Who were the central powers?
The central powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and after World War One started the Ottomans joined. Together they faced the Allies in brutal warfare for the first World War.
Austria-Hungary- Gavrillo Princip (Black Hand- Serbia) kills Archduke Ferdinand (heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne)
- The Black Hand was so secret that Austria-Hungary did not know it was them and blamed Serbia as a whole, so they declared war on Serbia, starting World War One.
- This was the spark that set off the fire
Here is a video that explains the method behind the assassination of the Archduke
-The War
- Austria-Hungary starts attacking Serbia, Russia is there to defend and after Russia attacks Austria-Hungary, Germany comes in to defend Austria-Hungary.
- On the eastern front they helped slow Russia’s movements
- Germany, fighting a war on two fronts, were struggling for resources, Austria-Hungary was there to provide assistance
- The Battles of the Isonzo were against Italy and Austria-Hungary successfully held off Italy and protected Germany
-Before the War
- Exploiting the coal and iron reserves in their land, Germany started to become one of the leading industrial powers in Europe
- This industrialization naturally led the the creation of a strong military and navy, challenging Great Britain to an arms race.
-The War
- Didnt want to fight a war on two fronts so they wanted to attack France to prevent that war on two fronts
- They used the Von Schlieffen plan
- Here is a link to a page that goes over the Von Schlieffen Plan in depth
- Germany attacks France by going around them through the north through Belgium (neutral)
- GB hates how Germany would invade a neutral country to get to France, so they decide to join war
- As a result, Germany can't invade France so they fight the war one two fronts
- This lead to Germany engaging in trench warfare along the Western Front with France, creating a stalemate and battle of attrition using up resources and soldiers
- This left the homefront with a lack of food, causing the civilians to starve
Turkey = Ottoman Empire
-Before the war
-Before the war
- Known as “the sick man of Europe”: unindustrialized and falling apart
- Population: 25 million
- The young turks took over the Ottoman Empire while it was weak and reformed it building up a military
- Entered the war on the Central Powers on Oct. 29, 1914
- They were not industrialized and not nearly as powerful as the other countries
- Leaned on the Central powers for help and power
- Fought in eastern Asia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the Dardanelles
- Started cleaning up their country
- Abolished the Capitulations, the autonomous status of Lebanon was ended, and the Armenian genocide was to eliminate any support for the enemy
- Battle of Gallipoli: the Ottoman Empire stops the allies from supplying Russia
- Russia would not have surrendered if they were able to be supplied
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire:
- Click here to learn about some of the main events that led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
- After their defeat, the Treaty of Versailles divided the Ottoman Empire into 3 parts: Turkey received about a quarter of the land, three quarters were made into a protectorate of Great Britain and France, and a small part was made into Palestine and promised to the Jews and Arabs
Sources
- "Black Hand." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
- "Second German Empire." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
- "Ottoman Empire." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/111081>.
- "Germany". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2015 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/231186/Germany/58199/World-War-I>.
- "World War I." Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/110198>.
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