The First World War

📋 Course Outline

1. Origins and Outbreak of War
2. Fronts and Phases of Combat
3. Industrial Warfare and Verdun
4. Soldiers, Mutinies, and Violence
5. Civilians and Total War

📅 Key Dates

1. 28 June 1914The assassination in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne triggered a generalized conflict involving most European powers
2. 2 August 1914France launched mobilization; on 3 August 1914, Germany declared war on France
3. 21 February to 19 December 1916The Battle of Verdun lasted 300 days and involved 700,000 soldiers
4. 1917Soldiers faced the threat of the most formidable weapons, contributing to mutinies in which they refused to fight
5. 1924The French Senate again refused to grant women the right to vote despite their wartime mobilization

📖 1. Origins and Outbreak of War

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Sacred Union : a government supported by all the political parties of the same country

📝 Essential Points

• The Central Powers were the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.

• Systems of alliances became linked together and led to the First World War.

💡 Memory Hook

Sarajevo assassination → alliances → generalized war

📖 2. Fronts and Phases of Combat