1. A Terrorist Attack Brings War
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2. A Terrorist Attack Brings War
June 1914—heir to Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated in Bosnia (wife also shot)
Shot by Gavrilo Princip
Revolutionary
Member of Serbian nationalist group “Black Hand”
Took place with knowledge of Serbian officials who hoped war would bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire

3. Alliances Are Triggered
Austro-Hungarian gov’t blamed Serbia for the attack and decided the time had come to crush Serbia in order to prevent Slavic nationalism
Austria-Hungary knew attacking Serbia may trigger war w/ Russia, so they asked German allies for support
Serbs called on Russia who called on France

4. War July 28, 1914—Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
Russia mobilized quickly and stationed troops on the German border
Aug 1—Germany declared war on Russia
Aug 3—Germany declared war on France

5. Germany’s Plan Fails Schlieffen Plan Problem: neutral Belgium
Attack and defeat France quickly through Belgium before Russia can mobilize. Then fight Russia.
Problem: neutral Belgium
British had promised Belgium that they could remain neutral, so when Germany invaded Belgium to get to France, the British declared war on Germany

6. Two Sides Allies France Russia G. Brit Italy (1915) Central Powers
Allies promised to cede Austro-Hungarian territory to Italy after war
Central Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria

7. Schlieffen Plan At first the German plan worked
German troops swept through Belgium and into France, driving back Brit and French forces…THEN
Russia mobilized more quickly that Germany predicted, invading Germany

8. Stalemate Germans had to pull some troops out of France
Germans got w/in 30 miles of Paris, but were stopped at the Battle of Marne
Swift German attack failed = trench warfare stalemate

9. Eastern Front Central Powers more successful on Eastern Front
German and Austro-Hungarian forces stopped Russian attack
Germans/Austro-Hungarians went on offensive, swept across hundreds of miles of territory and took hundreds of thousands of prisoners
Russia = 2 million killed, wounded, captured (in just 1915)