The Great War Begins DO YOUR VOCAB!!!!!!!!!

The Global Assassination In June of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of the Austrian Emperor, mistakenly traveled to Sarajevo to inspect the army. This city wanted to be apart of the Serbian nation. The archduke was traveling with his wife, Sophie, in an open-car with little security. Serbian nationalist, Nedjlko Cabrinovic, threw a bomb at their car. The bomb did not hurt the archduke because it rolled off the back, but it did injure an officer and some bystanders. Later that day, the archduke went to visit the injured officer. His driver took a wrong turn, and came along one of Cabrinovic’s associates, Gavrilo Princip. Princip noticed the royal couple, ran up to the car and shot the archduke and his wife at point-blank range

& it begins! Cabrinovic and Princip were both members of the Black Hand, which was a secret Serbian society that performed terrorist attacks to promote liberation of Serbs outside of Serbia. Austria-Hungary waited for their German alliance approval, and then sent an ultimatum to Serbia. It required Serbia to punish all involved in the murder and allow Austria to help in the investigation. Serbia did not agree to all the terms, thus starting the Great War. Responding to the ultimatum, Serbia’s army began to mobilize and appealed to Russia for assistance mentioning Pan-Slavism.

Alliances By mid-August 1914, the battle lines were clearly drawn. On one side was Germany and Austria-Hungary. They were known as the Central Powers because of their location in the heart of Europe. On the other side was Great Britain, France, and Russia who made the Allied Powers.

Schlieffen Plan Russia reached out to its ally France, to prepare for the Schlieffen Plan. Named after its creator, General Alfred von Schlieffen, Germany’s location presented the possibility of a two-front war – attack and defeat France in the west and then rush east to fight Russia. Germans aimed for France first because their army would not be as quick to mobilize.

Battle of Tannenberg In August at the Battle of Tannenberg, Russian forces invaded East German territory, but were stopped by German and Austrian forces. Although it was a win for Germany, it caused the Schlieffen Plan to be fail since Russia mobilized faster than anticipated, requiring Germany to shift some troops, weakening their force in west. The quick victory was not possible, and now Germany would have to face a long, two-front war.

Neutral Belgium Joins The Germans used the most powerful weapons in their arsenal to capture the city of Liege by August 15th. These new weapons included: rapid-fire machine guns, long-range artillery guns, enormous siege cannons. They shot and killed civilians and executed the Belgian priest. They advanced through Belgium towards France. Outraged by the invasion of neutral Belgium, Britain officially began fighting for the Allies.

First Battle of the Marne On September 6 – 9 was the First Battle of the Marne. French and British troops confronted the invading German army. They launched a successful counterattack, driving German away from Paris and back to north of the Aisne River. Both sides dug into trenches and began the gruesome war tactics that would characterize the Western front. These trenches led to a stalemate between the two forces.