Pre-WWI Map of Europe

World War I

Countries built large armies to deter other neighbouring nations from war
Cause of war is most likely the alliances and the belief that war was good for
 nations, defining who is them, who is us?
Ukislav did not appreciate being part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire
Leads to the shooting of the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand in Serajevo by Serbian
Nationalist Gavrilo Princip (June 28 1914)

Ottoman Empire Austrian-Hungarian Declares war Serbia

Empire

Allies Allies
Declares war

Germany Declares war Russia

Knowing that France

Declares war will attack

Belgium Luxembourg France

Allies
Great Britain

Declares war
Allies

United States of
America
Allied and Central Powers were formed Germans
The battle of Marnes was fought from sinking
5-12 of September 1914. It resulted in the
USS Lusitania
allies halting the Germans advance into France and led to the Germans retreating
north-west, leading to the Race to the Sea. This was a victory for the Allies and set
stages for the 4 year long trench warfare on the Western Front.
The Great War was the dawn of modern warfare with chemical weapons, aircrafts,
engines and machine guns
Germany advanced as far as Paris, but when they reached Paris, the French and
already dug trenches and created what is known as the Western Front. This aso
happened to the Russians when they invaded the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and
were stopped by the Germans with their Eastern Front
Machine guns were introduced and had immediate effect on trench warfare, proving
to be extremely effective. Barbed wire and sand bags were also essential for
machine guns to be effective.
ANZACs helped fight the Ottoman Empire at Gallipoli
By 1916, both sides of the war had lost thousands of men and the war had become
a stalemate
Thousands of French men died at Verdant due to chlorine gas released by the
Germans
Battle of Somme happened from 1, July 1916, till 18, November 1916. This was the
battle where tanks were first introduced.
The Western Front was only 400 miles as the crow flies
Over 15 million dead and 20 million wounded due to WW1
Most major cause of death was disease, influenza killed 3 times more than the war
 itself
Reason why war was so deadly-new technology and outdated tactics
Although Britain maintained control over the seas, Germany added a new dimension
for marine warfare by introducing submarines. This is also when they started
unrestricted submarine warfare and sank Lusitania (America enters the war).
The war brought up the Bolsheviks, which was a disaster for Russia.
The February Revolutions overthrew the Tsars (the Royal family that had been ruling
Russia forever), later in October the Bolsheviks took over and started communism in
Russia.
1917-Russia then signed a ceasefire with Germany so that they could deal with their
own civil war. This is also the time when USA finally joins the war
1918- American reinforcements kept on arriving and eventually, the allied forces took
over Central Powers. This lead to Italy, the Balkans and the Austrian-Hungarian,
Bulgaria and the Ottomans out of the war.
Germany surrendered at 11:00am on the 11th of November in 1918
Treaty of Versailles was signed declaring that Germany was to blame for the cause
of the war and forced to pay for the damages. This led to Germanys economy being
devastated and they only just repaid it in 2010.

World War 2
Due to the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans got rid of the Keiser and became a
republic.
Adolf Hitler and an Austrian politician rose to power and started to lead the country
Communist right wings in Russia and Fascists left wings in Germany, WHne Hitler
became leader of the Nationalist Socialist Party, Nazi Party, he promised his people
that he would restore the countrys fame and prosperity
1930s, anti-Semitist propaganda was promoted and the ideal of the Aryan race was
introduced. Sought to exterminate ethnic minorities
1937, Germany allied with Japan and Italy to create the Axis Powers
World War 2 began when Japan invaded Manchuria 1931 or at the very latest when
Japan invaded China in 1937
As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany couldn't mobilise troops in the
Rhinelands, the east border of France. However they did just that and invaded
Austria who also joined the Third Reich and then Czechoslovakia
The rape of Nanking when hundred of thousands of Chinese were killed, which still
affects relations between China and Japan even now.
Adolf Hitler started the rapid militarisation of Germany which inevitably started war.
This was supported by a new style of combat called Blitzkrieg, a devastating tactic
combining quick movement of troops, tanks and massive use of air power to support
infantry movements.
In the early stages of the war, this tactic was very effective which led to the
conquering of Norway, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands and later all of France all
within the time of 9 months between the fall of 1939 ad the summer of 1940.
After knocking out most of Central Europe, the Germans set their sights on Great
Britain
The Battle of Britain was basically the duel between the Royal Airforce and the
 Luftwaffe(German air force).
Although the RAF denied Germany total control of British airspace, the Nazis were
still able bomb Great Britain over and over again, which was known as the Blitz.
1941- The Nazis invaded Russia (Operation Barbarossa) and in turn breaking the
Non-aggression pact between them that the two powers signed in 1939. However,
the Nazis were not prepared for winter and lost 150 divisions/approx.. 3 million men
due to it. This was a turning point as it broke Hitlers string of successes and he lost
many men.
This lead to the biggest capitalist countries and the biggest communist one coming
together as allies

