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The beginning
Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassinated in Sarajevo. -
Period: to
The Great War
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Declaring War
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. -
Germany declares war on France.
Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades in a right flanking move designed to defeat France quickly. -
The Battle of the Frontiers
27,000 French soldiers die on this single day in an offensive thrust to the east of Paris, towards the German borders. -
Battle of Tennenberg.
German army, led by Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg achieves its greatest victory of the war on the Eastern front against Russia. -
War
Germany declares a submarine blockade of Great Britain. Any ship approaching England is considered a legitimate target. -
No Man Zone
British use gas in battle near Loos, but shifting winds cause 60,000 British casualties. -
Allies
Allies begin withdrawal of troops from Gallipoli. -
Period: to
Battle of Verdun
The longest battle of the war, it fought to a draw with an estimated one million casualties. -
President
US President Wilson publicly warns Germany not to continue unrestricted submarine warfare policies -
Period: to
The Battle of the Somme
results in an estimated one million casualties and no breakthrough for the Allies. British introduce the tank, an effective weapon but far to few to make much of a difference. -
Woodrow Wilson re-elected President
The United States with campaign slogan: "He kept us out of the war" -
Telegram
Reich Foreign Secretary Zimmermann's telegram to Mexico urging her entry into war against the United States is discovered and translated by the British. -
Submarine
Germany again declares unrestricted submarine warfare. -
Declaring War
President Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war with Imperial Germany. (Link goes to PBS: American Experience) -
Period: to
French
French launch disastrous offensive at Chemin des Dames, advancing only 500 yards at the cost of 250,000 plus casualties. -
Selective Service Act
The United States passes the Selective Service Act empowering the Federal Government to draft men for the armed forces. -
American Expeditionary Force
The first wave of the American Expeditionary Force lands in France. -
Third Battle of Ypres
known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains, but still no breakthrough in the Western front at the cost of 700,000 casualties for both sides. -
14 points
President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points as the path to permanent world peace. -
Offensive
Germans launch the first of five major offensives to win the war before American troops appear in the trenches. German advance is finally stopped in late June -
War's End
At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the war ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice.
