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War and Conflict

Wars

Timelines Causes Of WWI : Starting with a not-so-significant conflict between two countries, the tie of treaties between countries quickly pull a mass of countries into a war. The spark that started the original conflict was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His killer, Gavrilo Princip, was from Serbia. Other diplomatic issues between the "Great Powers" in Europe also helped fuel the start of the war.

Major Players :
 * Germany - Prince Max von Baden assumed leadership when Kaiser Wilhelm II could no longer control the country. Paul von Hindenburg was promoted to commander in chief of the German land army, which he held until the war was over.
 * Great Britain - Winston Churchill served as the head of the Navy until 1915 when he then served as a battalion commander. Sir Christopher Cradock was a British Admiral and is known for his major loss as the Battle of Coronel on November 1, 1914 where he died.
 * Greece - Constantine I was the King, favoring the Germans but his country favored the Allies so he entered the war on the side of the Allied forces.
 * Austria-Hungary - Franz Joseph I was the Emperor of Austria-Hungary until he died in 1916.
 * Russia - Nicholas II solidified Russia as an alliance to Serbia when it was attacked by Austria.

Major Events : July 28, 1914 - Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. September 5-9,1914 - Battle of the USS Maine 1916 & 1917 - trench warfare taking place in the east and west, fighting in brutal conditions basically at a stalemate. April 1917 - The United States declared war on Germany November 1917 - Bolshevik Revolution prompted Russia to pull out of the war.

An outbreak of influenza brought many losses on both sides of the war

The End of WWI : While both sides of the war were determined to win, the attitude and physical state of the soldiers was pitiful. Gradually, the Germans lost a series of individual battles and slowly fell back out of the major fighting. In the Fall of 1918, the Central Powers involved in the war signed an armistice agreement, completed on November 11, 1918.

Outcome of the War : Austria-Hungary split into numerous smaller countries. Germany lost land & was left under strict limitations economically & militarily.

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