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Beginning
Francis Ferdinand, Austrian archduke and his wife were assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/assassination-archduke-ferdinand -
Germany declares war on Russia
Germany entered into World War I on August 1, when it declared war on Russia. In accordance with its war plan, it ignored Russia and moved first against France and sending its main armies through Belgium to capture Paris from the north. -
Germany declares war on France
On the afternoon of August 3, 1914, two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declares war on France, moving ahead with a long-held strategy, conceived by the former chief of staff of the German army, Alfred von Schlieffen, for a two-front war against France and Russia. -
First battle
The war begins with the Battle of the Marne -
German gas
First use of poison gas by Germans, the first ones were made of chlorine. -
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War of positions
The fundamental strategy of trench warfare in World War I was to defend one's own position strongly while trying to achieve a breakthrough into the enemy's ones. -
Sinking of Lusitania
The RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner that was torpedoed by the Germans https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lusitania-British-ship -
Battle of verdun
Battle in which the French repulsed a major German offensive. It was one of the longest, bloodiest, and most-ferocious battles of the war. -
Battle of Jutland
The major encounter between the main British and German battle fleets, fought near the Skagerrak, an arm of the North Sea, about 60 miles off the west coast of Jutland (Denmark). -
Italy declares the war on Germany
Italy declared war on Germany. The next three months saw three more Italian offensives on the Isonzo, none of them really profitable. In the course of 1916 the Italians had sustained 500,000 casualties, twice as many as the Austrians, and were still on the Isonzo. -
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Crisis of 1917
It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also brought out many issues regarding relations between French Canadians and English Canadians. https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/recruitment-and-conscription/conscription-1917/ -
Russian Revolution
It removed Russia from the war and brought the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), replacing Russia's traditional monarchy with the world's first Communist state. https://www.britannica.com/summary/Russian-Revolution -
United States declares war
Americans entered by declaring war on Germany. This was due to the attack on Lusitania, and Germany encouraging Mexico to attack the USA. -
French tanks used for the first time
The Char Schneider was used for the first time on 16th April 1917 during the 2nd Battle of the Aisne. The tank performed badly and the poor ventilation and vision arrangements made it difficult to use. https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww1/fr/french_wwi_tanks.php -
USA passed the espionage act
The Espionage Act prohibited obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-espionage-acts-constitutional-legacy -
Russia leaves the war
In the city of Brest-Litovsk (Belarus) , Russia signs a treaty with the Central Powers ending its participation in World War I, it was in the interest of Russian Communists -
One hundred days offensive begins
The Hundred Days Offensive was a series of attacks by the Allied troops at the end of World War I. Starting on August 8, 1918, and ending with the Armistice on November 11, the Offensive led to the defeat of the German Army. -
Germany signs armistice
Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies. World War I was known as the “war to end all wars” because of the great slaughter and destruction it caused. https://armistice-museum.com/the-armistice-delegations-in-1918/ -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles is one of the most controversial armistice treaties in history. The treaty forced Germany and other Central Powers to take all the blame for World War I. This meant a loss of territories, reduction in military forces, and reparation payments to Allied powers. https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/treaty_of_versailles-112018.pdf