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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. He got assassinated because of his perceived threat to Serbian independence. -
Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning WW1
On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The declaration of war was made after Serbia rejected the terms in an ultimatum sent to them by Austria on July 23, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, had been assassinated by Serbian student, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo. -
German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania
On May 7, 1915 a German U-boat torpedoed the British-owned steamship, Lusitania, killing 1195 people including 128 Americans.The disaster set off a chain of events that led to the U.S. entering World War 1 -
Battle of Verdun begins
The Battle of Verdun began on 21 February,1916 at 7:15 am when the German army began pounding the forts and trenches with artillery fire. It was one of the longest, bloodiest, and most-ferocious battles of the war; French casualties amounted to about 400,000, German ones to about 350,000. Some 300,000 were killed. -
The Battle of the Somme begins
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the Somme, a river in France. -
The United States declares war on Germany
Wilson cited Germany's violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States, as his reasons for declaring war. -
Russia signs armistice with Germany
On 15 December 1917, an armistice was signed between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on the one side and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire—the Central Powers—on the other. -
Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers, that ended Russia's participation in World War I. The treaty was signed at German-controlled Brest-Litovsk, after two months of negotiations. -
Women serve as telephone operators in WW1
The first group of civilian female telephone operators to serve with the AEF arrived in Paris in early 1918. Just over 200 female telephone operators ultimately served in France with the First, Second, and Third Army Headquarters. The women worked in Paris and dozens of other locations throughout France and England. -
The Stars and Stripes suspends the Sporting Page
Stars and Stripes had a sporting page but dropped it in late July of 1918. The decision followed articles about famous U.S. athletes running to get jobs at shipyards and farms to avoid military service under a War Department “Work or Fight” order. -
Battle of Saint-Mihiel
Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Allied victory and the first U.S.-led offensive in World War I. The Allied attack against the Saint-Mihiel salient provided the Americans with an opportunity to use their forces on the Western Front in mass. -
Meuse-Argonne offensive opens
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I. It was one of the attacks that brought an end to the War and was fought from September 26 – November 11, 1918, when the Armistice was signed. -
Germany signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I.
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. -
Peace conference begins at Paris
The Paris Peace Conference was an international meeting convened in January 1919 at Versailles just outside Paris. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the terms of the peace after World War. -
Signing of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied Nations on June 28, 1919, formally ending World War One. The terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial reparations, disarm, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas colonies.