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Before WW1:
Russia was a mystery to most Europeans. Other countries knew of Russia’s existence, feared at its size and military power. The population of Russia was huge, however more than four- fifths of Russia’s large population were peasants.

How Russia got involved:
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led Austria- Hungary to declare war on Serbia, which then Russia followed in. Russia was involved in war mostly because of their “affinity” with Serbia. Both countries shared many linguistic, religious and cultural similarities and had an almost “unspoken” allied relationship. This pressured Russia to encourage their military to protect Serbia, thus getting involved in World War 1.
- Jess

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-Before 1914-
-By Alexandra
Prior to 1914, UK was the most technologically advanced nation in the world, the development of steam engines revolutionised Britain’s ability to manufacture and transport. Britain was the manufacturing centre of Europe, their ship builders was thought to be the busiest in the world.

Britain had the largest empire, spanning 35 million square kilometres, which is equivalent to one quarter of the Earth. Some of Britain’s biggest countries that they colonised were India, Australia, Canada and South Africa. During the 1870’s the British continued to acquired more territory, employing new technologies, such as railways and improved weapons, in accordance to their attempts to colonise.

Domestically, during the 19th century, there were demands for improved living conditions and political reform. Britain sought to avoid war prior to WWI.

Reference: https://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/great-britain/ (UK before 1914)

-Post 1914-
-By Emilia
What happened to my country after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand?
Britain was dragged into war by all the alibies they established with other countries.

How did my country get involved in the war? (When? Why? How?) The United Kingdom was part of the Allies, along with, France, Russia, Serbia and Belgium. When Austria declared war against Serbia on 30 July 1914, Britain was required to fight and support Serbia due to the allies they had. Britain was also responsible for war breaking out in the Middle East in 1915, as they encouraged the Arabs to revolt against the Turks. Germany attempted to create problems for Britain by providing arms to the Irish, who unsuccessfully revolted against British rule in 1916.

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Before world war 1 broke out, there was a massive build up of tension across Europe. One of the countries in which it was particularly tense was in Austria-Hungary. Many inhabitants who were living in this country were large nationalists of their own and were quite unhappy where they were. So, a group of nationalists decided to assassinate the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, murdering the heirs to the throne. Obviously, this caused an uproar and Austria-Hungary gave Serbia an ultimatum. Serbia was to allow Austria-Hungary to conduct their own investigation into the assassination, and have Serbia get rid of all the extreme anti- Austria-Hungary nationalist groups. Austria-Hungary believed that if war was to outbreak, that it would be very quick, and they would defeat Serbia easily. Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28th1914, ultimately beginning world war one.

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1. What was the situation of The Ottoman Empire before WW1?

Before WWI, the Ottoman Empire was in a state of rapid transition and decay. During the medieval period, the Ottoman Empire was one of the world’s largest imperial powers. Ottoman power extended from the Persian Gulf to central Europe. They had so much power that they ruled almost the entire north coast of Africa.

2. What happened to The Ottoman Empire after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand?
After the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Ottoman Empire immediately went to war with many other countries, forming alliances. The Ottoman’s quickly lost the power that they were very used to , now having to fend for themselves and ensuring that their alliances were doing what they needed to o to, as to protect them.

3. How did my country get involved in the war? (When? How? Why?)

Ottoman Empire entered WW1 on October 28, 1914. They formally joined in order to create a triple alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany, who later encouraged Romania and Bulgaria to join the alliance. Ottoman Empire had a formal agreement with the German Empire that stated that the Ottoman Empire was to enter the war on the side of the Central Powers, which included Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States, exactly one day after the German Empire declared war on Russia. However, this said, not all parts of the Ottoman Government accepted the alliance.

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Canada was much smaller compared to its current population, with a population of about 7.5 million. Just under half the population was urban. Only four cities, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver half more than 100,000 people. Citizens were more involved in agriculture than in any other industry.

The population of Canada was of mostly French, British and Irish decent, although recent immigration waves had brought in considerable numbers of Germans and Ukrainians, among others. Canadian laws severely restricted Asian immigration.

Canada was not a military nation. It had been in just one foreign conflict (the Boer War) prior to 1914, no standing army and considered two old cruisers a navy. Defence fell to an armed force of 3,110 men (with 684 horses), backed by 74606 ‘citizen soldiers’ (civilians with some training) and their 16,360.

After the assassination of the Archduke, Canada was soon dragged into the conflict when Britain joined in the war. The moment Britain decided to join the war on the 4th of August 1914, Canada was also automatically at war. In 1914, Canada was a self-governing dominion of the British Empire, but it did not control its own foreign affairs.

-Janice~~`

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What was the situation of my country before WW1?

The United States of America had the civil war (1861-1865), the economy was strengthening and the USA was becoming more and more developed. The USA was becoming more powerful, and had a large military strength.

What happened to my country after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand didn’t really affect the United States of America, nowhere near as much as it affected other countries.

How did my country get involved in the war? (When? Why? How?)

The United States of America was neutral during the start of the war, however that all changed in May 1915, when a German U-boat sank the British liner, Lusitania. This killed hundreds of people, including 129 Americans, and pushed the United States of America into joining the war, fighting against Germany.
-Amelia :)

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Before WW1 had commenced, Italy had arranged and formed an alliance with the Central Powers of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Austria-Hungary in the triple alliance.

Italy initially were supposed to have joined the side of the Central Powers when war took place in August 1914, but instead declared neutrality (the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; impartiality).

How did my country get involved in the war?(When? How? Why?)

Despite the “neutral” state - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary on the 23rd of May 1915, entering World War 1, on the same side of the Allies - Britain, France, Russia, Serbia etc. The decision to join the fray on the side of the Allies was based predominately on the assurances Italy received in the treaty of London, signed in April 1915.

Italy had joined reluctantly with Germany out of the fear and constant “threat” of France.

But when war broke out initially - Italy came to the realisation that it had nothing to fear from France or any of it’s allies.On the other hand, it would have a lot to fear from a victorious Austria Hungary, from which she had taken Lombardy and Venice in the 19th century (the former when allied with France). So when Britain and France offered Italy Tyrol and Trieste from Austria, Italy jumped at the bait and switched sides - leaving the triple alliance.