World War I
... with France, it decided to protect itself by making alliances with other countries in Europe. Germany formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy and was called the Triple Alliance. France allied itself with Great Britain and Russia, to try to keep a balance of power. To protect their empires and further national pride, many European powers started to make huge armies and pile munitions. This is called the Arms Race. Many of these nations tried to outdo each other by trying to have the most modern weaponry and the most men in uniform. Nationalism came into play because there was a devotion of national interests, unity, and independence. Austria-Hungary was a focal point of this. This empire consisted of many nationalities, including the Czechs, Slovakians, Poles, and Slavs. Even though there were almost forty nationalities, the Austrians and Hungarians held the most power. Many of the nationalists resented this and wanted to break away form the empire. Day 3: On this day I will discuss the start of the war which was on June 28, 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian crown, was assassinated by Gavrillo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, while visiting Sarajevo. The Austrians wanted Princip to be brought to Austria to stand trial and threatened war against Serbia if they did not comply. Serbia, who was an ally of Russia, appealed to Russia for help. Russia, in turn, decided to mobilize against Austria. This action led to Germany declaring war on Russia and then on France. When Germany invaded Belgium to get to France, the British, who were allies of the Belgians, joined the war on the side of Russia and France. While the United States of America was neutral at first, we were angered when on May 7, 1915; a U-boat sunk the Lusitanian, a British luxury liner, which killed 1,198 people, 128 of whom were Americans. This gave America a reason to join the Allied side during the war. Another reason why America joined the Allied side came in 1917 when America learned of the Zimmerman Note. The note was from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German Ambassador of Mexico. It proposed that if Mexico joined the war on the side of the Central Powers and attacked America, the Germans would give back the territory taken from Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Day 4: New military technology that was used in World War I included machine guns, artillery, gas, tanks, war planes, and naval ships. Even though machine guns were used in other wars prior, it was first really utilized in World War I. This weapon had such a devastating effect that it was considered a weapon of mass destruction. The Lewis Gun was the weapon that most men chose on the western front. It was much lighter than the former Vickers Machine Gun and in 1915 the British decided to purchase the American made gun. These guns would fire up to 600 rounds a minute which was the equivalent to 250 men with rifles. The artillery that was used was the new and upgraded versions of cannons. Along with the upgrade of cannons, the shells were upgraded as well. The new high-explosive shells were developed. These shells had thin casings and were filled with tiny lead pellets. The effectiveness of this shell fire killed hundreds and thousands of men. When gas was used, they would break them with rifle fire, and then it changed to be spread by artillery fire. Tear gas was used and caused temporary blindness and seriously irritated the nose and throat of the victim. Mustard gas was the most dreaded of all chemical weapons because it would attack the respiratory system. Tanks could carry up to eight men and fire 208 shells and up to thirteen hundred bullets. They were very powerful machines but were unreliable, they would break down easily. The war planes were rickety pieces of cloth and wood with an engine strapped on. Unfortunately the Airmen had few instruments to aid in their flying and had no parachutes to safely bring them down. Through quick advancement on both sides, planes got more advanced and carried machine guns and some bombs. The U-boat was used as a tool to enforce an embargo targeted toward allied shipping. Day 5: The ending of the war and the consequences that followed the war will be discussed on this day. President Wilson’ Fourteen Points involved a plan of peace in which the Germans and the Allies could resolve their differences that separated them. Most of these points dealt with more general conditions, like how countries should act toward one another in the future. While some of the points were directed to more specific things. Wilson thought that the last point was...