Causes:
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie by Serbian person, sparked the start of the war. Austria then wanted Serbia to pay money back to them but Serbia was a poor country. Austria then declared war on Serbia. The teams were, on one side there were the Allies, Russia, Belgium, France, the United States, Japan, and Britain. On the opposite side there was the Central Powers, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary.
The United States at first stayed neutral towards the war but ended up declaring war on Germany in 1917. One of the reasons for declaring war was because of unauthorized German submarines blew up American ships. Another reason is The Zimmermann Telegram. Britain was able to intercept the telegram and hand it over to the United States. The telegram was from Germany to Mexico, saying that Germany will help Mexico gain land back from the United States if they joined Germany.
Weapons and Tactics:
Weapons used:
Bayonets, flamethrowers, grenades, machine guns, pistols, poison gas, rifles, tanks, trench mortars, zeppelin, planes, and torpedoes.
Bayonet
Flamethrower
Machine gun
Trench mortar
War Tactics:
Gas attacks:
Gas was convenient for killing soldiers in trenches. The most common gases used were mustard gas and phosgene gas. Gas masks were worn to protect soldiers but the gas could still kill. Mustard gas caused severe burns, internal and external bleeding, blindness, blisters, and attached the bronchial tubes. Mustard gas could stay active in the mud around the trenches for days. Phosgene gas was nearly odorless and had deadly effects. 36,000 soldiers died from chemical weapons, 85% were from the phosgene gas. Britain developed the PH gas helmet.
PH Gas Helmet:
"Going over the top"
Tens of thousands of soldiers dies from this tactic. When ordered to, soldiers would climbed out from the trenches and would run towards the enemy. This was an easy way for the enemy to shoot them down with machine guns.
Outcome:
The Allies win the war. The long term consequences of the war for the US is increased employment and wages, rise in profit in industries. President Woodrow Wilson had a vision, starting with the League of Nations.
Treaty of Versailles:
Signed June 28, 1919 by Germany and the Allied powers at the Palace of Versailles. The document consisted of 440 articles and multiple annexes. The treaty limited Germany's army to a max of 100,000 men and banned the use of heavy artillery, gas, tanks, and aircraft. The treaty also took away around 13.5% of Germany's territory.
- An estimated 9 million soldiers died at the end of the war.
- New countries in Europe and the Middle East.
