The Destruction of the Old Order

Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was murdered by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip.

The assassination was planned by the terrorist organization the Black Hand based in neighbouring Serbia.

German officials told Austrian leaders that Germany would support any Austrian actions taken.

This meant that Austria now controlled the destiny of Europe supported by the guarantee of German arms.

Following Franz Ferdinand’s death the Austrian government sent an ultimatum to Serbia demanding those responsible be turned over to Austria. Austrian police would also be allowed to look for other anti-Austrian elements.

Serbia agreed to all of the terms, but the last. Austria said this would mean war.

Tsar Nicolas II of Russia and Wilhelm II of Germany were Europe’s last chance for peace, as private correspondence between the two tried to avert war.

The failure of this last communication channel pushed Europe to war.

Austria’s rejection of the Serbian reply to its ultimatum led to Austria’s invasion of Serbia.

The Austrian attacked prompted Russia to declare war on Austria to protect Serbia. Germany then declared war on Russia to defend Austria.

Germany’s Schlieffen Plan now meant that German armies would invade France and Belgium spreading the war to the West.

The German Army massed on the border of Belgium preparing to invade France. The German commander had weakened the western armies to better defend East Prussia from Russia.

The German ultimatum to allow the passage of its armies was rejected by Belgium and Germany invaded the following day. Britain declared war August 4th to defend Belgium.

French armies quickly mobilized and attacked Germany to regain Alsace-Lorraine, as German armies advanced south through Belgium.

The French advance into Lorraine was stopped and 300,000 casualties were suffered in two weeks.

The German army advanced south pushing British and French opposition before it. At the Marne river a hastily prepared French counter-attack pushed the Germans back.

A quick victory was now out of the question, as the armies began trying to outflank each other and reach the sea.

The German defeat at the Marne ended the Schlieffen Plan.

The armies now attempted to out flank each other as they moved closer and closer to the sea resulting in a continuous front hundreds of kilometers long.

The creation of the continuous front and the new weapons of war, especially the machine gun meant that soldiers needed safety, which was found by digging trenches.

Trenches protected the soldiers from machine guns and artillery and when supported by them created formidable defenses.

The Germans had hoped to win a quick victory in France before Russian could mobilize its army of 4.5 million men. A small force of 200,000 was left to contain Russia.

The majority of Russia’s army was poorly trained and suffering from being beaten by Japan in 1904.

Unexpectedly Russia invaded August 12th.

The Russian advance had surprised the Germans and pushed Austria back 15o km, but the Russian army was exhausted.

Using 400 trains a day the Germans redeployed their forces and inflicted two crushing defeats on the Russians at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes.

The Russians lost 250,000 men and all their equipment.

Russian forces were more successful against the Austrians where they routed the Austrians and drove them deep into Galicia.

Austrian losses of 300,000 saw the front collapse and only German victory in the north prevented Austrian collapse.

After four months of fighting the Russian army was out of ammunition and on the defensive.

Austrian armies attacked Serbia expecting an ease victory.

The Serbs battle hardened from the Balkan Wars and defending mountainous terrain destroyed half their Austrian foes.

Germany and Austria launched limited attacks on Russia to prevent a Russian offensive against wavering Austrian troops. The result was the collapse of Russian Army and between 2.5 and 3.4 million casualties.

Russia was effectively out of the war, for now.

In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers.

Turkey’s entry into the war closed Mediterranean access to Russia, cutting her off from Allied supplies.

In April 1915 Italy joined the war on the side of Britain and France.

Italy had been promised lands from Austria-Hungary including Trieste, Tyrol and lands of Dalmatia

Britain launched the invasion of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The goal to open access to the Black Sea and Russia.

The initial landings were nearly unopposed, but Australian and New Zealand troops were pinned on the Gallipoli peninsula and slaughtered.

When the British evacuated in December 1915 250,000 men had been lost.

The German attack on Ypres began with the release of thousands of cylinders of chlorine gas.

French colonial troops facing the gas fled, but Canadian troops held the line and fought to close the 6 km gap.

Poison gas was soon in use by both sides and new forms of gas were developed including phosgene and Mustard Gas.

Gas was the only weapon not used in World War Two.

Though important in development of the war, 1915, outside of the Russian front saw frontal assaults that were repelled by massive casualties.

The battles of the third year of the war would be the bloodiest of the conflict, as both sides looked to use attrition, the wearing away of an opponent’s strength, to bring victory.

