World War I Blog

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1. red_baron23

   June 5, 2011 at 4:27 am

   Allied Forces: France, British Empire, Serbia, Belgium, and Japan (modest recorded pacific theater of WWI), served for the entirety of the War. The Russian Empire was in the war from the beginning but had to pull out when their own country was subjected to a revolution that brought about the Soviet Union. The United States chose to stay out of the war until a telegraph was intercepted in which Germany offered US land to Mexico as a reward for aligning themselves with the Keiser. This prompted a declaration of war on Germany in 1917, and the country served until the end of the war. Italy, a former ally of Germany and Austria-Hungary, did not join their allies for political purposes and joined the Allies in 1915 when the Treaty of London made them a better offer than that which their former allies had place forth. Many other countries played various roles in the war as well.

   Central Forces: The German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were caught up for the entirety. Bulgaria joined in 1915 and fought to the end.

   Political tensions in the early 20th century were at a boiling point. The sides for this war had been drawn up for being. All they needed was a flash to set off the powder keg. That flash came in the form of an assassination. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand (yes, like the band) of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was shot in the street by a Yugoslavian nationalist. This sparked Austria-Hungary and Serbia (the assassin’s home nation) to call upon their allies for help in the approaching war. Being the colonial era, all of these nations had colonies around the world who also joined the fight. Overall, this is one of the widest spreads between violence and rationality in the description of combat.