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Franz Ferdinand assassination
I small group of Serbian terrorists known as the Black hand devised a scheme to Assassinate the Archduke of Austria-Hungary while he and his wife went to Sarajevo. The plan fell apart quite rapidly but a Serbian teenager named Gavrilo Princip shot the Archduke in the neck and his wife in the stomach. -
Battle of Le Cateau
The battle of Le Cateau was faught between the Germans, and the French and British.
The French and British were retreating after a loss at the battle of Mons. So they set up defensive positions against the advancing Germans. -
First battle of the Marne
The German's continued they're march and reached the outskirts of Paris when Allied forces finally reached them. A counter-attack by the French and British armies Along the Marne river forced the Germans back. It is a Direct cause of the four following years of Trench warfare. -
First battle of Ypres
This was the first battle to take place in the West Belgium town of Ypres, many more were to follow. There were four major parts to the battle: The battle of Langemarck, the battles at La Bassee and Armentières, the Battle of Gheluvelt, and the Battle of Nonne Bosschen. -
Second battle of Ypres
The second battle of Ypres was the, well, second major battle to be fought in the town of Ypres in western Belgium. IT was the first use of Poison gas by the German army. -
First use of Poison Gas
The first use of "Poison" gas in WWI was During the Second battle of Ypres. The use of such an Efficient, almost Inhumane means of killing your enemy changed the way people thought about war from that time on. -
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Triple Alliance invasion of Gallipoli
The Invasion of Gallipoli was an attempt by the Triple alliance to take over the sea route from Europe to Russia. Doing so would prevent Russia form mobilizing any forces and essentially removing them from the war. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Off the coast of Ireland an English Ocean Liner called the Lusitania was shot by a German U-boat and sank quickly after. This action by the Germans turned many people against them in the war and put the United Kingdom in a position of favor. -
Italy declares war on Germany
Originally Italy only declared war on Austria Hungary and didn't Declare war on Germany. But After Italy signed the Treaty of London they Decided to Declare war on germany. -
Introduction of Tanks
The first use of tanks in the Great War was done by Britain at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. Many broke down but other ones that didn't Proved to be very effective in warfare. -
Unrestricted submarine warfare
The War was faring poorly for the Germans and they believed that having the ability to use their U-Boats (As German submarines were then known as) On British targets. Germany believed if the results they produced were grand enough it would scare America from ever getting into the war as they feared they would. -
Tsar Nicholas II Abdicates
Due to the February Revolution in Russia the Tsar was overthrown and forced to abdicate all his power during the war.Part of this was because of a number of Russian war garrisons demanding solialist reform. -
United States enter the War
The United states were determined to stay neutral throughout most of the war, mostly due to how Wilson thought of war itself. However Wilson changed his mind for a number of reasons, one of them being the sinking of the Lusitania. This led to America joined the Allied nations of France and Britain and pushing back the German forces invading. -
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Battle of Passchendaele (Third battle of Ypres)
The third battle of Ypres was fought on the Western front for control of the ridges to the South and East of the Belgium town of Ypres. Ypres was close to a Railway the Germans were using to supply their army. -
German/Russian Peace deal
After two months of negotiating between the newly reformed Soviet Russia and the Central powers finally The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, thus ended Russia's participation in the War. -
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German spring offensive
Newly freed from having to deal with Russia, Germany's forces were stronger than they had been before and they took this opportunity to redouble their attacks and push against Allied forces deep into France. The idea was to force the way into France, and to Paris, before America's full forces arrived in Europe. -
Red Baron shot down
The Red Baron got his name from the bright Red he painted his aircraft and from his own Family name, literally meaning "Baron". He was a gifted German air-fighter who's defeat was accredited to a Canadian Pilot Roy Brown. Although it is far more likely the Red Baron was actually shot down by ground infantry in the area. -
Battle of the Lys (Fourth battle of Ypres)
The battle of the Lys was a part of the German "Spring offensive" line of attacks, The goal was the take all of the Ports in Ypres and Force Britain out of the war. The battle ended slowly as there were heavy German casualties and finally lost when a Reinforcement of French troops arrived. -
Second battle of the Marne
The second battle of the Marne was the Final battle of the Spring Offensive and the Last major German battle during the War. The result was a loss by the Germans due to being blindsided by a overwhelming number of British and American tanks took them by surprise and overpowered them. -
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Hundred Days Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive was the final part of World War 1 that included actual warfare. It was a series of attacks on central powers on the West front, forcing Germany out of France,
