Germany WWI by Chloe Kiener

Germanys Involvement

ckiener28 — 2025-02-11 17:50:17 UTC

After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Germany offered Austria Hungary a blank check to declare war on Serbia. A blank check is an offering of Germany saying they would pay any expense for Austria Hungary to go to war with Serbia. On July 28, 1914 Austria Hungary decided to declare war on Serbia, leading to the start of WWI (Imperial War Museum).

Alliances

ckiener28 — 2025-02-11 17:58:54 UTC

Germany started off in the triple alliance with with, Austria Hungary, and Italy. Italy later decided they did not want to be in an alliance with Germany since they were instigating most of the situations, and decided to remain neutral. Germany then became one of the central powers with Austria Hungary and Turkey (Britannica).

Kaiser Wilhelm II

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 02:16:38 UTC

Kaiser Wilhelm II was the King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany from 1888-1918. Kaiser Wilhelm II was seen as a horrible leader he was indecisive, and ineffective. Wilhelm was accused of starting WWI. Germans thought the swords were forced into their hands by from the threats of hostile powers. According to Allied powers he had forced the world into war. Allies thought that Wilhelm should be tried as a war criminal. But, a revolution was underway and he started loosing control of his military. This forced him to abdicate his thrown and flee to Holland (History.com)

Battle of Somme

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 02:24:15 UTC

The Battle of Somme was one of the most significant battles of WWI. It look place from July to November 1916, and consisted of Allied forces against German forces on the Western front. This battle started when the British army went to the front north of the Somme River, during this the French advanced to an 8 mile front towards the South, where German defenses were weak. During the first day 19,000 soldiers died. A total of 57,000 British forces suffered from casualties (History.com). British Army officer Paul Esmond Russel-Jones who fought on the first day of the battle of Somme wrote in his diary about his experiences. He wrote, “There are three poor fellows lying in here with us, one a sergeant has had his left foot blown off and the other two are pretty badly messed up" (AlphaHistory). In the end Allied forces won when Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line.

Propaganda

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 02:26:28 UTC

This piece of propaganda translates If the plow shall peacefully furrow the fields give money! If German trade shall span the world, give money! If the sharp weapon shall powerfully overthrow the hero, give money! This piece is trying to convince German citizens to donate money, to help with war expenses. The Germans need to support their country in order for them to win the war therefore they need to donate money in order to fund their expenses (Imperial War Museum).

Outcome

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 02:33:02 UTC

When German Soldiers were at their weakest they decided they were tired of fighting. Germany signed the armistice. An agreement where both sides agree to stop fighting. Germany also signed the Treaty of Versailles, ending war between Germany and Allied powers.The Treaty of Versailles was seen as controversial when it was signed on June 28, 1919 during the Paris Peace Conference. Many believed the Treaty of Versailles set the stage for WWII, which contrasts with President Woodrow Wilsons idea that it would prevent future conflicts (info base).

Europe before vs. After WWI

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 02:55:10 UTC

As a result of the Treaty of Versailles the old Austro-Hungarian and German Empire fell apart. Following this 4 new countries were introduced on the map including, Lithuania, Czecholslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Austria and Hungary became their own individual countries. Romanias border expanded, and Germany lost land (BBC).

The Lusitania

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 03:05:37 UTC

This image is a newspaper from when the Germans sank the Lusitania. The Lusitania was a British passenger ship. This ship was used in order to transport people, the Germans suspected that this ship might be carrying weapons to Great Britain. The Germans decided to sink the ship by launching torpedos into the ship. 1,195 people died during this 123 of them being Americans (Library of Congress).

Work Cited

ckiener28 — 2025-02-12 03:13:59 UTC