The History Book

IN CONTEXT

Focus

World War I

Before

1870–71 Defeat for France in the war against Prussia leads to the creation of a powerful German Empire.

1887 Germany orders large shipbuilding initiatives.

1912 The Balkan Wars erupt, hardening Austro-Hungarian attitudes to Serbia.

After

1916 Secret meetings between Britain and France produce the Sykes–Picot Agreement, splitting the Ottoman Empire.

9 November 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, and his imperial government collapses.

1919 At the Paris Peace Conference, stiff terms are imposed on Germany by the victors in the Treaty of Versailles.

Passchendaele, officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was a large-scale ...