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World War I History - World War I

World War I History - World War I
Tensions had been brewing throughout Europe–especially in the troubled Balkan region of southeast Europe–for years before World War I actually broke out. A number of alliances involving European powers, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and other parties had existed for years, but political instability in the Balkans (particularly Bosnia, Serbia and Herzegovina) threatened to destroy these agreements. The spark that ignited World War I was struck in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand—heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire—was shot to death along with his wife Sophie by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. Princip and other nationalists were struggling to end Austro-Hungarian rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina. But because Russia supported Serbia, Austria-Hungary waited to declare war until its leaders received assurance from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany would support their cause. Related:  WWI

Fromelles and Pozieres: A look back at two of Australia's bloodiest WWI offensives Updated This week marks 100 years since the World War I battles of Fromelles and Pozieres — two of the deadliest and most gruesome in Australia's military history. Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek. Video: The battles of Fromelles and Pozieres: 100 years on (ABC News) In an attempt to feint and distract German forces who were battling the French and British on the Somme in the south, Australian forces were sent into Fromelles, about 100 kilometres north, at 6:00pm on July 19, 1916. It was Australia's introduction to the Western Front — the main theatre of the war — after spending months fighting in Gallipoli, and the results were disastrous. Fromelles: 'Don't forget me, cobber' It is estimated there were some 5,500 Australian casualties on the first day — the greatest loss in a single day in Australia's history. By 8:00am the next morning the Battle of Fromelles was over, with Australian forces forced to withdraw. Pozieres: 'My friends are raving mad'

American Revolution History - American Revolution For more than a decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, tensions had been building between colonists and the British authorities. Attempts by the British government to raise revenue by taxing the colonies (notably the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Tariffs of 1767 and the Tea Act of 1773) met with heated protest among many colonists, who resented their lack of representation in Parliament and demanded the same rights as other British subjects. Colonial resistance led to violence in 1770, when British soldiers opened fire on a mob of colonists, killing five men in what was known as the Boston Massacre. After December 1773, when a band of Bostonians dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, an outraged Parliament passed a series of measures (known as the Intolerable, or Coercive Acts) designed to reassert imperial authority in Massachusetts.

Caricature Map of Europe 1914 The Clanker Powers: Germany is a massive military machine with weapons aimed outwards to all surrounding countries. It points threateningly at Britain, not so much as a sign of direct aggression, but more as an indicator that it was now Germany’s turn to start a grand global Empire to challenge the world’s current one. Austria Hungary is an aggressive armoured giant, teetering on shoddy foundations. It is also the primary aggressor in a land grab against Serbia, with two bayonets piercing the border. The Ottoman empire is a teetering automaton, collapsing under the weight of a paranoid and ungainly spying network that gazes at Europe through many lenses and spy glasses. The Swiss watch ticks away the time, comfortable to wait it all out. The Darwinist Powers: Britain is an militaristic lion with a Roman Imperial italic-type helmet. Russia is a huge imperialist bear, rotting and filled with maggots. Portugal is a parrot for the Entente trying to goad a slumbering Spain into the war.

Guatamala's Maya Society Featured Huge 'Megalopolis,' LiDAR Data Show Learn how your family history is connected to the human journey with National Geographic’s Geno 2.0 DNA ancestry kit. In what’s being hailed as a “major breakthrough” in Maya archaeology, researchers have identified the ruins of more than 60,000 houses, palaces, elevated highways, and other human-made features that have been hidden for centuries under the jungles of northern Guatemala. Using a revolutionary technology known as LiDAR (short for “Light Detection And Ranging”), scholars digitally removed the tree canopy from aerial images of the now-unpopulated landscape, revealing the ruins of a sprawling pre-Columbian civilization that was far more complex and interconnected than most Maya specialists had supposed. Garrison is part of a consortium of researchers who are participating in the project, which was spearheaded by the PACUNAM Foundation, a Guatemalan nonprofit that fosters scientific research, sustainable development, and cultural heritage preservation.

Missed In History: The Gallipoli Campaign | Stuff You Missed in History Class Water carriers take a break from carting water to the front lines at Gallipoli during the heat of the summer months. Date unknown. (Photo by Philip Schuller/Fairfax Media via Getty Images) I’ve been watching a lot of “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” … and reading a lot of them, too. Thanks to Oxford University Press for sending us a review copy of “Great Battles: Gallipoli” by Jenny Macleod, which was one of the sources for the show today. Our listener mail is from Jeff, who writes about segregation in Nevada following our Harlem Hellfighters episode. Episode link: The Gallipoli Campaign My research: Australian War Memorial. You can listen to Stuff You Missed in History Class via iTunes and the Stuff You Missed in History Class RSS feed.

