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Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated in Bosnia by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip. -
WAR
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after they disregarded the ultimatum served to them by Austria-Hungary. -
Period: to
WWI
A politcal war starting in Europe that raged for eight years, bringing the German Empire to its knees and destroying much of the econokmy of the time. -
Bloody oath we’re in
Prime Minister Andrew Fisher declares Australians will defend Britain ‘to our last man and our last shilling' -
WAR
Germany declares war on Russia -
WAR
Germany declares war on France. Enacting the Schlieffen plan -
WAR
Germany invades neutral Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany. -
Now we're really in
Australia pledges a force of 20,000 tobe placed at Britain's disposal but by the end of the war over 400,000 Australians have gone intouniform -
No through road
The Ottoman Empire closes the Dardanelles. -
PEACE
Jokes, more WAR. Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia and Serbia declares war on Germany. -
WAR
France declares war on Austria-Hungary. -
WAR
The United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary. -
All the sprouts are ours
The Germans occupy Brussels. -
For now
Japan declares war on Germany. -
New Guinea
Australian forces occupy German New Guinea. -
Marne
First Battle of the Marne. The German advance on Paris is stoped marking the failure of the Schlieffen Plan -
Ypres
First battle of Ypres in Belgium, ending the Race to Sea -
WAR
France and the United Kingdom declare war on the Ottoman Empire. -
A Little Bit of Peace
In some sectors of the Western Front, an unofficial Christmas truce is observed between German and British forces. many soldiers from both sides independently ventured into "no man's land", where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs. As well as joint burial ceremonies, several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play games of football with one another -
Gas
Battle of Bolimov. First German use of chemical weapons. in this case xylyl bromide -
The Gallipoli Campaign
British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles. Sevral british ships were lost. -
ANZAC
70,000 Allied troops land at Gallipoli -
Lone Pine
Battle of Lone Pine, part of the August Offensive. -
Evacuation
The evacuation of more than 80,000 Allied troops is completed at Suvla Bay and ANZAC Cove. Ending the The Gallipoli Campaign -
Verdun
The beginning of the battle of Verdun. by the end of this battle will clame the lives of 800,000 men -
The Entente Forces Bombardment Begins
The Entente forces begin a week long bombardment of the German trench system. Sir Douglas Haig believes this will cripple the enemy forces and make it easier to pass through their trenches. -
The First Assault
After a week of bombardment the Entente forces launch their first assault. Armed with only their rifles and bayonets, they expect the Germans to be weakened. The Germans, unaffected, gun down more than 60,000 men of France and of the British commonwealth. -
Period: to
The Battle of the Somme
An offensive entente campaign waged along the river Somme between the combined forces of the British and French Empire and the German Empire. The campaign was supposed to end the war, and thus was very offensive leading to the deaths of more than one million men.
Of the men serving on the front 295,000 were Australian of the AIF, Of them 150,000 were wounded or killed. -
A Night Attack
The British launch a night attack against the Germans, along 3.5 miles of the Somme. After 1,000 feet, the Germans hold back the assailants. Two days later the English try again, they are however pushed back after they reach High Wood. -
German Advance at Verdun
The Germans attack the French at Verdun using poisonous gas, their advance stopped by the French. -
The Battle at Fromelles
Fromelles (Australian take)Here a British-Australian force of around 15,000 was lead to Fromelles, south of the main body of the offensive Entente forces at Somme. The attack began at around 6pm, German machine guns mowed down many allied soldiers, even so, the Australian 8th and 14th brigades managed to capture part of the German trenches. Despite the costly effort, they were forced to retreat. By 8am the next day the Australians had suffered 5,533 casualties, the most ever suffered in one day in Australian history. -
Traiterous Italy
Italy declared war on Germany, explanding the German lines of war. -
New German Field Marshal
Kaiser Wilhelm appoints a new Field Marshal replacing Erich Falkenhayn, following up dissappointments on the eastern and western fronts. -
Tanks at Somme
The first ever tanks appear on the battlefield, on the offensive, the entente forces pull back 2000 feet of ground. The tactics consist of the tanks going forward and mopping up the machine gun fire. They smash through the barbwire and the infantry follow; mopping up the soldiers left untreated by the tanks. -
Renewed Attack
The British and French renew their attack on the Somme. They capture several villages north of the river: this includes Thiepval where the Entente employs successful tank tactics; despite the difficult terrain and muddy ground. -
German Airforce
A German Airforce is founded, giving them power of much of the air. -
French Victory at Verdun
At Verdun, the French under General Robert Nivelle, begin an ambitious offensive designed to end the German threat there by targeting Fort Douaumont and other German-occupied sites on the east bank of the Meuse River. The attack is preceded by the heaviest artillery bombardment to-date by the French. Using a creeping barrage tactic, they win they seize Fort Douaumont, then take Fort Vaux further east, nine days later. -
British Suprise
The British forces plan and execute a surprise attack and recature several northern towns, Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt. -
The Campaign on the Somme Ends
Upon the first snowfall. The British and French decide to cease the campaign, the Germans have hardly been pushed back along the Somme and the grand push through the Entente were after never occured. Both sides have lost around 600,000 men, one of those wounded being Corporal Adolf Hitler.
Australian soldiers had been engaged in a five-month trench warfare and had sustained 58,000 casualties, they provided the most men out of all the British dominions. -
Submarine
Germany says it will continue unrestricted submarine warfare with the aim of starving Britain into surrendering -
German withdraw
Germany strategically concedes ground to the Allies on the Western Front as they withdraw to a new, heavily fortified and more easily defended line 10-50kms behind the forward trenches. The new line is known to the Germans as the Seigfried Line and to the Allies as the famous Hindenburg Line -
Revolution.
1st Russian Revolution. Tsar Nicholas II abdicates on 15 March. The Russian army, though reduced, remains in the war -
WAR
U.S. declares war on Germany -
Armistice
Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia conclude an armistice on the Eastern Front. For the Allies this means one million German soldiers will soon be free to reinforce their countrymen on the Western Front. -
PEACE
At Brest-Litovsk, Leon Trotsky signs the peace treaty with Germany. Taking Russia out of the war -
Australia, Never Forget
Australian and British troops drive the Germans out of the French village of Villers-Bretonneux. To this day the tiny village maintains a museum dedicated to the Australian troops of WW1 and its primary school sports a sign – “Australia, Never Forget” in the playground. -
Sir John Monash
Battle of Hamel, France. The Battle of Hamel was the first set-piece operation planned and conducted under Lieutenant General Sir John Monash. Monash’s planning for this battle drew him great praise. -
The king is dead
The Tsar and his family were shot early in the morning by the Bolsheviks. -
Breaking the Hindenburg Line.
The Allied Forces breach Germany’s last fixed line of defence on the Western Front, the Hindenburg Line. -
WAR IS OVER
Germany signs the Armistice at 5am to take effect at 11am. The First World War is over -
League of Nations
Proposal to create the League of Nations accepted. The League of Nations was the first intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. -
Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaties that ended WW1. It made Germany pay very heavy reparations for the loss and damage it had caused in the war ($31.4 billion that would be about $442 billion today)
