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The assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The archdude of Austria-Hungary is assassinated in Serbia by a member of "The Black Hand" to break off Austria-Hungary's south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Greater Serbia or a Yugoslavia. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
One month after Franz Ferdinad was assassinated, Aurstia-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This was the start of World War 1. -
Germany invades Belgium
As part of the German's plan to invade France before an invasion from Russia, The German military went through the neutral country of Belgium. Taking this route would make an easy path instead of going through the mountainous Germany-France border -
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Battle of Tannenburg
This was an engagement between the Russian and German empire. The battle resulted in almost complete destruction of the Russian Second army. -
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First Battle of the Marne
As the German military was nearly 30 miles from Paris, France, the French government was prepared for a seige as they Germans pushed back French, British, and Blegian forces. Eventually the French had regained lost ground and the Germans had been defeated. -
First German zeppelin attack on England
The Germans launch an attack on England using zeppelins. This attack killed seven people and injured thirty five -
Italy declares war on Germany
Italy officially declares war on Germany -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York in September 1907. On May 7, the ship neared the coast of Ireland. At 2:10 in the afternoon a torpedo fired by the German submarine U 20 slammed into it's side. A mysterious second explosion ripped the liner apart. -
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Battle of Verdun
It started when German troops attacked French positions, near Verdun. About 168,500 soliders died. -
French passenger ship, The Sussex is torpedoed
Germany sparked an international diplomatic crisis when one of its submarines mistakenly sank a French cross-channel ferry the Sussex believing it instead to be a minelayer. -
Easter rebellion starts in Ireland
On Easter monday in Dublin, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret organization of Irish nationalists led by Patrick Pearse, launches the so-called Easter Rebellion, an armed uprising against British rule. -
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Battle of the Jutland
This was a naval battle between the British and German Navy. The German fleet managed to return to its base after dealing more damage than recieved, after being greatly outnumbered. It was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war. -
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Battle of the Somme
On the first day of this battle, there were about 60,000 casualties in the British force and 20,000 of those died. -
U.S. declares war
Woodrow Wilson outlined the case for declaring war on Germany in a speech to the joint houses of Congress -
USSR withdraws from the war
Russia signs an armistace with Germany due to shortage of supplies. This eventually led to revolution in Russia -
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German spring offensive
A series of attacks on the German front from Russia -
Germany ceases unrestricted submarine warfare
A German U-Boat fires it's last torpedo as the Germans cease their unrestricted submarine warfare -
World War 1 ends
Germany and the Allied Nations sign Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war that caused 9 to 13 million people to be killed.
