The First World War was unlike any war that had ever been fought before in history. Armies battled not for colonial power or territory, but for loyalty to alliances formed during the 1800s. The obligations owed by the main powers to their respective alliances saw senseless death sprawled across Europe. The spark that started the fire was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire by Serbian nationalists, which would otherwise have remained a relatively minor conflict if it were not for the blind allegiances of the European countries that led all-out war to break out. The entire continent of Europe was drawn into battles that left Europe devastated and caused a chain reaction of events that would shape Europe today. Liege was one of the most important battles fought in the war, as it was the first land battle fought only days after the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance declared war. The battle shook the Allies when they realised that the powerful weapons used by the Germans were able to reduce some of Europe’s strongest fortifications to rubble, which reduced their faith in fixed fortifications as an effective defense. The battle of Liege involved weaponry and technology that was unprecendented, advanced military strategy, and relentless and blatant disregard for the rules of warfare by Germany, which was subsequently repeated in other battles across the continent. Although the battle did not impact heavily upon Germany’s planned invasion of France, the battle resulted in many deaths on both sides in only 12 days...
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