name
period
1914
One of the main causes of the First World War was the alliance system. Most
nations had made agreements with other nations that they would help them if they were
attacked. France feared its neighbor, Germany, and had a treaty with Russia. Russia also
had a treaty with the little kingdom of Serbia. Germany made a deal with AustriaHungary, and with the small nation of Bulgaria. This is the way things were when an
Austrian prince was assassinated in Sarajevo.
After the assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on tiny Serbia, and Russia
stepped up to defend its ally. Germany entered the war on Austria’s side, and France
entered because of its treaty to help Russia. Germany attacked France, but they marched
their troops through the tiny nation of Belgium to get there. Belgium had a treaty with
Britain, so Britain entered the war on the side of the Allies. Later, the Ottoman Empire
entered the war because of a secret treaty with the Central Powers.
By the end of the summer, most of Europe’s nations had chosen sides in the conflict.
The few neutral nations were Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Before
the war was over, other nations had entered on the side of the Allies, including Portugal,
Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, and Romania.
On the map below, color the Allied Powers green, the Central Powers red, and the neutral
countries yellow.
n.
De
Britain
h.
Net
lg.
Be
France
Russia
Germany
AustriaHungary
Switz.
Spain
bia
Ser
ly
Ita
Por
tug
al
Romania
Bulgaria
ania
Alb
Greece
Morocco
Libya
Tunisia
Ottoman Empire
When the war first began, many experts thought that the war would be over quickly.
Germany was worried about having to fight the French and Russians at the same time on
both sides of their country, so they had a plan. The Germans’ plan was to slow the
Russians down in the East, and defeat the French in the West as fast as they could. This
would allow them to quickly knock out France and turn their full strength against Russia.
Germany quickly conquered Belgium and marched into France. At the same time,
the Germans began fighting the Russians in the East. At first, everything was going well for
the Germans. They were moving quickly into France and beating the Russians too. The
original plan was to have one German army attack Paris from the side, and the other swing
around and attack Paris from behind. France fought fiercely against them, and the
Germans decided to change their plan. Instead of moving quickly, the Germans decided to
slow down their attacks. This was a fatal decision.
French troops, with help from the British, stopped the German advance. The
fighting was fierce on both sides. The Battle of the Marne was 5 days of bombs exploding
and machine guns firing. Generals on both sides ordered their troops to charge the enemy,
but that was an old tactic for fighting with muskets. New weapons made this tactic
disastrous. In the end, over 500,000 men were wounded or killed in the fighting. Compare
that to the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, where the casualties on
both sides totaled fewer than 50,000.
Germany’s plan to take France quickly was stopped. The Germans retreated and
dug trenches to protect themselves. Soon, both sides had dug trenches. Everyone now
knew that the war would not end quickly... it would go on and on for years.
Help the soldier find the fresh fish. He is very hungry and wants to eat! Please hurry!
World War I
1914
ACROSS
DOWN
3 Both Germans and the Allies dug
_______ to stand and shoot in.
1 When the Germans attacked France, they
marched their army through _______ .
8 French and British troops stopped the
German advance in the Battle of the
_______ .
2 Archduke Franz _______ was assassinated
while visiting Bosnia.
9 Having a strong feeling of pride in your
country.
10 The area between Austria-Hungary and
the Ottoman Empire is known as The
_______ .
3 Britain, France, and Russia made up the
_______ Entente.
4 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the
Ottomans made up the _______ Powers.
5 This term means one nation takes over
other parts of the world.
6 This term means building up military power.
7 These were agreements between nations to
help each other.