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Francis Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo.
Francis Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo. -
Austria declared war on Serbia.
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Germany declared war on Russia.
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Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium.
Germany had to implement the Schlieffen Plan. -
Britain declared war on Germany
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The Second Battle of Ypres.
Germans use poison gas and break a hole through the long line of Allied trenches. Death tolls are rising steadily into the millions. -
The Battle of the Somme begins.
During the Battle of the Somme, tanks are first introduced into battle. -
The Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Canadian troops succeed in taking control of Vimy Ridge, a very strong German position in France with a high slope and a system of trenches and tunnels heavily protected by barbed wire and German artillery. No one had been able to take this from the Germans in two years.
At dawn on Easter Monday, April 9, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps move forward together up the ridge in the midst of driving wind, snow, and sleet, following a barrage of artillery. By midafternoon the Canadian Divisio -
Germany signs the armistice at Compiegne, France.
Fighting ends on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 a.m. on November 11). -
Canada signs the Treaty of Versailles as an independent country.
