Miller 1

Melisa Miller
Jonathan Hebertson
History 1700
6 December 2015
World War I
In history classes across America, students learn about the different wars that were
fought. They learn about the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the
French and Indian War, to name a few. However World War I seems to be glazed over, not many
people can name specific events that happened during World War I like they can for World War
II or any of the other wars mentioned above. This paper will go over the events leading up to
World War I, the reasons for it, the countries that fought on each side, and the eventual outcome
of the war.
There had been brewing tension in Europe especially in the Balkan region for years
before conflict broke out (World). The spark that started World War I was the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. They were killed by a
Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, the event happened on June 28, 1914. The Archduke Franz
Ferdinand was the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
These assassinations set off a rapid chain of events, Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian
government for the assassination and saw it as a reason to settle the question of Slavic
nationalism. As Russia supported Serbia, Austria-Hungary waited to declare war on Serbia until
their leaders received confirmation that Germany was going to back them up. On July 5, 1914
the German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm secretly pledged his support to Austria-Hungary by sending

Miller 2

them a carte blanche, or blank check, showing them their support in case of war. Then the dual
monarchy sent Serbia an ultimatum with terms almost impossible to accept, Serbia took it as a
threat and ordered its army to mobilize and began reaching out to Russia for help. On July 28,
1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, causing the weak peace between Europes great
powers to collapse. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Serbia lined up
against Austria-Hungary, and Germany, and World War I began (World) It would be four years,
more than nine million lives lost, and twenty-one million more soldiers wounded before this
conflict would come to an end. (World)
World War I was fought on a few different fronts. From the west, the Central Powers
(Germany, Austria-Hungary) tried to invade France by going through Belgium, who was neutral
at the time of the German invasion. In the east, Germany would have to face off with Russia. In
addition to the Eastern and Western Fronts, World War I would be fought on the Italian Front,
and also at sea using submarine warfare.
One of the interesting stories people may have heard about World War I was the
Christmas truce of 1914. This truce happened only five months after the war broke out and may
be considered one of the last examples of the outdated chivalry between enemies in warfare. This
event began on Christmas Eve, on the Western Front, with German and British soldiers singing
Christmas carols to each other across the lines of soldiers. It would continue into Christmas Day
when some German soldiers bravely stepped out of the safety of their trenches and began
approaching the Allied lines calling Merry Christmas in their enemies native tongue. After the
Allied soldiers saw their enemy was unarmed they too came out of their trenches and shook
hands with the German soldiers. Interestingly, the soldiers exchanged gifts with each other,
giving cigarettes and plum puddings. They also continued to sing carols together. The coolest

Miller 3

thing about this encounter is that there is a documented case of some of the soldiers playing a
good natured game of soccer that involved soldiers from opposing sides. Other soldiers used the
ceasefire to retrieve the bodies of their fallen combatants who had fallen between the lines,
which soldiers called no-mans land. Any future attempts of a ceasefire between the Allied
forces and the Central Powers would never end up happening. The attempts would be quashed by
officers threats of disciplinary action. The actions of these soldiers on Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day were proof that underneath the harsh fighting, the soldiers humanity had
endured. (Christmas)
Ignoring Belgiums neutrality, on August 4, 1914 Germany crossed its boarders and the
fight for the Belgium city of Liege began. Eleven days after this battle began, Germany would
capture the city of Liege with the help of their enormous siege cannons. They would leave
behind a lot of death, including many civilians and the deliberate execution of a Belgium priest
who was accused of inciting civilian resistance, and destruction in the formerly heavily fortified
city. With their victory over Liege on August 15th, Germany continued on through Belgium
towards France. (World)
The battle in 1914 that was probably a little too close for comfort for the French forces of
World War I was probably the First Battle of the Marne. This battle was fought between
September 6-9th between the French and British forces against the advancing German forces.
Germany had made it deep into northeastern France and were only about 30 miles outside of the
city. After the Allied troops were able to force German advances back to north of the Aisne River
both sides dug trenches and began the trench warfare the western front of World War I is
probably best known for. (World)

