World War 1 Summary

On June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. A surge of threats and mobilization commands followed the incident. That led to the outbreak of World War I which was fought between the Central and the Allied Powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire made up the Central Powers, while Russia, the British Empire, France and the United States were a part of the Allied Powers.
On July 5, Kaiser Wilhelm stealthily promised his assistance, giving Austria-Hungary Germany’s assurance in the case of a war breaking out. The Serbian government was convinced that Vienna was preparing for war. That led to the Serbian government ordering their army to mobilize and pleaded to Russia for assistance. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia within a week. Russia entered the war with the most immense army in the world with 1,400,000 soldiers.
Germany was fighting battles on two fronts during the war. On the Eastern Front of World War I, Russian forces conquered Eastern Prussia and Poland, but were brought to a halt by German and Austrian armies at the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914. When the German forces overpowered the Russians at Tannenberg, it was depicted as payback for the defeat of the order five hundred years ago. The Red Army attack

Constant defeats on the battlefield and chronic food shortages fed the increasing grievances among Russia’s population, especially the indigent workers and peasants. This discontent led to the Russian Revolution of 1917, headed by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. One of his first actions as the leader was to call an end to Russia’s participation in World War I. Russia came to an armistice with the Central Powers in early December 1917. Lenin’s government made peace with Germany, nationalized industry and doled out