World War I: Western, Eastern Fronts & Ottoman Empire

• World War I started on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
• Treaties between nations caused Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France to be drawn into the war.
• Western and Eastern Fronts opened along the borders of Germany and Austria-Hungary soon after.

The Western and Eastern Fronts

• Germany attacked Belgium and France on the Western Front.
• Russia attacked Germany and Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front.
• Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia in the south.
• The Western Front became entrenched in central France after the Battle Of The Marne (September 5-9, 1914).

The Ottoman Empire

• The Ottoman Empire entered the war in late 1914 after Germany tricked Russia.
• Britain and France attacked the Ottomans in the Mediterranean in 1915.
• Britain and France launched a failed attack on the Dardanelles.
• Britain invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula and launched a campaign against the Turks in Mesopotamia.
• The Gallipoli campaign and the attacks on the Dardanelles resulted in British defeats.

Trench Warfare

• Trench Warfare dominated the war in 1916 and 1917.
• Soldiers fought from dug-in positions using machine guns, heavy artillery, and chemical weapons.
• Millions of soldiers died in brutal conditions, but neither side gained any advantage.

The United States' Entrance and Russia's Exit

• The United States declared war on Germany in early April 1917 because of attacks on its ships in the Atlantic.
• The Bolshevik Revolution prompted Russia to pull out of the war in November 1917.

The End of the War and Armistice

• Both sides launched renewed offensives in 1918, but both efforts failed.
• The Germans gradually began to fall back after losing a number of individual battles.
• A deadly outbreak of Influenza took heavy tolls on soldiers from both sides.
• The governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary began to lose control as both countries experienced multiple mutinies.
• The war ended in the late fall of 1918, after the member countries of the Central Powers signed Armistice Agreements one by one.
• Germany signed its armistice on November 11, 1918.
• Austria-Hungary was broken up into several smaller countries.
• Germany was severely punished under the Treaty Of Versailles with economic reparations, territorial losses, and strict limits on its military.

Germany After the War

• The harsh Treaty of Versailles planted the seeds of World War II, rather than foster peace.
• The treaty's declaration that Germany was entirely to blame for the war humiliated the German people.
• The treaty imposed steep War Reparations payments on Germany, which caused enormous resentment, allowing extremist groups to take political control.