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1st event
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates. -
2nd event
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassinated. -
3rd event
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. -
4th event
The Ottoman Empire signs a secret alliance with Germany agreeing to enter the war once Germany declares war on Russia. They formally enter the war several months later on October 28,1914 when they bomb Russian sea ports. Bulgaria joins the Central Powers on October 15, 1915. -
5th event
Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades Belgium and Luxembourg as part of the Schlieffen Plan. As a result, Britain declares war on Germany. -
6th Event
Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. -
7th event
The United States declares neutrality in the war. -
8th event
The German army defeats Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg. -
9th event
German invasion of France is halted at the First Battle of Marne. -
10th event
The Race to the Sea ends when the Germans withdraw at the 1st Battle of Ypres. -
11th event
Unofficial Christmas truce is declared by German and Allied soldiers in the trenches along the Western Front. -
12th event
President Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points in a speech before Congress. -
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13th event
The Germans use poison gas at the 2nd battle of Ypres. -
14th event
Armenian Genocide begins. -
15th event
A German U-boat sinks the Lusitania killing 1,198 civilians, including 128 Americans. -
16th event
Italy Joins the Allies -
17th event
British nurse, Edith Cavell, is executed by the Germans. -
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18th event
The Battle of Verdun is fought resulting in an estimated one million casualties. -
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19th event
The British introduce the tank during the Battle of Somme. The battle results in an estimated one million casualties. -
20th event
Woodrow Wilson is re-elected President of the United States. -
21st event
The Germans resume unrestricted submarine warfare. -
22nd event
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates. -
23rd event
President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. -
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25th event
British cryptographers decipher a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister of Mexico. -
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24th event
The 3rd battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains for the Allies and a total of 700,000 casualties. -
26th event
The Balfour Declaration is presented in London. -
27th event
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed between Russia and Germany. -
28th event
Allies begin a nine-month battle for the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli. -
29th event
Germans on the banks of the Marne near Paris are stopped by American forces at Chateau-Thierry -
30th event
Emperor Karl of Austria abdicates. -
31st event
At eleven o’clock on this day, war on the Western Front ends as Germany and the Allies sign an Armistice. -
32nd event
Germany and Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles. The U.S. Senate later refuses to ratify it. -
33rd event
The Treaty of Sevres ends the war on the Eastern Front with the Ottoman Empire.