International Battles, Wars, Conflicts and Treaties

Belgium’s ports were close to the British coast and German control of Belgium would have been seen as a serious threat to Britain. In the end, Britain refused to ignore the events of 4 August 1914, when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Within hours, Britain declared war on Germany.

In 1915, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I on the side of the Allies—Britain, France and Russia.

The direct cause of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. However historians feel that a number of factors contributed to the rivalry between the Great powers that allowed war on such a wide-scale to break out.

Leapfrogging, also known as island hopping, was a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan and the Axis powers during World War II.

The terms used most frequently at the start of the war to describe the area between the trench lines included ‘between the trenches’ or ‘between the lines’. The term ‘no man’s land’ was first used in a military context by soldier and historian Ernest Swinton in his short story The Point of View.