Around the globe World War One

Invasion of France Germany wanted to strike France quickly before Russia could mobilize They used the von Schlieffen Plan to envelope Paris by sweeping through neutral Belgium This caused the British, who were guaranteeing the independence of Belgium, to enter the war Canada, as a dominion of Britain, had no choice but to enter the war as well

Failure to take Paris Due to quick Russian mobilization, the Germans had to divert troops east. This proved costly, because the German offensive was stopped within eyesight of Paris at the Battle of the Marne The French counter attack had only limited gains, and a stalemate ensued

The Eastern Front Battle on the eastern front was more fluid than the western front because the front was more than double the length The initial Russian offensive into eastern Germany and Austria-Hungary was successful, but it soon slowed The German counterattack at the Battle of Tannenburg killed 100,000 Russians

After Tannenburg, Russia was continually pushed back by Germany They were still doing well against Austria-Hungary In 1916, Romania joined the Entente, but they were soon defeated Ammunition shortages and low morale caused disarray in the Russian armies Their armies started to fall apart An internal revolution caused Russia to stop fighting in late 1917 and sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany

Italian Front Italy opted out of the Triple Alliance and joined the war on the side of the Entente in 1915 in return for territorial promises Italy did not fare well and their army was destroyed in the Battle of Caporetto in 1917 Italy received reinforcements from other Entente countries and counterattacked

Gallipoli The Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of the Triple Alliance in late 1914 In an effort to knock them out quickly, Britain, Australia and New Zealand landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, very close to the Ottoman capital of Constantinople The campaign failed and the British were defeated

African Campaigns Most German colonies in Africa were taken quickly The major exception was in Tanganyika The German/African schutzturppe force there under the command of General von Lottow- Vorbek did not surrender until after Germany surrendered in 1918

Middle East Britain invaded the middle east from both Egypt and Mesopotamia (Iraq) T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) encouraged Sherif Hussein of Mecca to start and Arab revolt Not many Arabs bother Britain has many setbacks in Mesopotamia, but in 1917 they broke through and took Baghdad and Jerusalem

East Asia Japan joined the entente in accord with their alliance with Britain Japan moved rapidly, taking German colonies in China and the pacific Australia and New Zealand took German colonies in the south Pacific Due to their aggressive agenda, there was fear that Japan would switch sides in 1917, but they did not