World War I

World War I. A Salute to Freedom. , The War to End All Wars , In 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Unrest in Europe quickly escalated. A standoff began that would test the strength of military alliances worldwide. One nation after another declared war as their allies became threatened. Germany, Turkey, and Bulgaria joined Austra-Hungary as part of the “Central Powers”. Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and nearly twenty other nations united to form the “Allied Powers”., World War I was initially viewed by Americans to be a local European conflict in which the United States vowed to remain neutral. It was not until March of 1917 that American entered the war, joining the Allied Powers in their attempt to solidify democracy. Millions of troops fought on both sides of the monumental conflict, suffering unthinkable losses of life. Twentieth Century military technologies brought highly efficient artillery and weapons, such as the machine gun. The use of aircraft and submarines to deliver surprise, fatal blows added to the destruction. More that 8.5 million people died in battle, with an additional twenty-one million being wounded., The Effects of Victory , Victory was declared for the Allied Powers as part of the 1918 Treaty of Versailles; however, the impacts of the First World War were yet to be fully realized. The conflict had led to the development of air forces, tanks, and new military strategies never seen in previous battle. Weapons banned at the 1909 Hague Convention, such as chemical warfare and air bombardment, were reintroduced during combat. The cost of the conflict, both in casualties and financial means, was elevated to remarkable heights. An estimated $200 billion in resources was claimed by the war and the entire world economy was devastated. In an attempt to prevent future conflicts on such an overwhelming scale, the League of Nations was formed to promote international cooperation, peace, and security., [Timeline:] ,

June 29, 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. , July 31, 1914: Russia, Serbia’s ally, announces full mobilization of its armed forces. , August 1, 1914: Germany mobilizes its forces and declares war on Russia. , August 3, 1914: Germany declares war on France. , August 4, 1914: Germany invades neutral Belgium. Britain then declares war on Germany. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declares a policy of U.S. neutrality. , August 6, 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. , August 23, 1914: Japan declares war on Germany. , August 26-30, 1914: The German army achieves its greatest victory of the war on the Eastern front against Russia at the Battle of Tennenburg. , September 15, 1914: Soldiers dig the first trenches of the Western Front. , January 19-20, 1915: German zeppelins attack England. , May 7, 1915: 1,198 civilians including 128 Americans, die when a German U-boat sinks the British liner Lusitania. , May 23, 1915: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary. , February – December, 1916: Germany attacks France at Verdun in the longest battle of the war. , May 31 – June 1, 1916: The Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle in history, is fought with no clear victor. , April 6, 1917: America declares war on Germany. , July 3, 1917: The first wave of the American Expeditionary Force lands in France. , March 21, 1918: The Germans launch the first of five major offensives against Allied forces. The advance is finally stopped in late June. , November 11, 1918: Fighting ends at 11 a.m. as Germans and Allies sign an armistice. , June 28, 1919: Germans and Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles.