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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo, by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six Bosnian Serb assassins coordinated by Danilo Ilić. The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Greater Serbia or a Yugoslavia. -
Period: to
WWI
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First German aircraft shot down by allied plane
Stanisław Skalski,142nd Fighter Squadron, attacked a German Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft, which was eventually shot down by Marian Pisarek, and then landed next to it and helped to bandage a crew. He later became an ace. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Approximately 14 miles off the coast of Southern Ireland at Old Head of Kinsale, neither the captain nor any of his crew realized that the German U-boat, U-20, had already spotted and targeted them. At 1:40 p.m., the U-boat launched a torpedo. The torpedo hit the starboard side of the Lusitania. Almost immediately, another explosion rocked the ship. This event hastened America to join in the war. -
First Zeppelin raid on London
Two Zeppelin navel airships 190 metres long, flew over the east coast of England and bombed great Yarmouth and King's Lynn. The raid killed 28 people and injured 60 more. -
Germans attack at Verdun
It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February to 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France. The Battle of Verdun ended as a French tactical victory. However, it can also be considered a costly strategic stalemate. -
First use of the tanks, in the Battle of the SommeRead
The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War: by the time fighting had petered out in late autumn 1916 the forces involved had suffered more than 1.5 million casualties, due to the use of the "Tank" -
United States declares war on Germany
On 2nd April, Woodrow Wilson asked for permission to go to war. This was approved in the Senate on 4th April by 82 votes to 6, and two days later, in the House of Representatives, by 373 to 50. Still avoiding alliances, war was declared against the German government (rather than its subjects). War against Austria-Hungary was not declared until 7th December, 1917 -
United States troops arrive in France
During World War I, the first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops land in France at the port of Saint Nazaire. The landing site had been kept secret because of the menace of German submarines, but by the time the Americans had lined up to take their first salute on French soil, an enthusiastic crowd had gathered to welcome them. However, the "Doughboys," as the British referred to the green American troops, were untrained, ill-equipped, and far from ready for the difficulties of fighting along the Weste -
British attack at Passchendaele
The battle was fought for control of the village of Passchendaele (modern Passendale) near the town of Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. The objective of the offensive was to achieve a breakthrough, outflanking the German Army’s defences, and forcing Germany to withdraw from the Channel Ports. The offensive also served to distract the German army from the French in the Aisne, who were suffering from widespread mutiny. -
End of WWI
The Allied powers signed a ceasefire agreement with Germany at Rethondes, France, at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, bringing the war, later known as World War I, to a close.
