#world_history 

## July Crisis and the beginning of the Great War
On the **28th of June, 1914**, a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, assasinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. As a result, Austrian authorities gave Serbia an ultimatum. The serbs agreed only to those requirements that did not harm its independence and integrity. 
This wasn't enough for Austria, and on 28th of July Austria declared war on Serbia, while Russians declared mobilisation on 29 July. The Germans declared war on Russia on 1 August, and on France on 3 August. The British entered the conflict on 4 August, after the Germans invaded neutral Belgium. The United States and Italy declared themselves neutral. The Japanese Empire declared war on Germany in order to conquer Germany's colonial holdings in Asia.

## Objectives and plans
All the countries' goals were annexationist. 
### France
France was trying to reclaim land that had been conquered by Germany in 1871, while also hoping to get some more sweet sweet territories.
### Britain
Britain's main goal in the war was to crush Germany as an opponent and reinforce its own position as the world's workshop.
### Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary sought to quell panslavic feelings in the Balkans.
### Germany
Germany wanted to assert its dominance.
### Russia
Russia wanted to ensure control over the Turkish straits and to occupy territories with Slavic populaces.

## War in 1914
Germany wanted to use the blitzkrieg strategy by quickly invading France while Russia was mobilising. However, the **Schliffen Plan**, as it was called, was ruined by the Belgians' stiff resistance. Because of that, the Germans managed to cross the France-Belgium border only on 24 August. Despite the slowness of German actions, the French government asked the Russian government to attack East Prussia to distract Germany. The Russians won the battle at Gumbinnen (**20 August 1914**), but were blown off at Tannenberg (**26-30 August 1914**).

These distractions allowed the French to launch an offensive, culminating in the Battle of Marne (Sep. 1914). Resistance from both sides led to the establishment of trench warfare.

On the Eastern front, things weren't any better: the Russians lost the territories they had previously conquered, while the Austrians succumbed to Russian attacks. Trench warfare ensued.

The oceans were controlled by the English, evident from the results of the first naval battle of Helgoland (28 August 1914).

## War in 1915
The main aim for the Triple Pact countries was to make Russia surrender. During the German offensives, Russians left Poland, Galicia, the Baltic states and even Belarus. But in the autumn of 1915 the front stabilised back to regular trench warfare.

Both sides were seeking new allies. For example, in April 1915, Italy joined the Entente, while since Oct. 1915, Bulgaria was fighting on the side of the Triple Pact.

With new allies and bigger firepower came bigger territories: the war had now spread to the Middle East, where Britain, France and Russian clenched with the Germans and Ottomans.

Despite their aspirations, the Germans were not able to turn the war in their favour.

## War in 1916
After Russia's numerous defeats in 1915, the Germans decided to crush France. From February to December 1916 a large battle was happening, later nicknamed "the Verdun Meatgrinder". Casualties were colossal - almost 1 million lost lives in total. Simultaneously, the French and the English were pushing to Somme - the battle was going on for the entirety of the autumn. During that very battle the English used tanks for the first time in history.

In the meanwhile, the Russians crushed Austro-Hungarian defenses in the summer of 1916 during the Brusilov offensive. Encouraged by Russia after the 1916 offensive in the east, Romania joined the Entente in August 1916 only to be crushed by Austro-Hungary several months later.

The momentary battle of [[First World War from Britain's perspective|Jutland]] (31 May - 1 June 1916) underlined England's naval supremacy. In a desperate measure to change that, the Germans led a total naval war, targeting all ships with their submarines. However, this led to the declaration of war by the United States in April 1917.
By the end of the year, Germany had lost all its colonial possessions.

## 1917. [[The Russian Revolution]]
Desperate times call for desperate measures, thought the revolutionaries in Russia who forced the Tsar to abdicate in February 1917, establishing the Russian Provisional Government. The RPG soon fucked up by organising a offensive which failed. Soon the RPG themselves were overthrown in the October 25-26 coup de etat by the bolsheviks. In order to stay in power, they did their best to establish a separate peace treaty, and managed to do so on March 3, 1918 in the Brest-Litovsk treaty.

In April 1917, a massive offensive was organised by the French commander in chief Robert Nivelle. The result was indecisive. Soon, in Nov-Dec. 1917 the English started the world's first tank attack at the Battle of **Cambrai**.

## 1918
The last German offensive happened in the summer 1918, wherein the Germans wanted to separate the allies and manage them one by one. However, their plans were utterly destroyed by the allies at the **Battle of Amiens**. This was the final nail in the Central Powers' coffin. On 28 September Bulgaria signed a peace treaty with the allies. On 30 October the Ottoman Empire signed a peace treaty with the allies. On 9 November 1918 the German monarchy was overthrown, and on 11 November 1918 the Armistice of Compiegne was signed, ending the Great War.