Western Front Essay

The United States was under attack despite its neutrality by Germany’s pursuit of submarine warfare. The first phase was the actions that set the seeds. The main cause for war ultimately was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. A gang of Yugoslav nationalist who didn’t like being part of Austria-Hungary shot Franz Ferdinand while he was in Sarajevo. Swiftly, Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia. Russia came in to aid Serbia, so Germany decided to declare war on Russia. Knowing that France would go to war with Germany, Germany decided to attack France quickly and invaded via neutral Belgium and Luxembourg. Because of this Great Britain stepped in to stop the Germans from getting any closer. It was a mess of allegiances and

Germany marched on Paris, but was stopped by the French. Both sides dug themselves into trenches in what became known as the Western Front. On the Eastern Front, the Russians invaded Austria-Hungary, but was stopped in Eastern Prussia by the Germans. The Ottoman Empire joined in on the site of the Central Powers in 1914. More and more nations from all over the world joined the fight as the war spread across Europe. However, once Russia backed out of the war the fighting was no longer taking place on the Eastern Front. The main focus became the Western Front. Which became very famous for its trench warfare, where they fought there for numerous years. Trench warfare was quite terrible. Each army would dig a long network of trenches in the ground, fortifying the front with barbed wire and sandbags. It was a long stalemate where neither side dared advance on the other. It was also known for introducing a lot of new technologies, such as the tank, flamethrowers, and the use of chemicals and gases. People were not the only ones affected by chemicals and gases animals were also. Men, women, children, and animals had to wear gas mask for protection. Machine guns were a new and very affective weapon. When the time was right, the army would climb up over the top and charge across no-man’s land to the enemy’s trench and capture it. Thus, gaining more land and taking another step