World War 1

This blog is used for the sole purpose as a learning resource tool on World War 1. It provides a brief overview of the war with the use of videos and images to further explain some areas some areas.

The Cause of the War
 It is believed that the cause of World War 1 began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary Empire and is wife Sophie. The assassination happen on the 28th June, 1914 when the Archduke and his wife were touring Sarajevo in an open car with very little security. With the assassination many countries blamed the Serbian government for the attack against the Austria-Hungary Empire, especially the empire itself when it declared war on Serbian on July the 28th. As Russia supported Serbia with the war Russia allies, France and Britain were also involved in the war because of the Triple Entente Alliance they had formed. Austria-Hungary Empire were supported by the Germans because of the Triple Alliance they formed with Italy in 1907. With all the world's great power suddenly involved the war that was caused by two people being assassinated is now known as World War 1.

The video below provides a brief overview of the alliance system and the outbreak of the war.

Australia Involvement with the WW1
The First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war with each other on the August 1914, after Prime Minister Andrew Fisher's, Australia Prime Minister at the time, government pledged full support for Britain. Surprising the outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm as it allowed Australia to prove itself to be a independent nation. Many young men were enthusiastic to volunteer to be involved in the war where they would be trained in Egypt for a couple of weeks before they were sent out to find the war in Gallipoli, Turkey.

Australia's early involvement in the Great War included the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force that landed at Rabaul on 11 September 1914 who took possession of German New Guinea at Toma on 17 September 1914.

On 25 April 1915 members of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) landed at Gallipoli together with troops from New Zealand, Britain, and France. This began a campaign that ended with the evacuation of troops on 19 and 20 December 1915. Following Gallipoli, Australian forces fought campaigns on the Western Front and in the Middle East.

(Australian War Memorial, n.d.)

For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner. This may be also because of the living conditions that the soldiers had to bare during the war. The men had to stay in muddy trenches that were dug up to be used to hide, attack and defend themselves from the enemies.











Ending of World War 1
August 11, 1918, signified the beginning of the Allied troops combined their forces to stop the Germans at their border. As the British, French and American armies advanced, the alliance between the Central Powers began to collapse after a continues stalemate in the previous years between the two sides . On the morning of 11 November, 1918 Germany finally signed an armistice with Great Britain and their allies that signified the official end date of the four bloody year conflict known as World War One. The term of the agreement called

America troops at the front celebrate the end of the fighting, Nov 11, 1918

for cessation of fighting along the entire Western Front to begin at precisely 11 AM that morning.

In 1919 on June Herman Muller, foreign minister, and Johannes Bell, colonial minister, signed the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of Germany.







Informative video on the Treaty of Versailles:

 
Reference List:

A&E Television Networks. (2013). World War 1. Retrieved 9 June 2013 from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/archduke-franz-ferdinand-assassinated

Australian War Memorial. (n.d.). First World War 1914-18. Retrieved 21 April 2013 from: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1.asp

Ibis Communications. (2004). Eye Witness to History. Retrieved 9 June 2013 from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/armistice.htm

mrallsop. (2008). Outbreak of WW1. Retrieved 9 June 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCbNE3ToePA

 WAtchMojo. (2010). World War 1 - Treaty of Versailles. Retrieved 23 May 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKzZ1OwPXgk

Note: Some sections of the text are from the website listed above. All rights reserved go towards them for there helpful information.