The war took place between the years 1914-1918 between the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, the United States and Italy) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria). The war was the biggest of its time and was also called "the great war" or "the war that will end all wars". During the war, about 10 million soldiers and 6.5 million civilians were killed.
The war broke out following the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, in the city of Sarajevo (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) on June 28, 1914. Franz Ferdinand was shot by a member of the "Young Bosnia" liberation movement that wanted to free the Slavs and Serbs from Austro-Hungarian rule. The murder was the spark that ignited the conflicts that existed in Europe between different countries: between France and Germany (annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany), a struggle for control of Africa between England and Germany, aspiration for independence in the Balkan countries mainly in light of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria, and a struggle between France and England in the empire The Ottoman made an alliance with the Germans.
After the assassination of the heir to the throne, the Austro-Hungarians sent an ultimatum to Serbia, and after the latter did not accept it, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia, which supported the liberation of Serbia, began to move its forces towards Serbia. Germany’s demand that Russia withdraw its forces was answered in the negative, and in early August 1914, the Germans declared war on Russia and its ally France. The German forces invaded Belgium with the aim of reaching France and as a result the British declared war on Germany (August 4, 1914). At the same time Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire only in November 1914, after Turkish ships under German command shelled Russian ports in the Black Sea. Italy joined the Central Powers in 1915, despite being an ally of the Germans and the Austrians, with the aim of annexing territories in South Tyrol that were controlled by the Austrians. A famous battle between the Italians and the Austro-Hungarian army, is the Battle of the Piave River (June 1918), also known in Italy as the "Battle of the Turning Point", a battle in which the Italian army won, repelling the Austro-Hungarian forces The United States joined the war only in 1917 after German submarines attacked merchant ships, and in light of Germany’s offer to Mexico to help it get back the territories of the state of California.
The war ended in 1918 with the surrender of the German and Austro-Hungarian forces .
The Naval War The main naval forces that participated in the fighting were those of England and Germany. The commander of the British fleet was Admiral John Jellicoe followed by David Beatty
In this war submarines were used for the first time, by the German Navy. Initially, many ships were sunk, including merchant ships , but over time the Allied forces developed tactics and techniques to fight submarines
Land of Israel In the Land of Israel and the Sinai Peninsula, battles were fought between British and Russian forces and Ottoman and German forces. Initially, the Central Powers tried to take control of the Suez Canal, an operation that failed, and in 1917 the British forces began to advance towards the Land of Israel, while fighting with the Ottomans who ruled Israel at the time. In October 1917, the British forces arrived in Beer Sheva, where in the Battle of Beer Sheva, the British broke through the Ottoman lines and actually occupied Beer Sheva .
The British continued their advance north. In November 1917, Gedera was captured In November 1917, the Turks tried to stop the forces of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force of the British Army in the battle of Ayun Kara in the Rishon Lezion area. The New Zealand Mounted Brigade participated in the battle
The Ottoman authorities issued a deportation order for the Jews who lived in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, claiming that they wanted to protect them from the attack of the British forces from the sea. But in fact the deportation was because they feared that the Jews could help the British forces. The exiles arrived in several places in Israel: Kfar Saba , Petah Tikva . A monument to the memory of the deportees is placed in the Trumpeldor cemetery in Tel Aviv .
In addition, the Turks dismantled the railway lines mainly to keep the train away from the range of the cannons , and other tracks were extended to accommodate the Hijaz railway (a train that operated between the city of Damascus (Syria) and the country of Hejaz (Saudi Arabia) , , later during the withdrawal of the Turks from the British army, the former destroyed railways, both to not leave them to the British forces and to sabotage their supply options . Later the British Army built a light railway to transport supplies to the soldiers in the forward positions and then expanded the existing tracks to the width of British standards .
The British army crossed the Yarkon River in December 1917 by the 52nd Scottish Division under the command of General John Hill, at several points , . After it was successful, the road was opened north to today’s Herzliya-Netanya region and ten months later the British also occupied the Galilee.
weapons The First World War contributed greatly to the development of the tank. The development of the tank was an initiative of the British Navy (who called it a "land ship"). The first battle in which tanks participated was in 1916 by the British Machine Gun Corps Battle of Flers (Northern France) Mark 1 model .
As mentioned, submarines were used for the first time in this war.
Commemoration Many monuments were erected in different places to commemorate the soldiers and civilians killed in the First World War: London , , , , , , , , , , Cambridge , Anacapri (Italy) , Otranto (Italy) , Panicale (Italy) , Assisi (Italy) , Perugia (Italy) , Noto (Sicily), Italy , New York (United States) , , On the wall of the Paris School of Medicine building is a commemorative plaque for the French doctors who were killed in the war , traces of the bombing of Paris from the air appear in the next sign Precisely in Israel, in the city of Beer Sheva, there is a monument commemorating the Turkish soldiers who acted together with the German forces against the British .
The places on the site that refer to the concept WWI
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