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On
June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungary throne, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist group
called the "Black Hand". This was the beginning of a series of events that lead to the First World War.
On July 28, exactly one month after Ferdinand's assassination,
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia came to Serbia's defense, recruiting its very large army. It took a full
six weeks to bring the entire army together. On
August 1, Germany, in defense of its ally, Austria-Hungary, declared war on Russia.
France retaliated and went to war
on Russia's behalf against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Britain, an ally to France, declared war on Germany on August
4. Japan, as Britain's ally, declared war on Germany on August 23 and, in return, Austria-Hungary declared war on Japan.
Italy managed to avoid the war until May 23, 1915. This
was just the beginning of the war. There were numerous other countries that were involved. The war involved countries in North
America, South America, Asia and Europe. One country was attacked, causing her ally to retaliate. This became a huge cycle
causing a world wide "domino effect." Involving
most of Europe and spanning over four continents, World War I was the first truly global war. On August 19, 1914, The United
States declared a "policy of absolute neutrality." They kept this position almost through the entire war. On April
6, 1917, the United States officially entered the war after Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare nearly
wiped out America's commercial shipping. This policy allowed Germany to sink any ship that approached Britain regardless
of whether it was a military ship, supply ship or even passenger ship. The war ended on November 11, 1918 when Germany signed an armistice treaty with the allies. The home
front was a huge celebration. Those on the front, however, saw the war's end in a different light. The fighting continued
and several soldiers died even after the official end of the war. It had been over four years since the war began and it was
very difficult to adjust to a sudden end to the war. Some suffered psychological breakdowns. They minds were simply so conditioned
to the fighting that they could not imagine it being over so abruptly. The war produced over 40 million casualties. 20 million lives were lost with as many civilian deaths
as military deaths. 10 million civilians and nearly 10 million soldiers lost their lives. There were also 21 million injuries.
World War I marked the end of the world order which had existed and would be a factor in the outbreak of World War II. Ironically,
the First World War became known as "the war to end all wars."
Free WW1 desktop wallpaper
At the start
of the war, the German Empire had cruisers scattered across the globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied
merchant shipping. The British Royal Navy systematically hunted them down, though not without some embarrassment from its
inability to protect allied shipping. For example, the German detached light cruiser Emden, part of the East-Asia squadron
stationed at Tsingtao, seized or destroyed 15 merchantmen, as well as sinking a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer.
However, the bulk of the
German East-Asia squadron consisting of the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, light cruisers Nürnberg and
Leipzig and two transport ships did not have orders to raid shipping and was instead underway to Germany when it encountered
elements of the British fleet. The German flotilla, along with Dresden, sank two armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel,
but was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, with only Dresden escaping
In April 1914
the Serbian Civilian Government attempted to establish its authority over the Serbian Military. The Military resisted. After
several moves and counter moves, the Military, in alliance with the King of Serbia and parliamentary opposition forced the
Serbian Civilian Government's resignation at the beginning of June. The Military's victory was shortlived as Russian
Ambassador Hartwig intervened, the King reversed himself, reinstalled the old government, called new elections, and, drawing
the appropriate conclusion, retired in favor of his second son, Prince Aleksandar. It is in the midst of this political crisis
that politically powerful members of the Serbian Military armed and trained three Bosnian students as assassins and sent them
into Austria-Hungary.The assassins departed Belgrade on May 28. 
Joseph Stalin
(December 18, 1878 March 5, 1953) (Russian was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central
Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. During that time he established the regime now known as Stalinism. As one of
several Central Committee Secretariats, Stalin's formal position was originally limited in scope, but he gradually consolidated
power and became the de facto party leader and ruler of the Soviet Union.
Stalin launched a command economy in
the Soviet Union, forced rapid industrialization of the largely rural country and collectivization of its agriculture. While
the Soviet Union transformed from an agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time, millions of
people died from hardships and famine that occurred as a result of the severe economic upheaval and party policies. At the
end of 1930s, Stalin launched the Great Purges, a major campaign of repression. Millions of people who were suspected of being
a threat to the party were executed or exiled to Gulag labor camps in remote areas of Siberia or Central Asia. A number of
ethnic groups in Russia were also forcibly resettled.
Trench warfare
is nearly as old as warfare itself; however, because of the relatively small size of the armies and the lack of range of the
weapons, it was traditionally not possible to defend more than a short defensive line or isolated strong point. Although both
the art of fortification and the art of weaponry advanced a great deal in the second half of the second millennium, the traditional
rule remained; a fortification required a large body of troops to defend it. Small numbers of troops simply could not maintain
a volume of fire sufficient to repel a determined attack.
