The Allies and the Axis

The two opposing sides in the Great War were the Allies and the Axis. The Allies were composed of the following countries: The British, the French, the Russians, the Italians, the Serbians,  and the Japanese. The Axis, otherwise known as the Central Powers, were composed of the following countries: the Austro-Hungarians, the Germans, the Ottomans, the Bulgarians. These are just the major factions of both sides of the war, there were many more that are not listed here. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_I

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16380/Allied-Powers

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~raina20s/ww1/play.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102591/Central-Powers

The Domino Effect

The aftermath of the assassination in Austria-Hungary led to  the beginning of countries falling into the war by way of treaty. On July 28 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The Serbians were being backed by the Russians. The Austrian-Hungarians had Germany declare war on Russia in the following days (August 1 1914). France, having a treaty with Russia joined in on the side of Serbia. August 3rd, 1914 Germany declared war on France. on August 4th, 1914, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany, and on the same day Germany invades Belgium, their close neighbor and thus began the Great War.





“This is a dark day and a dark hour. The sword is being forced into my hand. This war will demand of us enormous sacrifice in life and money, but we shall show our foes what it is to provoke Germany.”

– Kaiser Wilhelm II, July 31, 1914

Sources:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1910s/a/World-War-1-Timeline.htm

http://www.worldwar-1.net/

https://theworldwar.org/explore/interactive-wwi-timeline