First Great War (Russian Reversal)

The First Great War (FGW) was a global war centred mostly in Europe, along with the Second Mexican-American War on the North American continent, which began on the 4th of August 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It was predominantly called the  Great War or the World War from its occurrence until the start of Second Great War (World War II)  in 1938, and the First Great War or World War I thereafter. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies, based on the Triple Entente of the United States, France and Russia, (with the United Kingdom entering the war as an independent actor) and the Central Powers (originally the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Mexico; (but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement and with Romania's entering of the war the name changed.)  These alliances both reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of technological advancements that led to enormous increases in the lethality of weapons without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes, such as revolutions in many of the nations involved.

Background
In the 19th century, the major European powers had gone to great lengths to maintain a balance of power throughout Europe, esulting in the existence of a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent by 1900. These had started in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Then, in October 1873, German Chancellor Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors (German: Dreikaiserbund) between the monarchs of Austria–Hungary, Russia and Germany. This agreement failed because Austria–Hungary and Russia could not agree over Balkan policy, leaving Germany and Austria–Hungary in an alliance formed in 1879, called the Dual Alliance. This was seen as a method of countering Russian influence in the Balkans as the Ottoman Empire continued to weaken. Starting in 1881, Russia began to go through major political changes within the government set off by another failed assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II, which resulted in Russia becoming a constitutional monarchy by 1883. These changes further weakened relations between the Germanic nations and Russia, forcing the large country to look for new partners, which lead to closer relations with the United States. The German shelling of villages in Samoa and the subsequent stand off between the navies of Germany, the United States, and later Russia (Who's government offered support to the American side) lead the German Empire to open relations with Mexico.

After 1893, a European conflict was averted largely by a Russo-French military alliance and careful dimlomacy between the German Empire and the remainder of Europe orchestrated by Bismarck. He especially worked to hold Russia at bay as to avoid a two-front war with France. On the North American continent on the other hand, the situation began to grow more tense as Germany continued to invest heavily in Mexico's industry and economy. Flooded with prospects the Mexican government began to invest in their military and war industires, out right planning to over take the United States as a military power.

In 1904, the United Kingdom signed a series of agreements with France, the Entente Cordiale, and in 1906 Mexico joined the Dual Alliance which officially changed it into the Triple Allience, the United States signed into the French-Russian Allience to counter Mexico a few months later, the system of interlocking bilateral agreements became known as the Triple Entente.

Meanwhile, Germany's industrial and economic power had grown greatly after unification and the foundation of the Empire in 1871. Thus, by the  mid-1890s  Wilhelm II used this base to devote significant economic resources for building up the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy), established by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, in rivalry with the British Royal Navy for world naval supremacy. As a result, each nation strove to out-build the other in terms of capital ships. With the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906, the British Empire expanded on its significant advantage over its German rival. The arms race between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe and later to the North American continent with all the major powers devoting their industrial base to producing the equipment and weapons necessary for a full out continental war.