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The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife Sophie; Duchess of Hohenberg,occured in Sarajevo. Gavrilo Princip was the one held responsible and he was one of a group of six assassins. (The Black Hand Secret Society) -
Battle of Yser
The Belgian army's defence of the Yser Canal in October 1914 is referred to as the Battle of Yser. The German offensive at the Canal, which ran south from the English Channel at Nieuwpoort in north-western Belgium, formed part of a wider battle for control of Flanders, notably at Ypres. -
Battle of Le Cateau
The Battle of Le Cateau took place in northern France, to the south-east of Cambrai. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were at war against the German First Army. Le Cateau was an artilleryman's battle. -
Unofficial Christmas Truce
On Christmas Day of 1914, the soldiers in the trenches declared their own unofficial truce. During WWI, all of the soldiers did not expect to celebrate Christmas on the battlefield. Some of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches onto no-masn-land at the light of dawn of Christmas Day and called out "Merry Christmas". Many soldiers thought it was a trick until they seen the Germans unarmed, they then climbed out of their trenches and shook hand with the enemies. -
First Battle of Champaigne
This battle took place in the Champaigne region of France and was the second offensive by the Allies againt the Germans since mobile warfare had ended after the First Battle of Ypres. -
First Battle of Ypres
Near the Belgian city of Ypres, allied and German forces began what would be three battles to control the city and its positions on the north coast of Belgium during the First World War. -
First Use of Poison Gas
The German forces surprised Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This devastated the Allied line. -
"In Flanders Field" written by John Mcrae
“In Flanders Field” talks about the death of Mcrae's dear friend Lieutenant Colonel John who was killed in the “Second Battle of Ypres”. This is one of the most popular and quoted poem from WWI, resulted in using the poem as a means of propaganda, to raise money by the use of breaking war bonds. Overall, most importantly, the poem was used as an appeal for the citizens to help the country by joining a war. -
Sinking of Lusitania
A German U-boat sunk the British luxury liner, the RMS Lusitania. 128 Americans of 1,198 people lost their lives. The Lusitania sinking caused mortal outrage in both Britain and the U.S. This led to the U.S.A declaring war against Germany. -
Italy Declares War on Germany(Austria-Hungary)
When World War I broke out, Italy declared itself neutral in the conflict, in spite of its part in the 'Triple Alliance' with Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Italian declaration opened up a new front in World War I, stratching 600 kilometers along Italy's border with Austria-Hungary. -
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was the longest single battle of WW1. The casualties from Verdun and the impact the abttle ahd on the French army was a primary reason for the British starting the Battle of Somme later on in 1916 in an effort to take German pressure of the French at Verdun. -
Battle of Somme
This battle took place near the Somme River in France. It was one of the bloodiest military battles in history. On just the first day, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties, and by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose more tham 1.5 million men. -
First Tank Used
The first tank to be used on the battlefield was the Bristish Mark I tanks at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. Many broke down, but almost a third ended up succeeding in breaking through. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a message from the German forgein secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German ambassador to Mexico proposing a Mexican-German alliance in the case of war between the United States & Germany was published on the cover of newspapers across America. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proposed to Congress that the U.S. should start arming its ships against possible German attacks. -
Conscription Crisis of 1917
This was a military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was caused by disagreement on whether or not men should be conscripted to fight in the war. This brought out many issues regarding relations between French Canadians & English Canadians, this encouraged many revolutionary acts. -
Battle of Vimy Ridge
This battle began at 5:30 am on Easter Monday in 1917. It was the first time which all four divisions of the Canadian Corps attacked as a composite formation. Canadians had demonstrated that they were one of the outstanding formations on the Western Front and masters of offensive warfare. -
Red Baron Shot Down
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (Red Baron) was a fighter pilot in the German Air Force during WWI. Red Baron was considered the 'aces-of-aces' of the war, he was also officially creditied with 80 air combat victories. He was shot down by ground fire by Captain Arthur Roy Brown. Brown was a Canadian WWI flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. The Royal Air Force officially credited Brown with shooting down Red Baron. -
Hundred Days Offensive
This was the final campaign on the Western Front during the Great War. During this period a series of sequential Allied offensives finally broke through German army to seek an armistice. -
Treaty of Mudros
On the British battleship Agamemnon which was anchored in the port of Mudros on the Aegean island of Lemnos, representatives of Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire sign an armistice treaty marking the end of Ottoman participation in WWI. -
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day
