Europe Plunges Into War
The Great War Begins
Battle on the Eastern Front
The Eastern Front was where both sides sent millions of men to fight. It was a long stretch of land across the German and Russian border. The Eastern Front was where the Germans and Austro-Hungarians fought the Germans and Serbs. The eastern battles were more mobile than the western battles.
Russia Struggles
Early Fighting
In response to Austria's declaration of war, Russia began moving its army towards the Russian-Austrian border
The Russian army had one good asset, it's numbers. Russia had a staggering amount of battlefield casualties, but because of it's huge population, it could rebuild it's army in an amazing amount of time. Because the Russian army was so large, Germany had to move thousands of troops to the east, causing Germany to have less troops in the west, causing it to weaken on that front.
Russia fought better against the Austro-Hungarians. The Russians beet the Austrians twice in September of 1914. It wasn't until December that Austria turned things around. They fought back well against the Russian forces, and eventually pushed the Russians out of Austria-Hungary.
At the beginning of the war, Russian troops invaded Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany counterattacked near the town of tannenberg. During the four-day battle, the Germans pushed back the Russian troops into Russia, and killed over 30,000 Russian troops in the process.
Expecting Germany to join Austria, Russia also mobilized along the German border. To Germany Russia's mobilization was taken as a declaration of war. On August 1, the German government declared war on Russia
Russia looked towards its ally France for help. Germany did not even wait for France to react. Two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany also declared was on France.
Soon afterward, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Much of Europe was now locked in battle.
Nations Take Sides
Central Powers
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Germany, and her allies began to worry about more than just the Western front and the Northern front. After a while, the war spread to Africa, Southwest Asia, and Southeast Asia. In the few years after the war began, it became a world war.
By 1916, Russia's war effort was almost destroyed. Since they were not yet industrialized, supply shipments were very limited due to the Germans controlling the Baltic sea. In the south, the Ottomans controlled the straights from the Mediterranean sea to the Black sea.
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
Allies
Great Britain
France
Russia
Japan
Italy
In the late summer of 1914, millions of soldiers marched off to battle, convinced that the war would be short.
"The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in out lifetime" - Britain's foreign minister Sir Edwards Grey
Why did Germany declare war on France?
War
Answer: Since Germany had plans to attack Russia they knew that France would honor their alliance with Russia. They knew that a two fronted war was inevitable.
Movement
What country had taken over territories that Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire wanted to regain?
Why might the war on the Eastern Front have been more mobile than that on the Western Front?
The German troops needed to be shipped over to the Eastern front, so there were more vehicles on the Eastern front.
How did Russia’s industrialization affect it's war effort?
Struggle
Conflict
Russia wasn't very industrialized, so they didn't have very advanced weapons. They weren't very skillful in battle due to their simple weaponry, but their significant numbers made them very intimidating.
Answer: Russia
War: A conflict that results in military action between groups or nations
Alliance: An agreement between two or more parties to advance common goals or interests
Alliance: An agreement between two or more parties to advance common goals or interests.
Militarism: Policy of glorifying military power and being prepared for war
A Bloody Stalemate
Jayden Lewerke's part not finished