World War 1 commenced after considerable tension had been building between the countries of Germany, Austria-Hungary (allied to Germany), England, France and Russia (allied to France). In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie Ferdinand were both shot by a Serbian nationalist by the name Gavrilo Princip, who was part of a group that were called the Black Hand. This murder was the spark that started the war. When the War started in 1914, there were two opposing sides; the Triple Entente, which was made up of the countries of England, France, and Russia, and the Triple Alliance, which was made up of the countries of Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy. The Italians’ alliance with the Germans was fragile, and would only remain in place if the Germans were on the defensive side, but when the German troops attempted to invade France by going through Belgium, the alliance they had with Italy was no more, so Italy joined forces with the Triple Entente.
At the beginning of the war, England called upon Australia to bring forth 50,000 men between the ages of 18 and 35, however, by the end of 1915, the maximum age was raised to 45 years old. When the valiant, and adventurous young Australian men set out to do their part in WW1 and assist their mother country in battle, they were expecting glory, fame, and heroism, but that was far from what they got. They were quickly introduced to the horrors of battle and many died within their first few weeks in the trenches. New weapons such as tanks, rifles and poisonous gases were introduced and made trench warfare a living hell for those involved, causing thousands of more deaths than in any previous war our world had seen. This is why World War one is also referred to as, The Great War.
At the beginning of the war, England called upon Australia to bring forth 50,000 men between the ages of 18 and 35, however, by the end of 1915, the maximum age was raised to 45 years old. When the valiant, and adventurous young Australian men set out to do their part in WW1 and assist their mother country in battle, they were expecting glory, fame, and heroism, but that was far from what they got. They were quickly introduced to the horrors of battle and many died within their first few weeks in the trenches. New weapons such as tanks, rifles and poisonous gases were introduced and made trench warfare a living hell for those involved, causing thousands of more deaths than in any previous war our world had seen. This is why World War one is also referred to as, The Great War.