The Germans would strike first.

The battle of Verdun began 21 February 1916. It was planned as a battle of attrition to draw French troops into the range of German guns, so they could

be easily destroyed. The Germans attacked the

French fortresses at Verdun hoping to pull French reinforcements into its defense.

In the six month battle nearly all French army units were rotated through the battle.

Verdun cost 978,000 casualties.

For fifteen days British guns bombarded Germans on the Somme River. Germans soldiers were safely below ground or behind the lines out of the shelling.

The British lined up 100,000 men to cross no man’s land with orders to slowly advance up the ridge. Three minutes after the barrage lifted German machine guns killed 20,000, wounding another 40,000.

By November 420,000 British, 200,000 French and 450,000 Germans were casualties.

The Brusilov Offensive caught Austria unprepared and 130,000 men were lost in two days. A planned spoiling attack against the Germans did not occur and 35 German divisions were rushed east to face the Russians.

The Austrians lost 1.5 million men including 400,000 prisoners during the Russian onslaught.

The German counter-attack caused nearly a million Russian losses.

The Russian army was finished.

The years before the war had been spent building dreadnoughts, but when war came in 1914 there was no decisive naval clash.

The British fleet remained in home ports waiting for the German fleet, as British ships enforced a blockade on German trade.

Germany responded by using submarines in an attempt to starve Britain into surrender.

In May 1916 the German fleet left its bases in a bold bid to break Britain’s blockade and defeat the Royal Navy.

The battle of Jutland was the only major fleet engagement of the war ending in a strategic British victory.

Britain lost 14 ships and 6,097 men to German losses of 10 ships and 2,551.

German fleet remained in its harbours for the rest of the war.

World War One saw the development of war in the air. Planes were initially ised for scouting but by the end of the war they were bombing factories, cities, and supporting soldiers on the ground.

The pilots of World War One became national heroes, knights of the sky.

The German Red Baron, and the Canadian Ace Billy Bishop were household names.

The needs of industrial war meant that the home front became more important than ever.

Soldiers and countries required an uninterrupted flow of men and materials to supply the war and women were brought back into the factory to meet the demands of industry for workers.

The response of the British to the need to break out of the trenchs came in the form of tanks.

A new armoured weapon impervious to machine gun fire; the tank could drive across the wire and No Man’s Land and through to the enemies rear.

Both sides had tanks by the end of the war.

1917 was the decisive year of the war. The United States entered the war and revolution in Russia caused its departure. In France the army mutinied and refused to attack.

The war was taking its toll as national societies broke down.

Following the failure of the Nivelle Offensive the French Army refused to obey its officers some of whom were shot.

The mutiny was kept from the Germans as an attack at this time would have shattered the French.

Concessions and promises of no further wasteful offensives returned discipline.

By February 1917 the Russian army had been defeated and demoralized.

Soldiers were deserting and law and order was breaking down.

In the cities shortages of food and labour strikes contributed to tensions.

Tsar Nicholas II abdicated and a provisional government replaced him.

The United States entered W.W.I. on April 6, 1917.

The American decision to enter the war was based on Germany’s use of Unrestricted Submarine warfare, and the Zimmerman Telegram.

The telegram offered Mexico Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico if they would declare war on the U.S. and keep them out of Europe.

The U.S. declared war and promised to bring 12 million soldiers to Europe by 1919.

On Easter Monday the Canadian Corps led by Julian Byng attacked German positions on Vimy Ridge. In just four days the ridge had fallen and Canada had established itself as the shock troops of the British Army.

In November 1917 following another disasterous summer for the Russian army, the Bolsheviks led by Vladamir Lenin overthrew the Provisional Government.

The Bolsheviks negotiated the Treat of Brest-Litovsk with Germany and the war in the east ended.

On March 21, 1918 the German’s launched their final offensive of the war.

1.5 million troops stormed forward in a final desperate attempt to take Paris and win the war.

By the end of May they had advanced to Marne river where they met American troops for the first time.

Defeated at the Marne; there was no way but back for the Germans.

Beginning August 8, 1918 the Allies, led by the Canadian Corps, counter attacked with 640 tanks and 800 airplanes.

By September all of the gains of the spring offensive had been lost and German morale collapsed.

The Allied offensive would continue unchecked until November 11, 1918.

The defeat of its armies in the West led to collapse at home.

The Kaiser abdicated, and a provisional government was established to create peace.

At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 the guns fell silent.