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The Treaty of London is signed
A group of major powers, including Britain, Austro-Hungary, Prussia (later to become Germany), France, Russia and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of London, which recognises Belgian independence and neutrality. Crucially, Britain promises to intervene in the event of any invasion of Belgium. -
Alsace-Lorraine is officially annexed
After the disastrous loss for the French in the Franco-Prussian war, Prussia demands that Alsace-Lorraine be taken into their empire. This would be a cause of tension between France and Prussia (later Germany) for decades afterwards. -
The Triple Alliance is formed
Austro-Hungary, Prussia (soon to become Germany) and Italy agree to protect each other upon invasion from a major power. This is mostly orchestrated by Otto of Bismarck, the German Chancellor, seeking to prevent a war on two fronts. -
Von Schlieffen first conceives the Schlieffen Plan
German General von Schlieffen, fearing war on two fronts with both Russia and France simultaneously, hits upon his famous Plan to move a large section of the German army through Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg to surround Paris before the Russians are able to mobilise, then to move to face Russia in the east. Von Schlieffen continues to work on this for a while; his idea would first be presented in 1905. -
John Paton becomes Highmaster
John Lewis Paton is chosen from fourteen applicants to be the Highmaster at MGS. He will be crucial in ensuring the engagement of MGS in the war effort. -
Von Moltke modifies the Schlieffen Plan
Von Moltke replaces von Schlieffen and alters his strategy. He decides that there needs to be some forces ready to halt Russia, and also transfers soldiers from the crucial right-wing attack to the left. He also modifies the Plan so that the Germans will attack through Belgium alone. -
Construction officially begins on HMS Dreadnought
The construction of HMS Dreadnought, a new, more powerful battleship than anything seen before, officially begins at Portsmouth. Once completed, this craft makes every other battleship at the time obsolete and sparks off a naval arms race between Germany and Britain to build as many of this new class of ships - which come to be known as dreadnoughts - as possible. -
The Triple Entente is formed
As the result of several treaties, there is now a collective alliance between France, Britain and Russia. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, pay a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, a country under Austro-Hungarian control. During the drive around the capital, almost by accident, Gavrilo Princip, a young student, is able to assassinate him. -
Serbia is invaded
Austro-Hungary blames Serbia for the assassination of the Archduke and declares war on the nation. Belgrade is shelled. -
Mobilisation of Russia
Wanting to protect Serbia and to maintain its influence in the Balkans, Russia mobilises against Austro-Hungary. -
Period: to
The First World War
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Germany moves on Russia
Germany, protecting Austro-Hungary, declares war on Russia. They demand that France remain neutral. -
Germany declares war on France
After France sends out the mixed messages of both moving the French frontier troops back but also ordering a full mobilisation, Germany decides to attack. When Belgium refuses to let the Germans through in accordance of the Schleiffen Plan, they declare war on them as well. -
Britain delivers an ultimatum
Britain, in accordance with the Treaty of London, demands that Germany withdraw from Belgium. -
Britain enters the war
The Germans refuse to withdraw from Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany in order to protect Belgian neutrality in accordance with the Treaty of London. -
The British Expeditionary Force arrives at Mons
As the Germans sweep through Belgium, resisted by Belgian defenders and several weeks behind their original targets but still progressing, the BEF - British Expeditionary Force - an army of professional, well-trained soldiers of about half the size of the German force, lands at Calais, moves southward and prepares to defend Mons. The force has arrived far earlier than the Germans anticipated. -
The Battle of Mons begins
German shelling of the British lines signals the start of the Battle of Mons. The well-trained BEF manages to hold off the Germans to begin with, to such an extent that many believe that the rate of fire is representative of machine guns - which the British do not have yet. However, the Germans' superior numbers begin to show and, after taking large losses, begin to push the BEF back. -
First Old Mancunian to die in the war
Alfred John Harold Ryder Widdowson, of the South Lancashire Regiment, becomes the first O.M. to die in the war. He was at MGS from 1906-1907. -
The Battle of Tannenberg
The Battle of Tannenberg was an engagement between Russia and Germany in the first month of World War I. Fought between 26 August and 30 August 1914, the battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army, and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. Around 78000 Russian soldiers were killed or injured and around 92000 were captured as prisoners of war, whilst only around 10000-15000 German soldiers were killed or wounded. -
The Old Public School and University Men's Force is proposed
A meeting, led by the High Master, is held to discuss the possibility of forming a battalion made up of, as the name suggests, those previously from public schools and/or going to universities in the area. Within a week, 1023 men had signed on, a large proportion of whom were Old Mancunians. -
The First Battle of the Marne
The BEF defence of Mons holds the German right-wing so brilliantly that the Germans abandon all hope of carrying out the Schlieffen Plan. Instead, they move southwards quickly, following the retreating British. French forces are rushed out of Paris, and meet the British in the city's defence at the Battle of the Marne. Von Moltke, in charge of the German attack, is resoundly defeated. This battle sets the scene for trench warfare on the Western Front throughout the coming war. -
The First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November) is fought around Ypres in western Belgium during October and November 1914. This comes about as the result of the 'Race for the Sea' that took place after the Battle of the Marne. Around 8000 British soldiers are killed, as well as approximately the same number of Germans. -
Unofficial Christmas truce occurred
An unofficial Christmas truce was made accross many treches where the Germans (commonly called Fritz by the British) and the British (commonly called Tommy by the Germans) met in no man's land and conversed as if they were friends, whereas a few hours before, they had the intent to kill each other. Some areas played football and sang carols together. This however was met in anger by the commanders and superiors as it would make the enemy seem humanlike, where propaganda showed them as monsters. -
MGS's quadricentenary
It has now been four-hundred years since MGS was founded. Celebrations, however, are disrupted by the war. -
The Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres marks the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front. This effectively kicks off chemical warfare and paves the way for a new, dangerous and effective breed of weapon to be used. -
The Galipoli Campaign
The brainchild of Winston Churchill, Russia's allies Britain and France, in combination with ANZAC allies, launch a naval attack on the Turks, followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula, with the aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. Both sides suffer huge losses. The force is met with huge resistance due to poor leadership and timing, causing them eventually to withdraw entirely. Many O.M.s are killed during the campaign, and are commerated at the Hellas Memorial. -
RMS Lusitania is sunk
The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat, U-20, this helped USA join the war. 1198 of the 1959 passengers aboard were killed. -
Italy joins the war - on the wrong side
The Italians up to this point have not joined the war on the side of Germany, claiming that, since the Triple Alliance was defensive in nature, they are not obliged to fight. Due to increasing anti-Austro-Hungarian feeling in the country, the Italians finally decide to declare war on Austro-Hungary, creating a new Italian Front. -
Tsar Nicholas II takes personal control over Russia's armies.
