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Civil Rights and World War 1
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Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allies of World War I (countries allied with Serbia or Serbia's allies) to declare war on each other, starting World War I. -
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
On 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians fired the first shots of the war as preparation for the invasion of Serbia. -
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne marked the end of the German sweep into France and the beginning of the trench warfare that was to characterise World War One. -
First Battle of Ypres
On October 19, 1914, near the Belgian city of Ypres, Allied and German forces begin the first of what would be three battles to control the city and its advantageous positions on the north coast of Belgium during the First World War. -
Second Battle of Ypres
First World War battle fought for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium in the spring of 1915, following the First Battle of Ypres the previous autumn. It marked the first time that Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking claimed the lives of 1,198 of Lusitania's passengers and crew, with only 761 surviving. Among the dead were 128 American citizens. Immediately inciting international outrage, the sinking quickly turned public opinion against Germany and its allies. -
British defeat at Gallipoli
British and French launched a naval campaign to force a passage through the Dardanelles. After the naval operation, an amphibious landing was undertaken on the Gallipoli peninsula, to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (Istanbul).[6] After eight months the land campaign also failed with many casualties on both sides, and the invasion force was withdrawn to Egypt. -
Battle of Verdun
It was the longest and one of the most devastating battles in the First World War and the history of warfare. Modern estimates increase the number of casualties to 976,000. In any case most of these casualties had been inflicted upon both sides by artillery rather than by small arms fire. -
Battle of Jutland
It was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war. It was only the third-ever fleet action between steel battleships, following the smaller but more decisive battles of the Yellow Sea (1904) and Tsushima (1905) during the Russo-Japanese War. -
Battle of Somme
It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on either side of the River Somme in France. The battle was one of the largest of World War I, in which more than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed, making it one of humanity's bloodiest battles. -
Unrestricted submarine warfare begins
The use of unrestricted submarine warfare was to have a major impact on World War One as it was one of the main reasons why America joined the war. -
United States enters the war
Due primarily to submarine warfare and the Zimmerman note, President Wilson asked Congress for permission to go to war, and on April 6, 1917, congress officially declared it. President Wilson, along with many Americans, justified their involvement as "an act of high principle and idealism...[and]...as a crusade to make the world safe for democracy." -
Third Battle of Ypres
The British lost well over 200,000 men (perhaps as many as 260,000), with the Germans loosing a similar figure and the battle badly affected the morale of both sides, with the word 'Passchendaele' becoming a byword for suffering. -
Russia signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk brought about the end of the war between Russia and Germany in 1918. -
Battle of Belleau Wood
Part of the 1918 German Spring Offensives, the Battle of Belleau Wood was won by American forces after twenty-six days of combat. Fought predominantly by US Marines, the battle stopped the German offensive and began a counterattack in the area. Fighting in the forest was particularly fierce, with the Marines clearing the wood six times before it was finally secured. -
Battle of Meuse-Argonne
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the final Allied offensive in World War I that pushed the Germans to surrender on November 11, 1918. -
Germany signs the armistice. World War 1 is over.
On November 9 the Kaiser abdicated; slipping across the border into the Netherlands and exile. A German Republic was declared and peace feelers extended to the Allies. At 5 AM on the morning of November 11 an armistice was signed in a railroad car parked in a French forest near the front lines. -
Treaty of Versailles is signed
The Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919, was the peace settlement between Germany and the Allied Powers that officially ended World War I. However, the conditions in the treaty were so punitive upon Germany that many believe the Versailles Treaty laid the groundwork for the eventual rise of Nazis in Germany and the eruption of World War II.
