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The Assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
A Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, when their open car stopped at a corner on its way out of the town. -
Britain declares War
Germany did not withdraw from Belgium and Britain declared war on Germany. -
Japan declared war on Germany
Japan declared war on Germany through her alliance with Great Britain, signed in 1902 -
Second Battle of Ypres
Poison gas was used for the first time during this battle. The gas, fired by the Germans claimed many British casualties. -
Lusitania sunk
There outraged protests from the United States at the German U-boat campaign, when the Lusitania, which had many American passengers aboard, was sank. The Germans moderated their U-boat campaign. -
USA Declares War on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood begins as the U.S. Marine Corps attacks the Germans across an open field of wheat, suffering huge casualties. -
Belleau Wood Ends
The Battle of Belleau Wood ends with the final expulsion of the Germans from the wood, which marks the farthest German advance on Paris. The area has changed hands six times during the three-week battle, which has caused nearly 10,000 American casualties. -
Wilhelm Abdicates
Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates, ending all German hope for a victory. He and his retinue quietly slip over the border into the Netherlands where he lives out the remainder of his life in relative peace and writes a self-promoting memoir defending his actions in the war. -
End of War
At 11 am, in the French town of Redonthes, the Armistice was signed bringing the war to an end.