Trenches did impede an attacking enemy's movement
and provided a psychological benefit for the men manning them. With this in mind, it became common practice for Roman legions
to entrench their encampments every night. A fortified camp was extremely hard to assault directly, and a Roman commander
who did not wish to engage an enemy could often simply remain encamped. 
Trench warfare
was invented by a Canadian man named Cesar Reano in 1901; however, because of the relatively small size of the armies and
the lack of range of the weapons, it was traditionally not possible to defend more than a short defensive line or isolated
strong point. Although both the art of fortification and the art of weaponry advanced a great deal as time went on, the traditional
rule remained; a fortification required a large body of troops to defend it. Small numbers of troops simply could not maintain
a volume of fire sufficient to repel a determined attack.
Trenches did impede an attacking enemy's movement
and provided a psychological benefit for the men manning them. With this in mind, it became common practice for Roman legions
to entrench their encampments every night. A fortified camp was extremely hard to assault directly, and a Roman commander
who did not wish to engage an enemy could often simply remain encamped.
Once siege engines (such as the trebuchet)
were developed, the techniques involved in assaulting a town or a fortress became well known and ritualised the siège
en forme. The attacking army would surround a town. Then the town would be asked to surrender. If it did not comply, the besieging
army would invest (surround) the town with temporary fortifications to stop sallies from the stronghold or relief getting
in. The attackers would then build a length of trenches parallel to the defences and just out of range of defending artillery.
They would then dig a trench towards the town in a zigzag pattern so that it could not be enfiladed by defending fire, it
also created a good vantage point from which to survey the enemy. Once within artillery range another parallel trench would
be dug with gun emplacements. If necessary using the first artillery fire for cover, this process would be repeated until
the guns were close enough to be laid accurately to make a breach in the fortifications. In order that the "forlorn hope"
and their support troops could get close enough to exploit the breach, more zigzag trenches could be dug even closer to the
walls with more parallel trenches to protect and conceal the attacking troops.
No other war
had changed the map of Europe so dramatically four empires disappeared: the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and the Russian.
Four defunct dynasties, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburg, Romanovs and the Ottomans together with all their ancillary aristocracies,
all fell after the war. Belgium was badly damaged, as was France with 1.4 million soldiers dead, not counting other casualties.
Germany and Russia were similarly affected. The war had profound economic consequences. In addition, a major influenza epidemic
that started in Western Europe in the latter months of the war, killed millions in Europe and then spread around the world.
Overall, the Spanish flu killed at least 50 million people
The social trauma
caused by years of fighting manifested itself in different ways. Some people were revolted by nationalism and its results,
and so they began to work toward a more internationalist world, supporting organisations such as the League of Nations.
Pacifism became increasingly popular. Others had the opposite reaction, feeling that only strength and military might could
be relied upon in a chaotic and inhumane world. Anti-modernist views were an outgrowth of the many changes taking place in
society.
The Treaty
of Versailles in 1919 had a humiliating effect on the German people. Germany had once been a powerful nation; the second biggest
industrial power in the world, after the USA. After its defeat in World War I, Germany was forced to accept the crippling
terms enforced upon them by the Allies. This involved Germany losing their overseas colonies in Africa and Asia, as well as
parts of German territory. Germany was also forced to accept guilt for starting the war.
Soon after the
outbreak of hostilities, Britain initiated a naval blockade of Germany. The strategy proved effective, cutting off vital military
and civilian supplies, although this blockade violated generally accepted international law codified by several international
agreements of the past two centuries.Britain mined international waters to prevent any ships from entering entire sections
of ocean, causing danger to even neutral ships.Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar
response to its unrestricted submarine warfare.
The 1916 Battle of Jutland (German: Skagerrakschlacht, or "Battle
of the Skagerrak") developed into the largest naval battle of the war, the only
full-scale clash of battleships during the war. It took place on 31 May June 1916,
in the North Sea off Jutland. The Kaiserliche Marine's High Seas Fleet, commanded
by Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer, squared off against the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, led by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.
The engagement was a stand off, as the Germans, out maneuvered by the larger British
fleet, managed to escape and inflicted more damage to the British fleet than they received.
Strategically, however, the British asserted their control of the sea, and the bulk of
the German surface fleet remained confined to port for the duration of the war.
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From early 1918
the British Army were dangerously short of troops for the Western Front. In the German Spring Offensive of 1918 from March
to July, German troops broke through the Allied lines in several sectors of the front in France, with a local advantage in
numbers of four to one, putting severe strain on the Allied front.
