Around the globe

World War One

Invasion of FranceGermany 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 warCanada, 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 FrontBattle 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 FrontItaly 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 CampaignsMost German colonies

in Africa were taken quickly

The major exception was in TanganyikaThe German/African schutzturppe force there under the command of General von Lottow-Vorbek did not surrender until after Germany surrendered in 1918

Middle EastBritain invaded the

middle east from both Egypt and Mesopotamia (Iraq)

T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) encouraged Sherif Hussein of Mecca to start and Arab revoltNot many Arabs bother

Britain has many setbacks in Mesopotamia, but in 1917 they broke through and took Baghdad and Jerusalem

East AsiaJapan 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