When the USA cut all its supplies to Japan, the Japanese decided to surprise attack
the Americans naval base on Pearl Harbour. This attack led to the USA entering the
war yet again.
Allied scientists started to work on weapons of mass destruction
1943, Italy surrenders and gets a new leader
1944 June 6th was D-Day. Allied troops landed in Normandy and secured their place
in France. Russia also used its massive army to launch a counterattack on the
Eastern Front.
1945 8th of May, Germany surrenders. Victory in Europe
6th of August, the USA drops the first ever atomic bomb on to Hiroshima which led to
90000-166000 casualties in Hiroshima.
Russia declares war on Japan to force a surrender, but they refuse to do so. Second
atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki where a further 39000-
80000 people are killed
15th of August, Japan finally surrenders, which ended the second world war.
Turning Points/Major events

WW1
1914-Everyone declares war, however America stays neutral
1915-Italy joins the war alongside with the Allied Powers with the declaration of war
against the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
1914- The Race to the Sea set the trenches that led to the 4 years of stalemate
1915-USS Lusitania is sunk, ultimately leading to the USA entering the war. The
USA would tip the scales into the Allies favour
1915- The battle of Verdun, in an attempt to break free of the stalemate, the
Germans launched a massive attack on the city of Verdun but unfortunately for the
Germans, the French hold off the Germans and the stalemate was never broken
1915-1916- The battle of Gallipoli was a war to gain control over the Dardanelles
Strait which allowed the Allies easy access to Russia. The strait was closed when
the Ottoman Empire entered the war.
1917- The Russian Revolution also impacted the war as it led to the withdrawal of
Russia from World War 1 and led to an Armistice to be signed between them and
Central Powers.
1919- The Final Showdown was Germanys last move against France in an attempt
which successfully pushed back the allies 40 miles. But due to the freshly arrived
American reinforcements the allies fought back and led to Germany requesting an
Armistice, thus ending the war
1919- The Treaty of Versailles

WW2
1939- The Nazis invade Poland causing Britain and France to declare war on
Germany.
1940- The Nazis then invaded France with their new strategy the Blitzkrieg which
allowed the Germans to capture Paris and led to the evacuation of French and
British troops.
1940- The Nazis continued their warfare and then bombed London, which led to the
beginnings of The Battle of Britain
1942- The Japanese bomb Pearl harbour after USA cease to give supplies to Japan
1942- The battle of Midway was the USAs most important naval battle which led to
the Japaneses navy to be permanently damage.
1942- The battle of Stalingrad was when Russia defeated Germany at Stalingrad to
mark a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front.
1944- D-Day is when American reinforcement troops arrive and allow French troops
to claim back France.
1945- The USA drop 2 atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese
surrender and leads to the end of the Second World War

Advancements in Technology

WW1
Tanks
Flamethrowers
Poison gas
Aeroplanes
Hydrophones
Machine guns
Tracer bullets
Aircraft carriers
 Napkins

WW2
Tanks
Penicillin
Jerrycan
Pressurised cabins
Radio navigation and landing
Atomic bomb
Small arms
The first computer
Bombsight