Miller 4

On the Eastern Front Russian forces were able to invade East Prussia and German
Poland, but found resistance in late August 1914 at the Battle of Tannenberg. This battle
contributed to the German loss of the Battle of Marne due to the German forces having to move
two corps of soldiers from that battle to help secure the victory at the Battle of Tannenberg. For
the next two years, Russia wouldnt be able to break through the German defensive line (World).
The continued failure on the Eastern Front would help to fuel the discontent of the citizens of
Russia. This would eventually bring about the Russian Revolution of 1917 and Russia meeting
and armistice with the Central Powers in December 1917. This would put into motion Russias
exit from the war, however wouldnt be formalized until the following March with the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk. (New)
In late 1914 the Ottoman Empire joined the war on the Central Powers side, while in
spring 1915, Italy joined the war on the Allied side. The Ottoman Empire was fought during an
attack on Dardanelles that was led by Britain. The Allied Forces launched a large-scale land
invasion on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Sadly, the invasion was considered a dismal failure because
in January 1916 Allied forces were forced to retreat from the shores after suffering 250,000
casualties. British-led forces combated the Turks in Egypt and Mesopotamia while Austrian and
Italian troops faced off in northern Italy in twelve separate battles along the Ionzo River. The first
battle of the Ionzo River took place in the spring of 1915, and the twelve battle took place in
October 1917. The Allied forces would lose the last battle of the Ionzo River causing Italys
allies to offer increased assistance to Italy. With the arrival of British, French, and later American
Troops to the Italian Front the Allies began to take back the initiative in Italy. (World)
At sea, Germany had deadly U-boat submarines to challenge the British Royal Navy
instead of facing their forces in a major battle. The Battle of Jutland, fought in May 1916, was

Miller 5

the biggest naval engagement of World War I. This battle would show the superiority of the
British Navy in the North Sea. For the remainder of the war, Germany would never attempt to
break the Allied naval blockade. (World)
The sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania in May 1915 by a German U-boat began
the widespread American public opinion against Germany. But it wasnt until February 1917 that
congress a 250 million dollar arms appropriation bill to make the United States ready for war.
After Germany sunk four United States merchant ships in one month, President Woodrow Wilson
stood before congress to declare war against Germany. The United States then officially joined
World War I on the Allied side. (World)
In 1918, the Central Powers began to break apart. It all seemed to begin with the Second
Battle of the Marne where Germany, who had been facing off with Allied Forces, would make
what would end up being their last offensive attack of the war. The Allied Forces had been
struggling to ward off the German advances until American troops could get there to give them
aide. The Allies were able to claim the victory of the Second Battle of the Marne after the
American troops arrived and with the strategic leadership of the French Commander-in-chief.
Because of the mass casualties the Germans sustained during this battle, their leaders were
forced to call off an attack that had been planned further north in the Flanders region, he had
believed this battle to be Germanys best hope of victory. (World)
The victory at the Second Battle of the Marne was a turning point for the Allies during
the war. The Allies were able to regain a lot of French and Belgium in just a few months after the
battle. After defeats by invading forces and an Arab revolt the Ottoman economy was destroyed,
causing the Turks to sign a treaty with the Allies in late October 1918. Austria-Hungary followed
suit with an armistice in early November of the same year after the government began to dissolve

Miller 6

from within because of its growing nationalists movements. Finally, Germany was forced to
take an armistice on November 11, 1918 due to its lack of resources, loss of its allies, and
discontent on the home front. With the armistice of Germany in November, World War I ended.
(World)
The impact World War I had on the countries involved were, in some cases, huge. France
and Germany were most affected considering both countries sent about 80 percent of their male
population between the ages of 15 and 49 into the war. The war also marked the fall of four
imperial dynastiesGermany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey (World).
To really wrap up World War I there was a peace conference held in Paris in 1919, the
goal of this conference was for the Allied leaders to try and safe guard themselves against future
conflicts of a devastating scale. The hope was that the Versailles Treaty would achieve this
objective. Sadly, this would not be the case. Germany felt they had been tricked into signing the
treaty, they were denied entrance into the League of Nations and had been saddled with war
guilt. Because of the events at the peace conference and the feelings Germany had of being
snubbed by the rest of the world, hatred of the Versailles Treaty would fester into a resentment in
Germany and eventually be considered one of the causes of World War II. (World)

Miller 7

Works Cited

"Christmas Truce of 1914." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.
<http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/christmas-truce-of-1914>.
"New Russian Leader Lenin Calls for Immediate Armistice." History.com. A&E Television
Networks, 2015. Web. 6 Dec. 2015. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/new-russianleader-lenin-calls-for-immediate-armistice>.
"World War I History." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history>.