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August 1, 2015

Today: 101 Years Ago


On August 1, 1914, four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, two more great European powers—Russia and Germany—declare war on each other; the same day, France orders a general mobilization. The so-called “Great War” that ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of much of the European continent.
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Two days later Germany declares war on France.

2 comments:

Doom said...

You know people had to be able to crunch the numbers and know who was going to win. Then again, America, Australia, and some other nations weren't included in the count. Eventually, it seems, Germany was sure it would win. And, if the EU is completed, and somehow continues, it will have. Then, finally, it will be able to deal with Russia. The more things change, the more they stay the same?

sig94 said...

They (the rulers) were all cousins by marriage when the hostilities broke out. That no longer is in play but it didn't help much back then either. Than that Russia is on it's own (143,500,000 population) and Germany (with 81,100,000) has some measure of an effective fighting force it should be interesting.