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Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Serbia
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was a major event that lead to World War I. He was killed by a Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. -
First German zeppelin air raid on England
This zeppelin raid killed two, and injured sixteen. The raid was carried out by two zeppelins, the L3 and L4. This was the start of a continuous rate of zeppelin raids that continued for about two months. The Zeppelin was designed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. -
Trading Ports are Banned
The Reprisals Order, in which Britain banned all 'neutral' parties from trading with Germany. Prohibited all exports and imports from Germany. The water surrounding the British Isles was considered a war zone. All enemy vessels would be shot down by submarines, they were concerned that neutral ships would be exposed to danger. -
Warsaw Captured
As Russia retreated from Warsaw on August 5th, leaving it isolated, the German army seized the opportunity and captured the city. -
Easter rebellion starts in Ireland
The Easter Rising planned by the Irish Republican Brotherhood was virtually confined to Dublin. This was the opening act of the Irish War for Independence. Germany believed that the large numbers of Irish in the British army would revolt over the disturbances at home. Ulster, (one of the four provinces in Ireland) was openly in disagreement with one of the laws that prohibited no arms to be sent to Ireland, they threatened a civil war. -
Italy decalres war on Germany
Italy was allied with both Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy would help defend Germany if the war was "defensive", but in this case the war was "offensive" so Italy declared to be neutral. Italy had a secret alliance with France that stated that Italy would become neutral in the case of Germany being "agressive". Italy joined the war on the side of Britain, France, and Russia. -
United States severed ties with Germany
U.S. liner Housatonic was sunk by a German submarine and the diplomatic relations were severed. -
The United States declares war on Germany
On this day, the United States officially declared war on Germanty and entered the conflict in Europe. Britain, France, and Russia welcomed the news of American troops and supplies being directed toward the Allied war effort. -
German U-boats appear in U.S. waters for the first time
U-151stopped three US schooners off Virginia, took their crews prisoner, and sank the three ships by gunfire. Later on June 2, 1918, the same U-151 sank six more US ships and damaged two off the New Jersey coast. -
End of World War I
On 11th November the leaders of both sides held a meeting in Ferdinand Foch's railway carriage headquarters at Compiegne. The Armistice was signed at 6am and came into force five hours later.