In addressing this challenge, the British Government
turned to conscription in Ireland, as an untapped reservoir of manpower for the battlefields. Despite opposition from the
entire Irish Parliamentary Party, conscription for Ireland was voted through at Westminster.
Though large numbers of
Irish men had willingly joined Irish regiments and Irish divisions of the New British Army at the outbreak of war in 1914,
the likelihood of enforced conscription created a backlash. The reaction was based particularly on the fact that enactment
of the 1914 Home Rule Act (as previously recommended in March by the Irish Convention) was controversially linked with a "dual
policy" enactment of the Military Draft Bill. The linking of conscription and Home Rule outraged the Irish parties at
Westminster, (including the IPP, AIL and others) who walked out in protest and returned to Ireland to organise opposition.
Although the crisis was unique in Ireland at the time, it followed similar campaigns in Australia (1916-17) and Canada
(1917).
One of the goals
of the foreign policies of the Great Powers in the pre-war years was to maintain the 'Balance of Power' in Europe.
This evolved into an elaborate network of secret and public alliances and agreements. For example, after the Franco-Prussian
War (1870&71), Britain seemed to favor a strong Germany, as it helped to balance its traditional enemy, France. After
Germany began its naval construction plans to rival that of Britain, this stance shifted. France, looking for an ally to
balance the threat created by Germany, found it in Russia. Austria-Hungary, facing a threat from Russia, sought support from
Germany.
When World War I broke out, these
treaties only partially determined who entered the war on which side. Britain had no treaties with France or Russia, but entered
the war on their side. Italy had a treaty with both Austria-Hungary and Germany, yet did not enter the war with them; Italy
later sided with the Allies. Perhaps the most significant treaty of all was the initially defensive pact between Germany and
Austria-Hungary, which Germany in 1909 extended by declaring that Germany was bound to stand with Austria-Hungary even if
it had started the war
After the war,
the Allies imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers. The 1919 Versailles Treaty, which Germany was kept under
blockade until she signed, ended the war. It declared Germany responsible for the war and required Germany to pay enormous
war reparations and awarding territory to the victors.
Unable to pay them with exports (a result of territorial losses
and postwar recession), she did so by borrowing from the United States, until the reparations were suspended in 1931. The
"Guilt Thesis" became a controversial explanation of events in Britain and the United States. The Treaty of Versailles
caused enormous bitterness in Germany, which nationalist movements, especially the Nazis, exploited.
The treaty contributed
to one of the worst economic collapses in German history, sparking runaway inflation in the 1920s.
The Ottoman
Empire was to be partitioned by the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920. The treaty, however, was never ratified by the Sultan
and was rejected by the Turkish republican movement. This led to the Turkish Independence War and, ultimately, to the 1923
Treaty of Lausanne.
Austria-Hungary was also partitioned, largely along ethnic lines. The details were contained in
the Treaty of Saint-Germain and the Treaty of Trianon.
The Hindenburg
Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the
winter of 1916&17. The line stretched nearly 160 km (100 miles) from Lens near Arras to the Aisne River near Soissons.
The decision to build the line was made by Field-Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff, who
had taken over command of Germany's war effort in August 1916, during the final stages of the First Battle of the Somme.
The Hindenburg Line was built across a salient in the German front, so that by withdrawing to these fortifications the German
army was actually shortening its front. The total length of the front was reduced by 50 km (30 miles) and enabled the Germans
to release 13 divisions for service in reserve 
During World
War 1, following a suggestion from three officers of the Harwich destroyer force that small motor boats carrying a torpedo
might be capable of travelling over the protective minefields and attacking ships of the German Navy at anchor in their bases,
the Admiralty gave tentative approval to the idea and, in the summer of 1915, produced a Staff Requirement requesting designs
for a coastal motorboat for service in the North Sea.
These boats were expected to have a high speed, making
use of the lightweight and powerful petrol engines then available. The speed of the boat when fully loaded was to be at least
30 knots and sufficient fuel was to be carried to give a considerable radius of action.
They were to be armed
in a variety of ways, with torpedoes, depth charges or for laying mines. Secondary armament would have been provided by light
machine guns, such as the Lewis gun. Weight of a fully-loaded boat, complete with 18" torpedo, was to not exceed the
weight of the 30' motor boat then carried in the davits of a light cruiser, i.e. 4.5 tons.
On June 28, 1914,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, duchess of Hohenburg, were
assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, which Austria-Hungary had administered since 1878 and had annexed in 1908.
