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The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
This imporant day was the trigger that begun World War I. A group of terrorists, called the Black Hand, got together to plot Ferdinand’s death. Their first attempt was with a bomb, but it only ended with them missing and wounding two other officials. Their second successful attemp was when the Archduke and his wife Sophie were on an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. A Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip shot them to death. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
Austria-Hungary was becoming increasingly angry with Serbia for the assassination of their Archduke. They prepared their troops for a possible invasion of the country and allied with Germany. Serbia and its ally, Russia, also began to mobilize their troops, aware of this possibility. The countries waited for a decision to be made and Germany ordered Austria to take quick action. The result of this battle led Germany to wage war on Russia, because Russia refused to discontinue mobilizing troops. -
Britain Wages War On Germany
Germany attacked France through Belgium to eliminate western threat before they faced Russia in the east. Britain decided to protect the borders of Belgium to prevent further invasion. Belgium took trust in Britain and they declared war on Germany. The British, however, were defeated and the Germans laid waste to their country. This resulted in the entire British Empire being led into conflict and the war in Europe expanded throughout the world. -
The Battle of Mons
The Battle of Mons is highly significant to the British Army because it started their engagement in France. The Germans were ordered to attack Britain’s small army and 70,000 were in danger against 160,000 German troops. Machine guns were used as defense and the effect was great. The British were forced to retreat because they were highly outnumbered. As a result of this defeat, the british were mortified and started to recruit a large, powerful army. -
Russia Breaks Bonds with Tsar - Start of Revolution
By this time, most of the Russian people were off terms with the tsar, because of their poorly led government. It was corrupt and inefficient. Food was scarce, and life became hard for Russian citizens. This caused them to attack the Duma government and start their own Revolution. -
Germans Sink the Housatonic
Germany was determined to win the war against the Allies, so they continued with submarine warfare in war-zone waters. The United States broke all relations with Germany, which caused them to riot. That day, they sent a German submarine that sunk the Housatonic, an American liner. The U.S. remained nuetral until this attack, which forced them to mobilize in defense. -
The Bolsheviks Revolt
The Russians were impoverished and desperate. They appointed Vladimir Lenin as their leader and attacked the Duma’s government. The Bolsheviks became very powerful in Russia and they formed a new government with Lenin as its leader. Under this, the Soviet Union was formed. Vladimir Lenin became the initiator of the world’s first communist state. -
Russian Civil War
After the Bolkshevik Revolution, Civil War broke was unleashed on Russia. The Red Army fought for the Bolshevik’s government’s leader, Lenin. The White Army was againt Lenin’s communistic ways, so they fought for other allied forces, such as monarchists and democratic socialism. Lenin’s Red Army was victorious, which further established the Soviet Union and ended the Russian Civil War in 1923. -
The End of World War I
The war came to an end when Germany had officially surrendered. All nations agreed to cease fighting and peace terms were being sought. On June 28, 1919, the Allied Nations and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended the war. The Treaty, however, placed all war debts on Germany, which caused them to be humiliated. This would be a main cause of the second World War when they try seek revenge and bring back their old nation. -
The League of Nations
After the war, a group gathered to keep peace in the world. Their job was to end conflict with countries before they engaged in war. They called themselves the League of Nations, and they successfully ended arguments that could have started countless deadly wars. -
Stock Market Crash
Billions of dollars were lost from investors during the Wall Street Crash. Banks were losing money, and cash that people put in was not stabilized. On Black Monday and Black Tuesday, the machinery could not handle all the money being put in and out of banks by people in panic. Eventually, all the money was lost, leaving people everywhere impoverished and devestated. -
Unenployment Rates Reach Highest
After the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression was set further into motion. The world reached its highest unenplyment rate of 24.1%. Taxes and unenployment left people destitute, hungry, and in search for jobs to keep them alive. -
WWII Begins - Germany Invades Poland
With Hitler in command, Germany decided to invade Poland to regain territory and ultimately take control over it. They bombarded it from the air. This was the beginning of what is now known to be the “blitzkrieg“ strategy. It was the dropping of bombs early on onto the railroads, communication line, and airforce of the enemy. It followed by German troops invading Poland by foot. Britain responds by blitzing Germany three days after. -
Germany Takes Over France
Germany started the attack by advancing through a forest, which pushed the British and French troops to the east coast. The French army was weak, which forced them to evacuate on boat because they were so outnumbered. The German army then finished off the rest of the troops which remained on land. Hitler and the German army were victorious, which resulted in them gaining complete control over the country. -
Battle of Britain
On this day, the airforces of Germany and Britain clashed. This became the biggest battle compaign in the air to have ever existed. The Battle of Britain (given its names by Winston Churchill) ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain’s air bases. -
Operation Barbarossa
This Battle was against Hitler and the Red Army of the USSR. Germany rapidly destroyed their army in western Russia. However, this was not the end of the Soviet Union. The Red Army was rebuilt. -
Moscow
The Battle of Moscow reassured the security of the Soviet Union. Germany’s blitzkrieg strategy had failed, which resulted in them being defeated. The Red Army has been successfully rebuilt and they stood their ground, ready for future battles. -
Pearl Harbor
This day was the biggest mistake the Japanese had made in terms of the war. They attacked the American Pearl Harbor to threaten the country into staying neutral. They bombed from the air, killing thousands of peope. This caused the U.S. to join the war, which was the excact opposite of the Japanese’s intent. -
Midway
The Japanese again tried to lure the Americans into destruction. They initiated an attack on Midway island. The battle, however, ended in the defeat of the Japanese when they losed 4 of their best carriers. Americans then took their startegy across the Central Pacific and waged war on Japan. -
The End of World War II
The Allied and Axis Powered all reached the end of their fighting when countries began to surrender. Germany was the first to surrender to Western and Russian demands. Hitler ended up committing suicide. The day Germany surrendered is now called “VE Day.” After this, the Japanese lost all hope and surrendered. Six years of fighting had ended, and the world was at peace.
