WW1 - 1914 Flashcards
What occurred on June 28th 1914
serbian Nationailst Gavrilo Princip shot and killed heir to austro hungarian empties archduke ferdinand
Princip belonged to the Nationalist group called the Black Hand which wanted a greater serbia and to split up the old empire
Austro-Hungary response to archduke assassination
calls it a terrorist attack and gives serbia an ultimatum: turn in all black hand members or face war
Germany’s response to the assassination
pledges unconditional support to the austro hungarian empire even if it means war
What were the central powers looking for from the beginning war
a clean small war that punished serbs and crushed growing nationalist movement in austro hungarian empire
How did the alliance system impact the austro hungarian and serbian problem
crisis spiralled out of control due to alliance system
nations in europe mobilized armed forces
What happened in June 28 1914
austro hungary declared war on serbia
meant that russia declares war on AH
france mobilizes army to support russia
russia mobilizes army to support serbia
What occurred between July 29 and August 4
July 29-31 germany demands france and russia to stop mobilization aug 1 germany declares war on russia aug 3 france declares war on germany aug 4 germany invaded belgium britain declares war on germany august 4
Why was the Schlieffen Plan created and how does it work
made to avoid a two front war
garmans swing through belgium to the sea behind paris in 6 weeks, splitting france
then turn bulk of army on russia who would have spent all this time mobilizing(their train tracks were not consistant) and germans would keep them in check until france collapsed
Assumptions of the Schlieffen Plan
asssumed that german army could crush the french
britain remain neutral and belgium not fight back
russia would take 6-8 weeks to mobilize
french would attack central germany and be allowed to advance
Reality of the Schlieffen Plan
german troops had to move away from belgium to slow french
russia launched several surprise attacks early on
troops moved from west to fight russians
failed to overwhelm the french
belgium put more resistance than planned- first 28 days germany wasn’t even fully in belgium
britain mobilized and defended belgium faster than expected
The Battle of the Marne
date and details
september 6-11 1914
french armies rallies outside paris to stop german advance
schlieffen plan had failed miserably
germany now facing a two front war with three of the largest industrial powers in the world
First Battle of Ypres(Battle of Flanders)
date and details
oct 19 - nov 22 1914
located southern belgium
germans try to out flank british expeditionary forces(BEF)
two sides fight to a draw
western front now stretches northern sea to switzerland
static warfare is born
When was the first trench dug?
sept 15 1914
Battle of Frontiers
date and details
august 22
27000 french killed in action during failed drive into germany
Battle of Tennenburg
date and details
aug 26-30
germans beat russians
von moltke reserves troops from the western front arrive after the battle
