium
caused Britian to declare war on Germany on
August. Germanys plan for a quick defeat of
France while Russia slowly mobilized was
called the "Schlieffen Plan". This plan
called for two wings of the German army to
crush the French army in a pincers movement.
A small left wing would defend Germany alongs
its frontier with France. A much larger right
wing would invade France through Belgium,
close in and capture Paris, and them move
east. Belgiums army fought bravely but held
up the Germans for only a short time. By
August 16,1914, the right wing of Germany
could begin its pincers motion. It drove back
French and British forces in southern Belguim
and swept info France. But instead of
swinging west around Paris, one part of the
right wing pursued retreating French toops
toward the Marne River. This maneuver left
the Germans exposed to attacks form the
rear.
Meanwhile, General Joseph Joffre,
commander of all French armies, stationed his
forces near the Marne River east of Paris and
prepared for battle. This battle was later
known as the "First Battle of the Marne",
beginning on September 6 and ending September
9 when German forces started to withdraw. The
First Battle of the Marne was a key victory
for the Allies because it ended Germanys
hopes to defeat France quickly.
The German army halted its retreat near the
Aisne River. From there, the Germans and the
Allies fought a series of battles that became
known as the Race to the Sea. Germany sought
to seize ports on the English Channel and cut
off vital supply lines between France and
Britian. But the Allies stopped the Germans
in the First Battle of Ypres in Belgium. The
battle lasted from mid October until mid
November. By late November 1914, the war
reached a deadlock along the Western Front as
neither side gained much ground. The deadlock
lasted nearly 3 ½ years.