Tsar Nicholas II takes personal control over Russia's armies, instead of dealing with the growing possibility of a revolution. He leaves the Tsarina in charge, who makes numerous bad decisions such as appointing Rasputin as head of the Duma. In addition, this now means that the poor military performance of Russia's armies are now conferred onto the Tsar. -
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun is fought from 21 February – 18 December 1916 during the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The French suffer around 315,000–542,000 deaths whilst the German army suffer around 281,000–434,000 mortalities. -
The Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland is a naval battle fought in the Baltic as a result of the Germans trying to lift the British blockade, preventing crucial imports from reaching Germany. It is the largest naval battle of the war. Both sides claim victory: Britain lose a lot more ships and twice the soldiers that the Germans did, but the blockade remain intact. -
The Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme takes place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the River Somme in France. It is one of the largest battles of World War I, in which more than 1,000,000 men are wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. -
The first tank rolls into battle
A Mark I Male tank in the ongoing Battle of the Somme, developed by the British as mobile shields for their infantry from machine gun fire, becomes the first tank to engage in battle. This was also put forward by Winston Churchill, but, unlike the Gallipoli disaster, the tanks were very effective, able to roll over barbed wire and cross German trenches. The Germans were unable to replicate the technology in the time before the war ended. -
School war activity schedule put in place
MGS boys are given schedules to help with the war effort in various ways, such as working on allotments, helping the gas board and producing ration cards. Other war effort help, encouraged by Paton, also goes on, such as the manufacturing of artificial limbs in the metalworking workshop. -
The Tsar abdicates
The Tsar abdicates his position due to increasing unrest in cities across Russia, the new Provisional Government taking control. The Tsar was executed a few years later after months of imprisonment by the Bolsheviks. -
The USA declares war on Germany and it's allies
The USA declares war on Germany and its allies as a direct result of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic. This is a deciding factor on the outcome of the war as it gives Britain and France both the support and supplies it needs. Although it is only much later that the USA can send forces to the Western Front as they have to train a lot more soldiers, this is a much-needed boost. -
The Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres)
The Battle of Passchendaele, also referred to as the Third Battle of Ypres, is a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I against the German Empire. The battle takes place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders. The Entente losses range from 200,000–448,614 and the Central Powers lose 217,000–410,000 men including 24,065 prisoners. -
The Bolsheviks successfully seize power
Russia looks set to pull out of the war due to the Bolsheviks' seizing of power from the Provisional Government in the 1917 October Revolution (November in our calendar). This helps the Central Powers a lot, especially Germany; they are now able to pull soldiers away from the Eastern Front and transfer them to strengthen the Western Front. -
Russia's Armistace with Central Powers
Russia's armistace with the Central powers is now in effect and this basically takes Russia out of the war, however fighting is briefly resumed until a treaty is signed. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, between the new Bolshevik government of Russia (the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey), that ended Russia's participation in World War I. -
Germany launches the spring offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914. The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the United States could be fully deployed. They had a temporary advantage due to the 50 divisions that were fighting Russia being able to help the Western front. -
The Red Baron is shot down
The Red Baron, a famous notorious flying ace that is known for his skills in the air, is shot down by allied forces, and this lowers morale of the Germans and shows that the Germans are not invincible to civilians at home. -
The Second Battle of Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne or Battle of Reims (15 July – 6 August 1918) was the last major German Spring Offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The German attack failed when an Allied counterattack by French and American forces, including several hundred tanks, overwhelmed the Germans on their right flank, inflicting severe casualties. The German defeat marked the start of the relentless Allied advance which culminated in the Armistace being signed about 100 days later. -
German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and flees Germany.
German Kaiser Wilhelm II is forced to abdicates and flees Germany after realising the incoming defeat, this causes Germany to be leaderless and completely lost in what to do next. This obviously lowers morale of the German people and since Germany had lost, they were forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Versailles at the end of the war crippling Germany's army for the next 2 decades -
The fighting stops
The fighting on the Western Front stops at 11am. -
Armistace is signed by Germany
Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France. Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. This marks the start of discussions over the treaty of Versailles -
The last O.M. dies as a result of the war
Fred Checkley, a Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery, dies of pneumonia three days after the end of hostilities. -
End of WW1/Treaty of Versailles is signed
The Official end of WW1, this marks the end of the great war and the treaty of Versailles is signed by Germany and the allies exactly five years after the assassination of archduke Ferdinand. Germany's army and navy is hugely restricted and the air force to be abolished, which humiliates Germany. Germany is forced to pay 132 billion Marks, £284 billion in modern day. This cripples Germany and ultimately leads to the collapse of its economy and WW2 due to the Nazi's rise to power.
