WW1 key points and sequence of events
When was WW1? 1914-1918
Became known as ‘the war to end all wars’.
What were the main background causes of WW1?: (i) Rivalry between the great powers of Europe (see map) Great Britain, France, Russia,
Germany and Austria-Hungary. The ‘-isms’:  Militarism - Military buildup ‘arms race’ the idea that force and power were
legitimate means for a country to develop itself politically and economically.
Wars were good for business in all senses.
 Imperialism – desire to control as much of the world as possible, empire building
has a long history.
 Nationalism – national pride at its aggressive worst. Countries wanting to be the
best, the most and the richest.
(ii) Alliances – military and economic agreements divided Europe into two heavily
armed hostile blocks, conflict seemed inevitable. The ware divided Europe into two
opposing sides: 1. ‘Allies’ who formed the ‘Triple Entente’ – Great Britain, Russia and France (and
after 1917 the USA); and
2. ‘Central Powers’ who formed the ‘Triple Alliance’ – Germany, Austria-Hungary
and Italy, plus The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) who also bought into the alliance.
(iii) A general ‘climate’ of war.
What was the ‘trigger’ for the outbreak of war?
Look at timeline in text p169
Sparked by assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria 28 June 1914, heir to
the Austro-Hungarian throne, while visiting Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia. Incidentally, his
wife Sophie was also killed but this is not given by historians as any part of the reason for
an escalation to war. Austro-Hungarian government blamed Serbia because Serbian
terrorists had threatened to kill the Archduke. It send demands to the Serbian
government which were not met so Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The
alliances of European countries then came into play and as one declared war others were
drawn in as support for their allies. So Russia, allied with Serbia declared war on
Austria-Hungary, and its ally, Germany, declared war on Russia. As Germany invaded
France and Belgium, Britain honoured a treaty it had with Belgium (Treaty of
Washington 1839) and declared war on Germany. Most of Europe ended up embroiled in
the war. Even many neutral countries were drawn in during the course of the war.
Declarations of war:  28 July Austria on Serbia
 1 August Germany on Russia
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3 August Germany on France and invades Belgium
4 August Britain on Germany and WW1 begins
Why did Australia go to war in WW1?
Allegiance to Britain, because Australia was a member of the British Empire. Many
Australians saw it not only as duty but an exciting thing to do.
Was this the right decision/did we have a decision to make?
In many senses we had no decision we were politically and socially part of Great Britain,
even as our own Federated nation (since 1901) and with a constitution we were and still
are not a ‘republic’ with complete political independence. The British monarch was still
our ‘head of state’ which is why we have a ‘Governor General’, the Queen’s
representative in Australia. However, in WW1 Australian troops fought as the Australian
forces not as part of the British forces as in the Boer War.
‘For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict
in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809
men enlisted, of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken
prisoner.’ See Australian War Memorial website (last accessed 7/5/09)
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1.asp.
What could Australia gain from going to war?
We had a lot to lose. We relied on Britain for our own political safety and our economy
was closely tied to the ‘motherland’. Australia supplied a huge amount of primary
produce to Britain and our economy depended on continued trade. Much of the
Australian landmass was and still is owned by British companies.