World War I

World War I World War I officially started on June 28, 1914 when the Serbia Black Hand assassinated Archduke Ferdinand. Ferdinand was heir to the Austrian Hungarian throne. Soon, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. With all of the alliances in Europe, when Germany declared war on Serbia, it was also declaring war on Russia. This chainlike reaction soon involved Britain, Italy and France also.

The first step of each country as to improve on their military. Germany was the quickest because it had already prepared from the Russo-Japanese war. Britain had also begun early to compete with Germany. Germany's first move was to send people to Frances borders to control them. French armies were sent out to protect their borders and the war began.

Many of the advances in warfare were completely new ideas and changed the way wars were fought. Inventions such as mustard gas, U-boats, wireless telegraphy, and trench warfare.

Germans at Princeton -- Weitzer - Lt. Reichenau - ...

British trench near the Albert–Bapaume road at O...

World War II nurses

All of these new ideas were a change for everyone and completely changed how the war would be fought.

In 1915 the Germans developed this new way of stunning their enemy before attacking. They would lob tubes of mustard gas out into the field and shoot at it. The wind would carry the gas inside and disable the men in the trench it was passing over. The gas came in three different types. The first was much like today's tear gas or mace; it caused temporarily blindness and inflammation of the throat to slow breathing. The second was the poisonous gas which, when it comes in contact with moisture, such as the lungs or eyes, it forms into an acid and burns the victim. The third was the most dangerous. It attacked any exposed skin leaving blisters and burning eyes. This gas could hang around in a...