They were shot by Gavrilo Princip, one of the three assassins sent from Belgrade. Princip was part of a group of six assassins
under the coordination of Danilo. The assassins' goal was the violent separation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and possibly other
provinces from Austria-Hungary and attachment to Serbia to form a Greater Serbia or a Yugoslavia. The assassins' goals
and methods are consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia. 
Austria-Hungary immediately undertook a criminal investigation.and five of the assassins were promptly
arrested and interviewed by an investigating judge. The three assassins who had come from Serbia told almost all they knew.
Serbian Major Vojislav Tankosi had directly and indirectly given them six bombs (produced at the Serbian Arsenal), four revolvers,
training, money, suicide pills, a special map with the location of gendarmes marked, knowledge of an infiltration channel
from Serbia to Sarajevo, and a card authorizing the use of that channel. In their training and on their way they were assisted
by other members of the Serbian Military including three sergeants, two captains and a major who the assassins fingered in
addition to Major Tankosi. The full extent of Serbia's role in the plot was obscured from the investigators by Ilis silence
regarding his contacts with the Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence and Montenegro and France suppressing the confession
of the sixth assassin (who had escaped to Montenegro). While the investigators had not found the whole truth, what they had
found warranted the interview of witnesses and the arrest of participants in Serbia.
Plans for the
joint offensive on the Somme had barely begun to take shape when the Germans launched the Battle of Verdun on 21 February
1916. As the French committed themselves to defending Verdun, their capacity to carry out their role on the Somme disappeared,
and the burden shifted more to the British. France would end up contributing three corps to the opening of the attack (the
XX, I Colonial, and XXXV Corps of the 6th Army). As the Battle of Verdun dragged on, the aim of the Somme offensive changed
from delivering a decisive blow against Germany, to relieving the pressure on the French army, as the balance of forces changed
to 13 French and 20 British divisions at the Somme. The experiences
of the war led to a collective trauma for all participating countries. The optimism of the 1900s was gone and those who fought
in the war became known as the Lost Generation. For the next few years, much of Europe mourned. Memorials were erected in
thousands of villages and towns. The soldiers returning home from World War I suffered greatly from the horrors they had witnessed.
Many returning veterans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, called shell shock at the time.
During the first
year of the First World War, none of the combatant nations equipped their troops with steel helmets. Soldiers went into battle
wearing simple cloth or leather caps that offered virtually no protection from the damage caused by modern weapons. German
troops were wearing the traditional leather Pickelhaube (spiked helmet), with a covering of cloth to protect the leather from
the splattering of mud. Once the war entered the static phase of trench warfare, the number of lethal head wounds that troops
were receiving from fragmentation increased dramatically. The French were the first to see a need for greater protection and
began to introduce steel helmets in the summer of 1915. The Adrian helmet (designed by August-Louis Adrian) replaced the traditional
French kepi and was later adopted by the Belgian, Italian and many other armies.
At about the same time the British
were developing their own helmets. The French design was rejected as not strong enough and too difficult to mass-produce.
The design that was eventually approved by the British was the Brodie helmet (designed by John L. Brodie). This had a wide
brim to protect the wearer from falling objects, but offered less protection to the wearer's neck. When the Americans
entered the war, this was the helmet they chose, though some units used the French Adrian helmet. The traditional German pickelhaube
was replaced by the Stahlhelm or "steel helmet" in 1916. Some elite Italian units used a helmet derived from ancient
Roman designs. None of these standard helmets could protect the face or eyes, however. Special face-covers were designed to
be used by machine-gunners, and the Belgians tried out goggles made of louvres to protect the eyes.
In 1917 and 1918,
new types of weapons were fielded. They changed the face of warfare tactics and were later massively employed during WW2.
The French introduced the CSRG 1915 Chauchat during Spring 1916 around the concept of "Walking Fire",
employed in 1918 when 250,000 weapons were fielded. More than 80,000 of the best shooters received the semi automatic RSC
1917 rifle allowing them rapid shooting at waves of attacking soldiers. Firing port weapons were installed in the newly arrived
FT 1917 tanks.
The Allies sometimes used tanks to get the advantage in battle. Tanks were helpful in destroying
the enemy's trenches. They could penetrate barbed wire, some could bridge trenches, and machine guns could not damage
them; thus, they overcame the major obstacles of trench warfare. Unfortunately, tanks of the period were very slow, very heavy,
and often mechanically unreliable. Also, they were still vulnerable to artillery fire.
The French Army fielded
a ground version of the Hotchkiss Canon de 37mm used by the French Navy. it was primarily used to destroy German machine gun
nests and concrete reinforced pillboxes with high explosive rounds, but an armour piercing round was designed to defeat the
German tanks, making it the first anti tank gun.
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