World War I

World War I began on July 28, 1914, and ended on November 11, 1918. Approximately 9 million people were killed in combat.

It all started after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (the Austro-Hungarian heir) by the Bosnian Serb, Princip. Austria-Hungary blade Serbia. In November, the Central Powers consisted of the Ottoman Empire, Germany, and Austria-Hungary and the Allies were Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and Italy (who switched sides in April 1915).

In 1914, Germany planned to defeat France and then defeat Russia but the plan failed. In 1915, Russia was losing. Germany occupied Poland. Submarine warfare begin in 1917 when the US entered the war.

By the end of 1918, the Central Powers were failing. The Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, and ended World War I. The Russian, German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires were dissolved and new countries called Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia were created.

Class Activities:

• Find a map showing the countries before World War I and then after World War I.
• Find out why the US entered the war in 1917.
• What were submarines like in 1917?
• Identify on the map where the battles of WWI were fought.
• What did the US uniforms look like in WWI?

Photo by Rodrigo Rodriguez on Unsplash