2.  On July 28, 1914, the struggle between Austria-Hungary and Serbia marked the advent of world war one. Obliged to alliance treaties, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France eventually became involved in the conflicts. The involvement of the great nations opened up the Western and Eastern fronts of Germany as it was the situated in the center of the chaos, straying between France and Russia. The first month of the war was turbulent and consistent fighting. Germany initiated attacks on France, while trying to defend the Eastern threats from Russia. Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia in the South.   Late 1914 revolved around the Ottoman Empire because of its conspicuous attrition of power. Big alliances, like that of Britain and France, invaded the Ottoman repeatedly while the empire was in a despairing state

3.   The year 1916 and 1917 marked the era of nascent trench warfare. Soldiers would dig deep trenches to hide from enemy’s heavy fire. Trench conditions could be categorized as one of the worst; soldiers often slept overnight in them, with soaking wet clothes and no protection from cold weather. Two important events also happened in 1917. The first one was declaration of war on Germany by the United States. The second one is Russia’s exit out of the war.  The war ended in 1918 with all the countries signing armistice agreements. The war was stretched way beyond prediction, and widespread epidemic eventually plundered Europe.

4.  1914: The most seminal event that happened in the 1914 was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was suppose to inherit the Austria-Hungary nation. Austria-Hungary declared that Serbia was responsible for the assassination, and the Triple Entente and the Allied forces eventually got involved with this affair. Britain responded to Germany’s attack on Belgium with a combined force of British and French soldiers. The army was able to win decisive battles at the Battle of Mons and the Battle of the Marne, and protected Belgium from the unremitting Germany invasion. Both Britain and Germany started to enhance their navies by ordering and building the most advanced battleships, such as the Dreadnoughts.

5.  1915: As the war continued, people began to discard their hope that the war would end soon. Britain prepared for the worst case scenarios by allowing women to take up professions and work in factories so that more men could be conscripted. Deadly weapons, such as poisonous gas, were utilized at the Battle of Ypres, but didn’t give any blatant advantage. Western front remained as a stalemate with no victories won on either side. Austria-Hungary continued to invade Serbia and Russia in the East. With an advanced and well-equipped navy, Britain was able to cut off German supplies at sea, and Germany had no choice but to respond by sending its’ navy force to confront the blockade. The German navy sank the ship Luistania, which carried over 1200 civilians and 100 Americans amongst. The sinking of Luistania brought United States a step closer to declare war on Germany.

6.  1916: As the stalemate went on, Britain decided to recruit more troops and was able to gather a total of 5 million Britons. Germany thought war of attrition would be the solution to the stalemate but the method obviously didn’t work. Even the implement of tanks into warfare didn’t bring advantage to either side, and the death count was consistently rising. On the seas, Britain and Germany fought at Jutland, and the result was still a stalemate.

7.  1917: The year 1917 was the year of great changes. One of the most seminal changes was Russia’s retreat, and the abdication of the Tsar. Russia went through a period of revolution and rebirth. Once Russia was out of the war scene, Germany started to focus on the western front. Angered by Germany’s encouragement for Mexico to rebel, the United States declared war on Germany and supplied ammunition, troops, and weapons to the Allied forces. Revitalized by the support of United States, the Allied forces made a big advancement, and battles were fought once again at common battle fields of Ypres and Arras

8.  1918: The year 1918 marked the end of the terrifying world war one. Germany made a final push with the final resources but failed. Both sides exhausted their resources beyond prediction, and it was evident that the war was finally coming to an end. On November 11, the Allied forces and Germany signed a treaty and the war was over.

9.  Although world war one only stretched across a period of 4 years, its duration felt more like an eon because of the rapid changes happening to the victimized countries. Each of the four years offered a wide range of seminal events, from the assassination of Archduke to the surrender of the almighty Russia. In summary, the years between 1914 and 1918 reshaped the world into a more industrialized and technologically advanced society, but it also unfortunately laid down the foundation for the macabre world war two.

10.  Bibliography  BBC - History: World War One. 17 9 2010.  Duffy, Michawel. First World War.com. 2000-2009. 17 9 2010.  Evans, Martin Marix. Battles of WWI. London: Arcturus Publishing Limited, 2008. 