WWI

 A conservative is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits.  ~Woodrow Wilson 



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World War I began not with the two gunshots that killed Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophia, but with the buildup of years of tension between European countries. There were three sources of tension in Europe. The separation of states had been thought to lead to peace, but the opposite had happened. Disputes over colonies and trade rights had terribly divisive effects on the great powers of Europe. This led to them grouping into two alliances, with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in the Triple Alliance, and France, Great Britain, and Russia in the Triple Entente. The second source of tension was the socialist labor movement. The Socialists had begun using more violent strikes, and more frequently. This alarmed the conservatives and made them think that their nations were about to rebel. The last source of tension was militarism. Countries had been strengthening their armies after 1900, which exacerbated the distrust among nations, because the large armies foreshadowed devastation when and if war broke out.
 * __Overview of WWI__**

The first World War officially began when the Archduke and Archduchess of Austria-Hungary were killed by the Black Hand, a terrorist organization who wanted Bosnia to become part of a Serbian kingdom. They first tried throwing a bomb at the Archduke's car, but it glanced off. Then, later that day, Gavrilo Princip shot the pair of them. In response, Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to Serbia that it rejected in order to preserve its sovereignty. Therefore, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. After the first war declaration, the dominoes just kept falling. Russia mobilized in defense of Serbia, which Germany considered an act of war. In response, Germany declared war on Russia. However, according to the Schlieffen Plan, Germany's plan of attack, Germany had to invade France. So, Germany declared war on France as well as commanding Belgium to allow German troops to pass through Belgium. Then, Great Britain declared war on Germany for the official reason of violating Belgian neutrality.

At first, countries believed that this great war would be over in a matter of weeks. After all, most of the wars in the past century had been finished in weeks. However, this was not to be. On the western front, Germany and France were stuck in one position because of trench warfare for nearly four years. On the eastern front, Germany beat Russia in the first couple of battles, and so was less threatened by them. Austria-Hungary, though, was defeated by Russia in Galicia, driven out of Serbia, and betrayed by Italy, who joined the Allied Powers, formerly known as the Triple Entente. Then, when the Germans came to Austrian aid, the Triple Alliance defeated Russia at Galicia and took back Serbia. Eventually, due to the use of submarines by Germany against Great Britain, the United States entered the war on the Allies' side, which helped end the war when Germany signed an armistice.

__**Important Terms**__
 * 1) Triple Alliance - Secret agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It provided that Germany and Austria-Hungary would support Italy if it was attacked by France, that Italy would similarly assist Germany, and that Italy would remain neutral if Austria-Hungary was attacked by Russia
 * 2) Trench Warfare - Warfare in which the opposing sides attack, counterattack, and defend from sets of trenches dug into the ground.
 * 3) Total War - A war that involves the complete mobilization of resources and people., affecting the lives of all citizens in the warring countries, even those remote from battlefields.
 * 4) Propaganda - Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.
 * 5) Mobilization - The process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war.
 * 6) Conscription - Compulsory enrollment, especially for the armed forces; draft. A monetary payment exacted by a government in wartime.
 * 7) War of Attrition - a war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses.
 * 8) No-Man's Land - a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms.
 * 9) Militarism - a places reliance on military strength.
 * 10) Triple Entente - name given to the alliance among France, Britain and Russia after the signing of the Angelo-Russian Entente in 1907.

__**Important People**__
 * 1) Franz Ferdinand - The Arch Duke of Austria, his assassination was believed to be one of the reasons for WW1.
 * 2) Winston Churchill - Known for being Prim Minister during WW2, Head of the British Navy during WW1. Demoted in 1915 following the British failure at the Dardanelle.
 * 3) Woodrow Wilson -The president of the United States for the entire period of the war. During the first half of the war, He maintained a strictly neutral position and tried to serve as an active intermediary between the two sides.
 * 4) Ferdinand von Zeppelin - After being in the military he devoted himself to to the study of aeronautics.and used his own money to create the first airships.
 * 5) Lord Kitchener - Irish-born British field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of WW1 although he died halfway through it
 * 6) Prince Max von Baden - served as Germany's last imperial Chancellor prior to the revolution and consequent creation of a German republic in November 1918.
 * 7) Henry Ford - Founder of the Ford Motor Company, invented the first ever model T.he revolutionized the transportation in america.
 * 8) Wilbur and Orville Wright - T wo American brothers credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903.
 * 9) Sir Christopher Cradock - Fought and lost and unequal battle with German Admiral Graf von Spee in 1914 at Coreonel, losing his own life in the process.
 * 10) Constantine I - King of Greece from 1913 to 1917. He was commander-and-chief of the Hellenic Army. Was viewed as a German sympathizer.



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