WORLD WAR I


The European Origins of World War I

The purpose of this section is to provide some background for American students on the events in Europe that led to WWI.  The student will not be responsible for knowing details of all the individual crises prior to 1914; however, the student should be familiar with the alliance systems, which are listed as one of the long-term causes of World War I.
1866
Germany unifies as one nation
1870-71
Germany defeats France in the Franco-Prussian War
1878
Treaty of San Stefano ends Russo-Turkish War.
1879
Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary
1882
Italy signs secret treaty with Austria-Hungary and Germany (1882)--completes Triple Alliance
1894
Dual Alliance between Russia and France
1904
Entente Cordiale between Britain and France
1905-06
First Moroccan Crisis
1905
First Russian Revolution (1905)
1907
Anglo-Russian Entente completes Triple Entente
1907-1908
First Bosnian Crisis (1907-08)
1908-09
Revolution of "Young Turks" in Ottoman empire (1908-09)
1911
Second Moroccan Crisis (a.k.a. Agadir Crisis), 1911
1912-1913
The Balkan Wars (1912-1913)  
May 1914
The Balkan Crisis
June 28, 1914
Assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (June 28, 1914)

This page last updated December 28, 2005