Sir Charles Townshend and WWI

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated

Jun 28, 1914

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire and his wife were shot to death by the Black Hand. The black hand were a group of Serbian Nationalist. This lead to the start of WWI.
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Austria-Hungary Declared war on Serbia

Jul 28, 1914

One month after the Archduke is killed Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Germany tells Austria-Hungary they would support them. Austria-Hungary provides unreasonable ultimatum for Serbia.
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Germany declares war on Russia

Aug 1, 1914

Russia mobilized it’s entire army, land and air, to get prepared for war. Germany had not mobilized its army against Russia. Germany gave Russia a chance to demobilize it’s army before declaring war on Russia. Russia denied the offer.
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Germany declares war on France

Aug 3, 1914

France had tried to commit terror on Germany by flying over German airspace and dropping bombs near Germany. France also flew over Belgium, which is flying through a neutral country. Germany held French merchant vessels for 48 hours after declaring war on France.
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U.K. declares war on Germany

Aug 4, 1914

Britain had given Germany until midnight of August 3, 1914 to get out of Belgium otherwise they would declare war on Germany. Germany had put the Schlieffen Plan in effect to prevent being surrounded by Russia and France. Belgium’s neutrality had been guaranteed in 1839.

Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia

Aug 6, 1914

Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia when they declared war on Serbia since Serbia was allies with Russia. After the full mobilization of Russia’s military Austria-Hungary decided to join Germany in the Schlieffen Plan.
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Serbia declares war on Germany

Aug 6, 1914

Serbia declared war on Germany the day it declared war on Austria-Hungary. After Serbian group Black Hand assassinated Archduke of Austria-Hungary it took exactly a month for Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Russia backed Serbia to prove it’s worth after an embarrassing loss to Japan.
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Unofficial “Christmas Truce” is declared

Dec 24, 1914

Both enemies and friends all went out into “no man’s land” and started singing carols and giving gifts to each other. The “Christmas Truce” mainly happened on the Western Front. It ended December 26, 1914.
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RMS Lusitania is sunk by German U-boat

May 7, 1915

The Lusitania was full of secret supplies for Great Britain from the United States. Germany declared that it’s U-boats go up and down the coast on the Atlantic Coast of Europe. The German U-boat that sunk the Lusitania had already sank 3 boats that day.
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Es Sinn

Sep 28, 1915

The British captured Kut-al-Amara in the Battle of Es Sinn. The Turks lost 5,300 men and their guns of an army of 10,000. Only reason Es Sinn was fought was to get closer to Baghdad.
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Failed to capture Baghdad

Nov 1, 1915

Once Townshends men failed to capture Baghdad and had to retreat to Kut. Townshends capture lasted 147 days. The Ottoman Empire controlled Baghdad and drove Townshends men back in a little more than two days.
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Amara

Dec 7, 1915

Sir Charles Townshend had to retreat to Kut-al-Amara after a failed attack on Ctesiphon. Townshend attempted to hold Kut in order to preserve British influence in Mesopotamia. Townshend and his soldiers were held captive by the Turks until 1918.
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Gallipoli Campaign

Jan 1, 1916

The Gallipoli Campaign was used to capture the sea route between Europe and Russia. It began with a failed naval attack on the Dardanelles Straits. Townshend was part of the military force that seized the Gallipoli Peninsula.
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Battle of Verdun

Feb 21, 1916

The Battle of Verdun was the longest and bloodiest battle of World War 1. The French lost 550,000 people while Germany lost 434,00 people. They were no advantages to winning or losing the battle, there was no strategic meaning behind the attack.
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Surrendered to Turks

Apr 29, 1916

After three failed attempts to help Townshend’s troops the British gave up. Townshend failed to pay for the parole for his 10,000 men. Eventually having to surrender to prevent death, the Turks drove the British out of Mesopotamia for a little longer.
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Battle of Jutland

May 31, 1916

Declared as “The Greatest Naval Battle of WWI”. The Germans were planning to attack in British in secret, but the British intercepted and decoded the German messages. Jutland was the last, and longest, battle of battleships in WWI.
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Turks abandoned Kut

Feb 1, 1917

The Turks abandoned Kut because the British and French went back to the Middle East much bigger force than the Ottomans could come up with. After the BRitish gained control of Kut they turned it into a major trading port. In order to reach Kut the British had to pass through the Sinai Desert.
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Baghdad fell

Mar 1, 1917

The British failed to cross into Baghdad the first nights. Baghdad had 15,500 troops defending the city. A total of 9,000 Turkish soldiers were taken as POW’s.
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USA Declares war on Germany

Apr 6, 1917

The first step to the U.S. declaring war on Germany started when Germany sank the Lusitania. The Lusitania was carrying supplies for Great Britain. The U.S then declared war on Germany to provide help and protect itself.
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Negotiation of the Turkish Armistice at Mudros

Oct 1, 1918

The Ottoman Empire finally agreed to negotiate after a battle with Russian and British troops left six million people dead. The British agreed with the negotiations without consulting France first. Townshend helped decide whether or not to accept the negotiation and the terms it came with.
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Treaty of Versailles

Jun 28, 1919

Signed at the Palace of Versailles this treaty ended WWI. The treaty had about 440 articles and a number of annexes. The Germans had three weeks to sign the treaty. The treaty took away 13.5% of German territory.
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