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Timeline of World War 1
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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was an Austrian archduke whose death was the cause of World War 1. Franz and his Wife, Sophie, were shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during their visit to the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. About a month later, Austria declared war on Serbia. In a chain of events, this sparked the beginning of World War 1. -
Battle of Tannenberg
Battle of Tannenberg was fought in the first month of World War 1 between 23 August and 30 August 1914. This battle was fought between the German and Russian Empire, and resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian second army. Fought at Tannenberg, East Prussia, the battle resulted in Germany crushing the Russian army. -
First Battle of Ypres
The battle of Ypres was a bloody battle that started in October of 1914 and went on all the way until November of the same year located in Ypres, Belgium. The German army attempted to break through Allied lines and capture French ports on the English Channel. Neither side was able to outflank one another and they both settled to trench warfare for the remainder of the battle. No side was victorious and the battle resulted in many deaths, mostly of the Germans. -
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16 was an unsuccessful attempt of the Allied Forces to take control of the sea route from Europe to Russia. The campaign cost more than 250,000 casualties and over 46,000 deaths. -
First use of Gas in World War 1
April 22, 1915, Germans launched an attack that had not been used ever before on the Western Front - Poison Gas. Germans used Chlorine Gas and launched it in the Ypres Salient. Survivors of the Attack report to have seen a "Yellow wall" moving towards them, which they would later find out was Chlorine. When the soldiers inhaled the gas, they started to choke. They were commanded to stay up as if you got to the bottom of the trench you got the full blast of it because it was heavy chemical. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
Less than a year after the start of World War 1, a German Submarine (U-Boat) U-20 torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, a British ocean liner that was on route from New York to Liverpool, England. There were 1959 people on the ship, and 1195 of them perished due to the attack. 123 of them being American. This was the beginning of American involvement in the World War 1. -
Battle of Verdun
The battle of Verdun was fought starting from February 21 to December 18, 1916. This was fought on the Western Front located in France. This was the longest battle of World War 1 and caused half a million casualties for both sides. In the end, France came out victorious as it took a part of Germany's land. -
Battle of Jutland
The battle of Jutland, occurring for only about a day, was the only major British and German Naval fleets in World War 1. This battle was fought about 60 miles off the west coast of Jutland (Denmark). The British sustained more losses in ships and men than Germany. three battle cruisers, three cruisers, and eight destroyers had been sunk against one battleship, one battle cruiser, four light cruisers, and five torpedo craft lost by the Germans. 6768 British casualties while 3058 German casualty. -
Battle of Somme
Dubbed as one of history's bloodiest battles, during the first day alone, British Forces suffered more than 57,000 casualties and around 20,000 deaths on an attempt to overrun German trenches. The battle was fought along the Somme river in France. The result of this battle was over a million casualties -
Zimmermann Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was a coded message sent by Germany to Mexico. The message stated that if the US was to join World War 1, then Mexico and Japan would form an alliance with Germany. This coded message was ultimately denied by Mexico, as it was dealing with the Mexican revolution at the time, and the code was intercepted by the British and passed on to the US. The US, being very pissed by the sinking of the Lusitania already, joined the war 4 months later. -
The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period where Russia saw a Political and Social change in their Empire. Russia abolished its Monarchy and adopted a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. The Revolution started in 1917, and went on all the way until June of 1923. The Russian Revolution paved the way for the rise of communism as an influential political belief system around the world. -
Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele)
The Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders. This battle was fought by the Allies and the German Empire. This battle resulted in over 650,000 casualties. It is also remembered as one of the bloodiest battles ever. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia signed a treaty with Germany, which marked the end of Russia's involvement in World War 1. Under the terms in the treaty, Russia was forced to turn over Finland, the Baltic Provinces, parts of Poland and Ukraine to the Central Powers. The Bolsheviks signed the treaty as they needed an end to the war as soon as possible, or it might mean their downfall in the Bolshevik Revolution. -
Armistice
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting in World War I between the Allies and Germany. The Armistice was signed at 5:45 AM on November 11, 1918, at Compiègne, in the region of Picardy, France. The agreement took effect at 11:00 AM, thus officially ending the war on the Western Front on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. In the United States, we remember this day as Veterans Day. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 at the Palace of Versailles near Paris. This Treaty ended the war between Germany and the Allied Forces, who were victorious. This treaty was put in place mainly for Germany, as they were seen as the main cause of the war. This treaty was to ensure that Germany would never be a military power again, however, this laid the groundwork for the second World War.