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On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later, declared war on France. Germany quickly put its military plan, the Schlieffen Plan, into effect. The Schlieffen Plan would send half their troops to defeat France, and then fight Russia. Germany wanted to travel through Belgium, a neutral country, but they refused. Germany then invaded Belgium, which brought Great Britain into the war. On August 4, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Germany and Austria-Hungary was known as the Central Powers, later joined by Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. The other side was Great Britain, France and Russia, and they were known as the Allies, Japan joined it within weeks.
In the summer of 1914, millions of soldiers joined the war, believing it would be short. In the beginning, the Schlieffen Plan worked beautifully, but on September 5, the Allies attacked the Germans and by September 13, the Germans were driven back almost 60 miles. In early 1915, both armies on the Western