Mass Grave in England May Hold a ‘Lost’ Viking Army In the mid-ninth century, a Viking military force known as the Great Heathen Army invaded England. It marked the transition among Vikings from raiding cities to conquering them, and is considered an important historical event in the creation of England. Yet for decades, no one could find any archaeological evidence to back this up. Now, a group of researchers at the University of Bristol in England think they might have found that evidence—i.e., the soldiers’ bones. However, initial carbon dating placed the skeletons in earlier centuries, leading researchers to conclude that they couldn’t be Viking soldiers. It was only after adjusting for Vikings’ seafood diet that researchers were able to correctly carbon date them to the 9th century. VIDEO: Viking Women – In Viking society, women enjoyed a surprising degree of autonomy and independence. The bones come from a mass grave of at least 264 skeletons at St. Other clues support the theory that these are remnants of the Viking army.

WW1 Battlefields of the Western Front The long line of battlefields that makes up the Western Front runs through a wide variety of landscapes in south-west Belgium, north-eastern and eastern France. The battle lines wind their way across the countryside from the sand dunes and flat, reclaimed sea level land on the Belgian coast in the north, to the mountain peaks at 1,400 metres (4,500 feet) above sea level in the Vosges mountain range at its southern end. From a geographical point of view the range of landscapes on which the Western Front battlefields were established include sand, clay, chalk and rock, rivers, canals, valleys and cliffs, ridges and mountains, plains, forests and swamps. Map of the 1914-1918 Western Front Battlefields The grey shaded areas on the map illustrate the battlefield areas of the 1914-1918 Western Front from its northern end on the Belgian coast to the village of Pfetterhouse on the Swiss frontier at its southern end. Belgian Wallonia: Liège, Namur and Mons Back to Western Front Map>> Antwerp

4,400-Year-Old Egyptian Tomb Discovered in Ancient Burial Ground Archaeologists have uncovered a 4,400-year-old Egyptian tomb that they believe belonged to a high-ranking priestess. The Egyptian government revealed the new discovery on February 3, 2018, noting that this tomb on the Giza plateau contains rare wall paintings. The researchers say this tomb belonged to Hetpet, a priestess for the goddess Hathor. “The tomb is in very good condition,” said Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, according to the New York Times. Egyptian archaeologists unveil the tomb of an Old Kingdom priestess adorned with well-preserved and rare wall paintings. pic.twitter.com/a0eXSfD3pf— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 3, 2018 Hetpet’s tomb stands in the Saqqara necropolis, a famous burial ground for the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. The Antiquities Ministry said that Hetpet’s tomb matches the Fifth Dynasty’s style and architecture.

WW1 Research and Sources of Information The Great War of 1914-1918 is a vast subject. Listed here are links to our pages or direct links to other websites covering some of the more specialist areas of World War 1 archives and resources for research. You will find information on a variety of resource material for research on this subject including archives and libraries, military records, maps, museums, schools resources and what records are available to help you trace WW1 family history. Information on this page features: Academic Study Educational establishments committed to the study of the First World War can be found on our page of organizations at: Organizations for WW1 Academic Study Archives, Military Records and Publications Archives and records dating back to the 1914-1918 war are held for individuals and military units in a variety of museums and archive collections. Some public records listings are available to buy in book form or on CD Rom. Miltary Records for Tracing WW1 Family History Tracing WW1 Family History

Historians and Government Shutdowns By Donald A. Ritchie Federal government shutdowns are never in the best interest of historians. The government shutdown of 2013 forced the closure of all National Parks, including the National Mall. Although an enforced paid leave may seem like a gift, especially during the busy holiday season, most of the federal historians that I’ve dealt with have rued the experience. In the ever-ongoing budget disputes between the executive and legislative branches, Congress occasionally missed a deadline without federal employees being furloughed. When Clinton vetoed their appropriations bills, House Republicans led by Speaker Newt Gingrich chose to not to pass compromise measures but to let government spending lapse. The poster child of the massive 1995–96 shutdown was the 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. That crisis ended with the kind of budget compromise between the branches and the parties that they should have reached beforehand. Donald A.

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