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Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este was a member of the imperial Habsburg dynasty, and from 1896 until his death the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I.
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War. -
Germany Declares war on Russia
July 31, 1914 - Reacting to the Austrian attack on Serbia, Russia begins full mobilization of its troops. ... August 1, 1914 - Germany declares war on Russia. France and Belgium begin full mobilization. August 3, 1914 - Germany declares war on France, and invades neutral Belgium -
Germany invades Belgium; United States declares its neutrality
The actual invasion took place August 4, 1914. Before the Germans declared war on France, they needed free passage across Belgium. The German government demanded this, and even sent a letter to the Belgian government for a right of free passage. ... The problem with the request was that Belgium was a neutral country. -
Austria-Hungary invades Russia.
Austria-Hungary was allies with Germany and was obliged to assist them when war was declared on August 1 1914. On July 31, Russia military mobilization was said to be against Austria-Hungary in support of Serbia, the fellow Slav nation that had been declared war on previously on July 28th. -
German submarine sinks the passenger liner
On 4th February, 1915, Admiral Hugo Von Pohl, sent a order to senior figures in the German Navy: "The waters round Great Britain and Ireland, including the English Channel, are hereby proclaimed a war region. On and after February 18th every enemy merchant vessel found in this region will be destroyed, without its always being -
President Woodrow Wilson declare war on Germany
President Woodrow Wilson threatens to sever diplomatic ties between the United States and Germany -
War
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The United States severs diplomatic ties with Germany
after a U-Boat sinks the American grain ship Housatonic. Seven more American ships are sunk in February and March as the Germans sink 500 ships in just sixty days -
Period: to
President Woodrow Wilson appears before the U.S. Congress and gives a speech to declare war with germany
the world must be made safe for democracy" then asks the Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. -
French Mutiny
The new Commander-in-Chief, Henri Petain, cracks down on the mutiny by ordering mass arrests, followed by several firing squad executions that serve as a warning. Petain then suspends all French offensives and visits the troops to personally promise an improvement of the whole situation. With the French Army in disarray the main burden on the Western Front falls squarely upon the British. -
The first American troops land in France.
American combat forces arrive in France to contribute to the war -
President Woodrow Wilson outlines an elaborate peace plan
Wilson outlines the Fourteen Points. In an address before a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson discusses the aims of the United States in World War I and outlines his famous “Fourteen Points” for achieving a lasting peace in Europe. -
At Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia signs a treaty with Germany formally ending its participation in the war
Harsh terms imposed by the Germans force the Russians to yield a quarter of their prewar territory and over half of Russia's industries. -
Foch appointed Allied Co-ordinator in France
At a strategic conference in Doullens, France, the British and French agree to appoint an Allied Supreme Commander on the Western Front, in place of the separate commanders they had been using, to better coordinate their efforts. Ferdinand Foch, Petain's highly regarded chief of staff, accepts the position. -
Armistice
At 5:10 am, in a railway car at Compiègne, France, the Germans sign the Armistice which is effective at 11 am--the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Fighting continues all along the Western Front until precisely 11 o'clock, with 2,000 casualties experienced that day by all sides. Artillery barrages also erupt as 11 am draws near as soldiers yearn to claim they fired the very last shot in the war -
Draft of the covenant of the League of Nations is completed.
Covenant of the League of Nations. The initial draft of the Covenant of the League of Nations was completed hurriedly in early 1919, under the close supervision of President Woodrow Wilson. The proposed new international organization was to be composed of three bodies: The Secretariat. -
Allied and German representatives sign treaty of Versailles
The United States signs treaty of guaranty, pledging to defend France in case of an unprovoked attack by Germany. -
Treaty of Versailles takes effect.
World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Negotiated among the Allied powers with little participation by Germany, its 15 parts and 440 articles reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations -
United States Senate fails to ratify Treaty of Versailles for the second tim
he Treaty of Versailles. In 1919, for the first time, the Senate rejected a peace treaty. By a vote of 39 to 55, far short of the required two-thirds majority, the Senate denied consent to the Treaty of Versailles. ... The United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles, nor did it join the League of Nations. -
United States signs separate peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary
U.S.–German Peace Treaty (1921) The U.S.—German Peace Treaty is a peace treaty between the U.S. and German governments, signed in Berlin on August 25, 1921, in the aftermath of World War I.
