The Course of the war
Casus Belli and
Chain Reaction
The start of the war was caused by...
The assassination of the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand
First Phase (1914)
The first phase was called "war of movement"
Germany launched a rapid attack against France through Belgium
A combined action by Germans and Austro-Hungarians repelled early Russian advances
The powers were still confident of a quick victory However, this confidence soon vanished
Second Phase
(1915-1916)
The Triple Entente troops held back the Germans on the Western Front
A new phase began
"Trench warfare" or "War of position"
The battle of Verdun
(1916)
It lasted nearly 10 months
The cost was 700.000 casualties
To protect themselves from enemies they built trenches
Rain, cold, snow, mud, rats, lice and illnesses pushed human suffering to the extreme
The attempts of the military to breach the lines resulted in bloody battles, like the First Battle of the Somme
The harsh conditions of trench warfare led to riots and mass desertion
Third Phase
(1917-1918)
The triumph of the Revolution in Russia meant that the country was out of the game
The Triple Entente overcame this setback thanks to the intervention of the United States
Allied counterattacks and the progressive loss of support led the German army to conclude the war
Emperor William II abdicated and the Weimar Republic was proclaimed
The president of the United States proposed a peace plan, known as Wilson’s Fourteen Points