Europe at 1914-1915

War was declared after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

Battles were mostly fought in two regions, the Western and Eastern Fronts

The Western front was battles between the French, Italians, Britain and Germans and Austria Hungary

The Eastern front was battles between Germany, Austria Hungary and Russia

War of Attrition

The Western Front Germany's plan to attack France: Von Schlieffen plan

Germany to proceed through Belgium, neutral territory

Supply issues and the heat of summer helped to trouble their advance

Capture of Belgium/Britain joins war

Germany in luck till 20 mile in France: war of attrition starts

Battle of the Marne destroyed the Schlieffen Plan

Germany was pushed back to the river Aisne

Western front war continues as the Eastern front begins to loom on the horizon

Google search: Capitol of Belgium in 1914 (Schlieffen Plan would probably work too)

(Google Search: Brussels, Belgium) Sepia and frame added w/Paint.net

(http://www.gwpda.org/photos/coppermine/albums/userpics/normal_00021.jpg)

Google Search: Trench Warfare

Google Search: Trench Warfare

The Eastern Front

Russia entered the Great War with the largest army in the world. She had 1,400,000 soldiers; when fully mobilized, the Russian army increased to over 5,000,000 soldiers. However, Russia could not arm all her soldiers, having a supply of 4.6 million rifles.

Started when Russia invaded East Prussia. Russia made a mistake by attacking Germany and Austria Hungary at the same time.

http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist111/WWI.html

Military Alliances in 1914

Russia was successful against Austria Hungary. Russians occupied the province of Galicia.

In 1914, Russians were badly defeated by the Germans in the Battle of Tannenberg (August) and the Masurian Lakes (September).

Although Russia had six and a quarter million men mobilized by the end of 1914, a third of them were without rifles.

On October 29, 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the war on the side of Germany. Ottoman Empire could block the trade route and equipment from Black Sea to Mediterranean

The beginning of November, Serbians drove out the third Austrian invasion.

http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~worldwarone/WWI/TheGeographyOfTheGreatWar/images/Figure13-Page15.jpg