World War I 12 Things To Know

World War I 12 Things To Know — page 1 — 1 War to End All Wars Begins Before World War I many European countries had agreements with other countries The countries would support each other in times of war There was peace in Europe in early 1914 but it did not last was the capital of the province of Bosnia Herzegovina Austria Hungary annexed Bosnia Herzegovina in 1908 The archduke was the heir to the throne of Austria Hungary On June 28 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were shot and killed in Sarajevo This city Serbia shared a border with Bosnia Herzegovina Many Serbs lived in the newly annexed province This map shows European alliances during World War I 4

World War I 12 Things To Know — page 2 — 25 Number of Bosnian citizens tried for planning the assassination of the archduke So Germany responded to the threat by sending in troops as well France had an agreement with Russia and was soon at war with Germany as a result Great Britain declared war on Germany in support of France Soon most European countries found themselves at war in support of their alliances Before World War I many European countries had support agreements with each other Gavrilo Princip a Bosnian Serb killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28 1914 Austria Hungary declared war against Serbia on July 28 1914 The United States said it would remain neutral World War I began as support for the two sides grew Germany Austria Hungary and their allies made up the Central Powers Great Britain France Belgium and Russia made up the Allied Powers A Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip killed the archduke Princip was part of a group called the Black Hand The group hoped to create a union between Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina President Woodrow Wilson said the United States would remain neutral Many people thought the war would be over by Christmas That did not happen Austria Hungary demanded Serbia punish members of the Black Hand But Serbia did not agree So Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28 1914 Russia sent troops to support Serbia Germany saw this as a threat since it had an alliance with Austria Hungary Archduke Franz Ferdinand his wife Sophie Duchess of Hohenberg and their children 5

World War I 12 Things To Know — page 3 — 2 United States Declares War on Germany The war dragged on and on British and French soldiers fought German soldiers at the First Battle of the Marne the Battle of Verdun and many others These battles took place on the Western Front in France and Belgium Russia attacked Germany and Austria Hungary on the Eastern Front coded message to its ambassador in Mexico The message was called the Zimmermann Telegram after the German foreign minister who sent it The British intercepted the telegram They decoded it and released the message It proposed that Mexico attack the United States after joining the war as a German ally Americans were outraged President Wilson Soldiers at Verdun France in 1916 US citizens still did not want to go to war But many changed their minds in January 1917 Germany sent a 6

World War I 12 Things To Know — page 4 — admitted war now seemed unavoidable On January 31 1917 Germany announced its submarines would sink any ships entering the war zone around Great Britain This included US vessels The announcement made it clear that being neutral was no longer possible Attacking neutral vessels was an act of war The United States declared war on Germany Arthur Zimmermann on April 6 1917 was the German foreign secretary from 1916 to 1917 29 Number of submarines in the German U boat fleet at the beginning of the war Germany sent a message to Mexico asking it to attack the United States On January 31 1917 Germany declared it would sink all ships in the war zone around Great Britain including those from neutral nations The United States declared war on Germany on April 6 1917 NAMING THE WAR During the war Americans did not call the conflict in Europe World War I They called it the European War World War or Great War President Woodrow Wilson called it the War to End All Wars In 1941 the United States entered a new war in Europe President Franklin D Roosevelt publicly called that conflict World War II After that the war of 1914 to 1918 was called World War I or the First World War 7

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