Background to the War
Tension
Previous to the war there was a lot of tension between the great powers of the world. Tension is a strained relationship between individuals or a group.
The Naval Race is a great example of tensions previous to the war. A naval race is a huge increase in the amount of battleships and men in the navy due to the rivalry of other countries. At first Britain didn’t take much notice of the increase in German navy. however when Germany called upon a Second Naval law of 1900, which would double in the amount of battleships built by 1916, Britain’s ears perked up. The law would require the building of 41 new battleships and a total of 60 cruisers in Germany. Germany wanted to challenge the British Navy. A law in 1889 (The Naval Defence Act) meant that Britain’s navy would have to be bigger than the combined strength of two other powers. This was called the “two-power standard”.
Another example of tension previous to the war was, The Agadir Incident in 1911. This event was created when Morocco called on France to fight off an uprising rebel revolt. The French were called upon as they had been granted the power to reconstruct Morocco’s finances and the control of Moroccan police. Germany soon started to see France was just waiting for an event like this so they could take over Morocco for themselves. Germany wouldn’t have this, so they sent over a gun boat to blackmail the French into giving them French Congo while France would take Morocco. However Germany didn’t think about how other countries would react to this event. Britain was alarmed when they herd of Germany’s actions and believed that their plan was to set up a naval base closer to Gibraltar destroying British trade routes, just another shot at spoiling the Anglo-French relationship. In the end Britain announced that they would fight unless Germany stood down, not stand on the side-lines while its allies were shoved around. Germany stepped down claiming two strips of French Congo for its efforts. Never had the tension between these two nations been greater, with Britain convinced that Germany wanted to control the entire of Europe and Germany believed to been congested and surrounded.
One last final straw in the lead up to the Great War was the assignation of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Ferdinand was the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne. He was assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Serbian assassins. The Serbians’ motive was to create a Greater Serbia or Yugoslavia that would allow them to separate from the Austro-Hungary south-Slav region. Austro-Hungry issued an ultimatum, which was declined by Serbia and thus war was declared.

New Zealand During the War
Bravery
Bravery is courageous behaviour or character. Many soldiers fought in the war, but it was those who took fighting for their country to the next level that helped us win the war.
A great example of a solider that was tremendously brave was solider Henry Nicholas. He single handily attacked and took over a German strong point using hand-grenades. He overcame 12 German soldiers capturing another four. It was this bravery New Zealand troops were able to push back the German assault. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for is noble and daring invasion of the German fortification.
Another great example of bravery in the war was Reginald Judson. Though his courageous actions, he was awarded the Victorian Cross and many other bravery medals. Reginald ran in to a dozen German soldiers ordering them to surrender. When the German soldiers refused and started firing at him, he showed no fear, throwing a hand-grenade, killing two Germans and leaving the rest to retreat.
One final great example of Bravery during the war was Donald Brown. Donald Brown was the first New Zealand soldier to be awarded a Victoria Cross Medal on the Western Front. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his brave and heroic actions, going out of his way to capture