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WW1 Unit 3 Timeline Project
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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Bosnia by the Black Hand on June 28th, 1914. This was a key event that lead to the outbreak of WW1. Two shots in Sarajevo catched the fires of war. After this, him and his wife are killed by Gavrilo Princip. -
Eastern Front
The Eastern Front was held by the unprepared Russian Army. The front saw the most casualties and the first use of the deadly mustard gas. This was mostly fought between Russia and Germany. The fronts moved more and longer and were easy to break through. The Russian Army went to war with barely any training, few weapons, and no food. -
The Battle of Tanneberg
The battle of Tanneberg was a major defeat for Russia. They suffered very high casualties with about 30,000 killed or wounded. This defeat happened within a month of the conflict. -
First Battle of the Marne
The first battle of the Marne was from September 5 to 12 of 1914. The Germans planned on invading France and win the war within 40 days. They planned to occupy Paris and destroy the British and French Armies. The Germans had won in August. -
The Christmas Truce of 1914
The Christmas truce of 1914 was an unofficial ceasefire along the Western Front around Christmas time. Germans and British soldiers would meet in no man's land during this truce. They would play football, exchange food, and holiday greetings. Of course, this only lasted a certain amount of time, generals didn't like the idea of it and commanded their troops to go back to the trenches or fight. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the Lusitania. Germans who had warned the ship would sink, felt fully right to attack a vessel that was in their way. It was a swift-moving British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. This helped turn public opinion against Germany, particularly in the then-neutral United States. -
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was the bloodiest and longest battle of WWI. Germans used total war to destroy French morale. There were about 400,000 French casualties in 10 months of fighting. The purpose was to drain man's army of power and resources from them. This battle was the longest because neither side wanted to give in so it just kept on going. In the end, no one won the battle. -
The Battle of the Somme
The Battle of Somme was a unity between British and French forces who wanted a victory over the Germans. This was on the Western Front. British launched an attack in the Somme River to pull German troops away from Verdon. British suffered nearly 19,000 casualties on the first day of fighting. This lasted from July 1 until November of 1916. On both sides, there were over 1 million deaths and injuries at the end. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a message (coded) sent from German Foreign Secretary Authur Zimmerman to Mexico. In anticipation of the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare. It further conveyed Germany's intentions should America enter the war. This helped convince Congress to declare war against Germany in 1917. -
America joins WW1
America joins the WW1 because of Germany's start of submarine attacks on merchant and passenger ships. Woodrow Wilson had asked Congress for "a war to end all wars" because it would "make the world safe fro democracy." On November 11, 1918 which would be the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns would fall silent. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
Leader Vladimir Lenin of the Bolshevik had lead the leftist revolutionaries. He had gained power and destroyed the tradition of czarist rule. Later on the Bolshevik would become the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. They had succeeded very much because of the Provisional Government that was weak and unpopular. -
Russia leaves the war
Russia would leave WW1 because the Bolsheviks had overthrew the Russian government and gained power. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had ended WW1 for Russia. They thought that either way Germany would soon lose the war. -
The Battle of Cantigny
The Battle of Cantingy lasted until May 28-31 of 1918. There was a village that was secured in 30 minutes and with only 250 German prisoners captured. The war had about 1,603 casualties. About 4,000 U.S. soldiers captured he village of Cantigny. This happened on the Somme River and the United States Army had won this war. -
Second Battle of the Marne
The second battle of the Marne was a failure when an allied, counterattack helped by a bunch of tanks, stressed the Germans causing severe casualties. There were about 168,000 casualties. This was the last big German offensive on the Western front during WW1. -
Signing of The Treaty of Versaille
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, and it officially ended the first world war. Negotiations began in January 1919 and continued until June 1919. It stated that Germany must pay financial reparations, give up all overseas colonies, and lose territory.